The action takes place in two main locations, the kitchen at Cinderella's home and the Royal Ballroom.
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ACT I - The story opened with Cinderella sweeping the floor whilst dreaming of better days. In come the ugly sisters fighting over a scarf, pausing only to rebuke Cinderella for not working hard enough. An old beggar woman arrives whom the sisters treat contemptously, only Cinderella takes pity and gives the old woman a few coins before she leaves. The ugly sisters dress for the ball and practice their dance steps under the supervision of a dancing instructor. The ugly sisters then depart for the ball, whereupon the old beggar woman returns and reveals herself as the fairy godmother, come to repay Cinderella's kindness. Cinderella is transformed, her drab workdress giving way to a beautiful and elegant ballgown. Soon, she too is off to the ball but, we are reminded, she must return by midnight or her fine gown will turn back into her outfit of rags.
ACT II - The scene is the ballroom at the Palace and opens with a series of court dances. Suddenly, Cinderella appears and the whole assemblage is entranced by her beauty. She is quickly noticed by the handsome prince and they dance all night. But Cinderella is mindful that she must leave before midnight and as the hour aproaches she rushes from the ballroom, leaving behind one glass slipper in her haste. The Prince sets his servants on a quest to find her. Eventually, they arrive at Cinderella's house whereupon the two ugly sisters try on the slipper but it is too small for either of them. They try to send Cinderella away but she produces the matching slipper and the truth is revealed. The prince arrives, they dance, after they both don fine cloaks and depart upon their new life together, happy ever after.
The sets were minimal (as one might expect from a company spending no more than one night at most venues) but adequate, and the music suffered from being taped and played back through loudspeakers on the corners of the stage rather than being performed by a live orchestra. But these criticisms seem like nit-picking in light of what was overall a marvellous and truly magical production of the Cinderella story staged by the London based European Ballet Company. Whatever the scenery may have lacked, the costumes certainly didn't, and the dancing and choreography were nothing less than first class.
French ballerina Sophie Collas, made an enchanting Cinderella. Her dancing was light and expressive and she looked stunningly beautiful following her transformation. Sayan Ulturgashev as the prince cut a dashing figure. His solos were energetic and passionate and his pas de deux with Cinderella supremely tender.
The ugly sisters, Begona Quinones and Maria Victoria Ignomiriello, gave wonderfully comic performances with their feigned ineptness although the painting on of a monobrow for one, and a pair of austere spectacles for the other did little to hide the fact that they were in truth far from ugly.
The remainder of the cast were uniformly gifted and the grand ensemble of the ball was well choreographed and captured all of the magical atmosphere of the story.
A first class production, hugely enjoyable.