Bintley's Cinders

Vimeo Licence


Between tomorrow and Saturday, the Birmingham Royal Ballet will make the first of its two annual visits to The Lowry. We always look forward to it. Like snowdrops and crocuses, it is a harbinger of Spring. The advancement of the clocks (one hour's less sleep that we never grumble about) and slightly warmer days, Pennine lambs, Easter eggs are and the first trips to the seaside are just weeks away. So welcome dear BRB to our region.

This week the company will perform David Bintley's Cinderella which he created in 2010. Like Hampson and Wheeldon but unlike Nixon or James, Bintley uses Prokofiev's score. The production won the best classical choreography award of the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards in 2011.

The company will present four shows at 19:30 each day it is here as well as matinees on Thursday and Saturday. On Friday there will be a pre-performance talk at 18:30 on Friday. Sadly, the company is competing for my patronage with Beautiful Ballet Black at the Barbican and Sergei Polunin's Dancer so I will only get one chance to see Cinderella on this visit.   I shall see the Wednesday evening performance in which Jenna Roberts will dance the title role, William Bracewell the price, Marion Tait the stepmother and Samara Downs and Laura Purkis her daughters. Sadly I shall miss Delia Matthews, Tyrone Singleton, Celine Gittens and Ruth Brill this time as I shall be in the Barbican on Saturday when they are on stage but I wish them toi, toi and chookas and hope they all enjoy their stay in my native city.

This is one of the highlights of the year for balletomanes in the North of England. Tey are assured of a very warm welcome.