Cinderella

Alexei Ratmansky is the most sought-after classical ballet choreographer in the world today. Currently under contract to the American Ballet Theatre until 2023, it was indeed a coupe for the Australian Ballet to secure his services to re-imagine his take on the world’s most popular fairytale, which he originally created for the Marinsky Ballet in 2002.

The Australian Ballet’s version premiered in 2013 and has since become the jewel in their performance crown, having played sold-out seasons in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide with an acclaimed appearance at the Shanghai Grand Theatre as part of the Shanghai Festival of Arts in 2015.

It’s now Brisbane’s turn to experience the Ratmansky magic again, and it’s breathtakingly creative, clever, and totally off-the-wall in its concept. It’s not the first time Brisbane balletomanes have experienced Ratmansky’s brilliant work being exposed to the Bolshoi Ballet’s The Bright Stream and his reimagining of Le Corsaire in 2013, and Seven Sonatas for the American Ballet Theatre in 2014.

This is no ordinary Cinderella. There are no white mice and pumpkin. Instead our rags-and-tatters heroine is whisked away to the ball in a Dior-inspired gown by the planets, moon, sun and stars, in a celestial landscape that is totally Dali-esque surrealist. There are no stepsisters in drag, and when the Prince goes searching for her he travels the world encountering female and male brothels along the way. It was classical ballet but with a modern and hip twist.

Amber Scott showed a feisty edge to the title character even when she was playing second-fiddle to her vile step-family, achieving genuine anguish, fist-pumping enthusiasm, and sincerity. A difficult role, she’s barely off-stage for the entire performance; Scott masterfully handled Ratmansky’s intricate movement.

Opposite her as the Prince, Ty King-Wall was the epitome of a rock-star awash with indulgence, a monarch dismissive of acolytes, but a young man of determination and passion. Their second-act pas-de-deux when they are instantly attracted to each other was theatrical magic bringing tears to the eyes.

Ratmansky’s sense of the comedic was to the fore with the Stepmother and Stepsisters’ extravagant knockabout buffoonery. Amy Harris as the stepmom from hell, Ingrid Gow as the Skinny Stepsister, and Eloise Fryer as the Dumpy Stepsister, were a total joy. Whether being coiffured by the hairdressers (Cameron Hunter, Cristiano Martino, Charles Thompson), wearing outlandish shoe hats, or being mean to Cinderella they were more figures of fun than ogres.

A sense of time pervaded Jerome Kaplan’s entire production set-design from the wall-clocks to the garden topiary trees that when reversed became metronomes. Wendall K. Harrington’s projections overwhelmed at times, but along with Rachel Burke’s lighting they set the mood of the piece extremely well.

Prokofiev’s score, beautifully realised by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Nicolette Fraillon, is slavishly reminiscent of Hollywood movie scores of the early1940s, the years in which it was written. It’s brooding, expansive, romantic, and thrilling, and a perfect fit for Ratmansky’s milieu.

Following the Brisbane season the production tours to London in July. No doubt it will thrill the West End as much as it did last night.

Peter Pinne

Images. Amy Harris (photo Jeff Busby) and Amber Scott (photo by Lynette Wills) in Cinderella, The Australian Ballet.