Sleeping Beauty Dreams

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Birmingham Hippodrome

****

The atmosphere was buzzing as the curtain rose for this new adaptation of Sleeping Beauty Dreams on Birmingham Hippodrome’s main stage.

The performance was danced amid Philip Prowse’s sumptuous setting for BRB’s production of The Sleeping Beauty and dancers pirouetted to Tchaikovsky’s beautiful score with ballet students young and old taking some of the leading roles.

Members of Birmingham Royal Ballet including Nathan Hunt and Rory Mackay performed with local starring dance students who rose to the challenge magnificently in this retelling of Sir Peter Wright’s magnificent production.

BRB’s Yvette Knight shone as Aurora and Edivaldo Souza da Silva was every bit the Prince. You could feel the awe in the theatre from audience members and fellow dancers to be in the presence of such perfection.

The students executed their routines with professional flourish and one of the cast members that stole the show was student Isabel Dixon as Fairy Carabosse who strode out with a magnificent darkness and menace and made the part her own.

My five-year-old daughter absolutely loved the little nymphs and it was a joy to watch Sandra Al Nagar, Amelie Alexiou, Isla Bird, Emma Booth, Elizabeth Boyd, Sophie Dale, Rachael Green, Phoebe Heath, Rin Miyoshi, Okelo Niala Burnett, Lily-May Nolan, Kaitlyn-May Phillips, Izabelle Pitt, Kiera Pratt, Poppy Radbourne and Katie Vuong .

Leah Ruscoe was a very expressive Red Riding Hood and performed well with Will Foggin as the Wolf with a display of fear and fun rolled into one.

Ruby Cheatham and Elysia Capewell showed feline finesse as the white cats and cavalier/blue bird James Garrington demonstrated his skill and technique.

A very impressive adaptation and arrangement by Rachel Hester and Jenny Murphy.

Following on from the huge success of Cinderella Dreams last year, this action-packed retelling based on Marius Petipa’s original choreography was inspirational and the students certainly give the professionals a run for their money.

Amazing to see the talent on offer from ballet students across the West Midlands.

Emma Trimble

19-02-18 

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