There’s been a touch of magic in the air at the Hippodrome over the past couple of weeks with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella in town.

Find out what our young ambassador, Steph, thought to the production in her review below.

By Steph Walsh

Birmingham Royal Ballet never fail to dazzle me with their flawless dancing, but my favourite thing about their performance of David Bintley’s Cinderella was the comic aspect – never before have I been to a ballet which had the audience laughing aloud the whole way through! The ugly sisters featured heavily throughout the performance and constantly had the audience chuckling at their mimed arguments and comedic dancing. Another amusing twist was having two (excellent) violin players on stage during the ball scene, which was a nice way of helping the audience to connect with the wonderful music which is often taken for granted.

If you’ve never been to see a ballet before, or maybe just aren’t the biggest fan of ballet in general, this is a great way into the genre. Aside from the light-hearted and relaxed feel of the whole production, the dancing itself was breathtaking. The short solo dances in stunning, unique costumes were fun and slightly quirky, with one dancer even falling gracefully down into the splits at one point (something my old ballet teacher would have fainted at!) The stars of the show were the prince and Cinderella herself, whose duets were absolutely exquisite, causing the audience to burst into spontaneous applause halfway through dances at a number of their amazing lifts!

The whole production sparkled, in literal terms from the gorgeous costumes in deep, royal colours, but also from the flair scattered throughout every aspect of the show: in the chorus dance numbers, the scenery and the wonderful orchestra. On a cold February night this fun, friendly version of a beloved fairy tale put a smile on everyone’s faces, from young to old!