Cinderella: The Ballet

I have always loved ballet even though I never got to try it as a child. Seeing a ballet performance has been something I've longed to see for as long as I can remember and I finally got to see one! My mum has never really been interested in ballet as she finds it confusing and hard to interpret but she does like the music behind the dancing. When the Scottish Ballet decided to perform Cinderella in Glasgow, it was perfect! My mum knew the storyline and would be able to keep up and I would finally be able to see a Ballet performance! I'd seen the advert for Cinderella: The Ballet online just after Christmas and was absolutely thrilled when my mum agreed to go, especially since the seats we managed to get were perfect.

The whole performance was two hours long with two intervals. The act followed the basic fairytale storyline of Cinderella but did incorporate a few twists to the tale. One example of a twist was that Cinderella's father did not die in this performance, instead he developed depression and an alcohol addiction from the loss of his first wife and struggled to cope under the authoritarian personality of his new wife. Another twist to the tale was Cinderella's spell breaking whilst she was still in the ball with the prince. Of course she managed to conceal her identity and escape leaving a glass ballet slipper for her prince like in the fairytale. The rest of the performance followed the traditional fairytale and a slight comedic element was employed with the step sisters competition for the prince and to impress everyone with their 'looks' and 'dancing abilities', it was very lighthearted and funny.

Beautiful is a somewhat pathetic description when discussing the ballet costumes worn. Each dancer looked elegant and impeccable, especially when gliding across the stage. The main focus of the entire performance was the Royal Ball. The entire second act was dedicated to the flawless dancing, lifting and spins of the dancers. The act was inspiring and stunning to watch. Even my mum - who doesn't see the beauty in ballet dancing - found the entire Royal Ball scene mesmerising, she couldn't take her eyes off the stage. Everything about the show was picturesque, even the programme is a visual masterpiece, all of the pictures are angelic and admirable. I would absolutely love to be in the audience of another ballet performance, I have heard that the Scottish Ballet are taking on a version of Snow White next so I'll definitely have to look into that further.

Seeing a ballet performance live has only excelled my love for it's beauty. I would love to have the courage to attend a ballet class myself as I genuinely believe I would be okay at ballet. Maybe I will start teaching myself, but for now I just want to see more.

xxx