danceforall

I agree with others regarding Ashton's version of Cinderella. The presentation of the two ugly stepsisters as performed by Ashton and MacMillian in the 1957 version with Margot Fonteyn and again by Ashton and Helpman in the 1969 version with Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell were so exaggerated and over the top as far as the make-up, costuming, and mine for the two sisters that it sorely detracted from the presentations of the ballets. Indeed, it always seemed more as if Ashton was using his interpretation of the ballet as a vehicle to get some stage time for himself as opposed to honoring Prokofiev. The Russian variations with Raisa Struchkova and Gabriella Komleva and the Berlin Comic Opera's variation with Hannelore Bey where the sister's roles are danced by women and where it is their personalties that are ugly and not their faces - make the story far more plausible and follows the fairy tale's story line much more closely. The version with Komleva includes a lot more solo time for the sisters at the ball, unfortunately in this version the Russian Directors were enamored with inserting artistic borders around the perimeter of a lot of segments of the film footage which really detracts from viewing the dancing, particularly as these where filmed in the 4:3 screen format. One other element that makes both the Komleva and the Bey versions less plausible is the fact that both these dancers appear too aged for the role. The more modern versions such as Cinderella by Nureyev, Aschenbrodel by the Vienna Ballet (to Johann Strauss's music), and even the doll variation by Lyon Opera (despite the periodic and very annoying insertion of crying baby sounds) are all very good too. However, I confess that I still prefer the Russian storyline, so of all the versions available on DVD, my favorite is the version with Raisa Struchkova. I just wish they would remaster it. By the way, I recently attended a performance of Cinderella by the Russian National Ballet and their presentation was everything I could have hoped for. The two sisters, played by females, danced marvelously and were pretty but decidedly unpleasant to Cinderella who also danced beautifully and was pretty and plausibly young for the role. The wicked stepmother was played by a male dancer who was excellent in the role and never over played his part so that it detracted from the ballet, and the prince's search round the world was included unlike Ashton's version. Unfortunately their performance is not available on DVD, but if they ever do start selling one, that would become my new favorite.

I disagree with "Natalia's" disparaging post regarding the 2009 release of "Goldilocks" by the Prague National Ballet. It is not a dud, nor is it "Eurotrash", regardless of what is meant by such tactlessness. This ballet is different and avant garde in some respects - being a blend of modern, lyrical, and classical ballet styles, and it tells a story interactively with the audience - which by the way is an up and coming trend in the ballet world. Times are changing and if the ballet companies want to engage and foster new generations of audiences, then promoting a love of ballet in particular and dance in general, through interactive venues such as this, is a critical investment to their continued existence. Ballets respected today like "The Mayerling","Spartacus", "Bhakti", and "Manon" were considered radical as recently as the mid 70's and 80's, so while Prague's "Goldilocks" may not be what the reviewer "Natalia" was looking for (which is fine), it is misleading to label it a "dud", let alone "Eurotrash"! Also, apparently "Natalia" didn't read the label on the DVD before purchasing it to notice that the Prague Ballet is not touting it as a classical ballet. My advice to anyone interested in Prague Ballet's "Goldilocks", is to rent it from Netflix first and then decide whether to buy it. This is what I did, and now both my daughter (who is an accomplished ballet dancer) and I are delighted to own and view this ballet. (By the way, Netflix and KineticFlix both have an extensive collection of ballet DVD's for rent, so you can pre-view most ballet DVDs that are available for sale before deciding to buy.) The prologue and Act I, are a bit of a puzzle at first, especially for the more western oriented audience. The gist is that a small troupe of actors pulls into a little village on a wagon with a huge box of costumes. The head actor plays his violin to draw a crowd and the troupe begins handing out costumes to the villagers whom they enlist to help act out a play. The villagers are drawn to costumes that match their personalities, with the town bully claiming the "Royal" robes and role of the "King" for himself. Then, "magically", the entire orchestra emerges from the box and seats itself in the orchestra pit and the tale begins. The evil king is given a magic snake by a hag which if cooked and eaten makes it possible to understand the language of the animals. The king hands the snake to Jirek, his head chef, with a dire warning that Jirek is not to taste it. Jirek, being a cook, tastes it anyway and discovers he can understand animals like the castle dog and some birds who are gabbling about the beautiful Goldilocks. Upon tasting the snake, the king also understands the animals, and realizes Jirek disobeyed him, whereupon he orders Jirek to find and deliver the gold haired maid to him or be executed as a traitor. Jirek starts his quest, helping animals in trouble as he goes, who in turn aid him in achieving his three deeds to win Goldilocks. If the beginning seems a bit slow for a first time viewer, then I'd recommend starting with Acts II and III. The dances of the Gold Fish and the Fire Dancers are on pointe and are lovely to behold. The music and the dance of the 12 princesses is lyrical and captivating. As for the pas de deux solos with Goldilocks and the hero, Jirek, the dancers and the choreography are truly breathtaking and the partnering is amazingly intricate. True, the heroine dances in ballet slippers instead of pointe shoes, but anyone with an eye for ballet technique, will recognize that she is a consummate ballerina and, as with all the company members, she has wonderful artistry. The ballet's costuming is excellent and the scenery is well done, especially the ant hill and the forest and the spider scene. The accompanying documentary is also very interesting and informative regarding the staging of the ballet. Likewise, the portion of the documentary about Vladimír Franz provides a fascinating insight of this totally tattooed composer who uses medieval music compositions as the basis for the music in "Goldilocks". Naturally, the Prague Ballet's "Goldilocks" and the Mariinsky's recent revival of Schredin's version of "The Little Humpbacked Horse" that was originally performed and filmed in 1961 with Maya Plisetskaya have similar themes, as the characters and plots from both are based on the old folk tales of "Goldilocks" and "Ivan and the Queen Maiden". (Note: The earliest ballet version of "The Little Humpbacked Horse" was performed in 1864 using music by Cesare Pugni.) However, as far as the stage settings and costumes are concerned, those found in the latest Mariinsky version of "Little Hump Backed Horse" are considerably more minimal, than those in the Prague Ballet's version of "Goldilocks". Viewers who approach this new ballet with an open mind should be pleased. The audiences in Prague certainly love it and every performance held there has been sold out, since it debuted there several years ago. Prague is an old city with a long standing cultural arts history, so I think the high regard of Prague's ballet goers speaks for itself as to the merits of this ballet.