London Children’s Ballet photo: Johan Persson
La Fille Mal Gardee
Royal Ballet
Thursday 23 April, Royal Opera House
In The Royal Ballet’s ‘La Fille Mal Gardee’ Natalia Osipova was a delightfully convincing Lise, the wayward daughter who continually tricks her mother in order to flirt with her beau (an equally mischievous Steven Macrae). The whole cast danced with wit and aplomb and superb comic timing, all of which were essential to compensate for a plot wispier than an ear of corn. Add a pantomime dame, a clownish suitor, a beautiful white pony, clever dancing with ribbons and youthful exuberance and there you have it: a charmed audience going home smiling.
Snow White London Children’s Ballet Saturday 25 April, Peacock Theatre London Children’s Ballet’s dramatic Snow White provided an elegant contrast: whereas in La Fille Mal Gardee nearly all the cast were acting as young teens, in Snow White the children and young teens were behaving in a very adult way to successfully deliver their performance. Poise, dedication and discipline shone through in every age group, from as young as nine. The standard never dropped as a cast of 55 brought the much loved fairytale to life with a special charm that only children can convey. Yet another triumph for London Children’s Ballet’s annual production, memorably choreographed this year by Jenna Lee.
Take a Bow Wow: Royal Ballet : Natalia Osipova as Lise, Steven McRae as Colas her lover, Paul Kay as Alain her suitor, Peregrine the pony.
London Children’s Ballet : Sophie Searle and Cleo Badcock as Snow White, James Lovell as The Prince, Georgia Dumont as the Evil Queen, the delightful Seven Dwarves.
Ballet Bichon 