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The Nutcracker – Christmas Comes To Birmingham
The Birmingham Hippodrome was once again transformed into the epitome of Christmas as the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s classic production of The Nutcracker opened last night. The ballet is always seen as the opening of Christmas in Birmingham, and, once again, it’s charm, beauty and magic thrilled the sell out audience. This year it is celebrating 35 years since it first came to Birmingham and The Nutcracker can still be described in a single word- enchanting. It is Christmas Eve and the Stahlbaum family are giving a party for family and friends. A magician Drosselmeyer is invited and gives the Stahlbaum’s oldest daughter Clara the gift of a Nutcracker. When the…
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Cinderella Brings Half Term Magic To Birmingham
One of the most magical ballets of them all made a welcome return to Birmingham last night, when Cinderella opened at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The classic story, with choreography by David Bintley and a soaring score by Prokofiev, proved to be the perfect family entertainment for half term as it enchanted the audience, old and young. The story is totally faithful to the classic, much loved fairy tale, with the cast of characters, the glass coach, the glass slipper and the clock striking at midnight, all in place. The ugly sisters are more spiteful and stupid than ugly, but are also, and this is a huge part of the charm…
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La Fille Mal Gardee at the Birmingham Hippodrome
La Fille Mal Gardee by the Birmingham Royal Ballet started a four night run at the Birmingham Hippodrome last night, and delighted and charmed audiences with it’s story of true love almost thwarted by the power of money. The ballet was created by Frederick Ashton in 1960 and is the simple story of the beautiful Lise, in this instance played by the enchanting Beatrice Parma, who is deeply in love with a poor farm lad called Colas(Enrique Bejarano Vidal – just perfect). They are perfectly matched but Lise’s mother, the widow Simone wants a better (read richer) match for her beloved daughter. She finds this in the umbrella obsessed Alain,…
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Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty
The Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to its home city this week with a spellbinding performance of Sleeping Beauty. Transforming the Birmingham Hippodrome stage into a Georgian setting fit for royalty, the dancers of the BRB created a magical and enthralling fairy tale that had just the right amount of menace and spice. We all know the story of the Princess Aurora, gifted every one of life’s advantages by a stream of beautiful fairies. This was represented in a series of solo dances representing modesty, honour, joy, and, of course, beauty. The mood is bright and beautiful, full of sparkle and light. Unfortunately, no one invited the dark Fairy, Carabosse, and…
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Christmas Magic with The Nutcracker
Christmas really came to town in Birmingham on Friday with the opening night of The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky’s yuletide classic at the Birmingham Hippodrome. A full house for the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production showed that this evergreen classic shows no sign of losing its ability to enchant, with this particular production stunning in both dance and visually through the incredible sets. The Nutcracker tells the story of a wonderful family Christmas Eve, with the initial scenes dominated by a wonderful Christmas tree. This is a picture box Victorian Christmas scene, one that could’ve come from a Christmas card, or the top of a quality street tin, the tableaux is so vivid…
