Cinderella in the Baltic States

[Terpsichore]

Subscribers to this website may recall that I am a big fan of the Dutch National Ballet and in particular its Junior Company.  Cristiano Principato, one of the former members of the Junior Company is now a soloist with the Estonian National Ballet and is making his mark as a choreographer.  Earlier this year he premiered Cinderella full-length which is his first full length ballet.  As Kenneth Tindall had told me in an interview about Casanova that the leap from one act to full-length is exponential and qualitative and not just a doubling or tripling of effort I was keen to see what this young man would make of the challenge.  The show featured two of my favourite artists from the Dutch National Ballet:  Elisabetta Formento who is now with the Spanish National Dance  Company in the title role and Maria Chugai, a soloist with the Dutch National Ballet as the Fairy Godmother.   I might add that I have long been interested in Estonia for professional reasons.  It has thriving tech and creative sectors and it offers a concession called "e-residency" which offers non-resident foreigners some of the benefits of Estonian residence.

Although the show was an independent production it was performed in the Estonian National Opera House.  Compared to the Amsterdam Music Theatre or Covent Garden the Estonian Opera House is not a very big building but it is an impressive one.   In a somewhat longer review in Terpsichore, I have included a link to an article on the venue by the photographer Jack Devant.  I sat at the extreme length of the 5th row of the stalls near the entrance.   There was no obstruction in my view of the stage,

 

The show took place at 19:00 on 14 Oct 2024.  Formento was delightful and it was a great pleasure to see her on stage again,   She was partnered gallantly by Thomas Giugocaz her prince.  He has danced with several companies in the USA, the Continent and Hong Kong but not yet in the UK so far as I am aware.   He is now a soloist with the Spanish National Dance Company and I was grateful for the opportunity to see him.   Other dancers who impressed me were Diogo de Oliviera of the Polish National Ballet who danced the prince's advisor, Francesca Loi who danced Cinderella's stepmother and, above all, Maria Chugai who displayed virtuosity and flair as an irenic fairy godmother.  There was also a British artist from the Estonian National Ballet called Connor Williams to whom I send best wishes.   He danced a cavalier

Principato made ingenious use of technology to bring the story alive.   I was particularly amused by a remote-controlled mouse which reduced the stepmother and daughters to panic and the projections on the backcloth some of which were very elaborate.   Principato contributed to the creation of those projections and the design of the costumes.  The fairy godmother's headgear included a mini top hat,   The show was produced by Sander Sellin.   Both dancers and techies did well and all deserve congratulations.

The show is about to tour Vilnius and Tartu before it returns to Tallinn on 25 Nov 2024.   I would recommend it to anyone within easy reach of those cities.  For those who want to learn more, Principato has recorded highlights in YouTube videos of Act 1 and Act II which can be accessed from links on my blog.

[alison]

13 hours ago, Terpsichore said:

I might add that I have long been interested in Estonia for professional reasons.  It has thriving tech and creative sectors and it offers a concession called "e-residency" which offers non-resident foreigners some of the benefits of Estonian residence.

 

Ah yes - helps avoid some Brexit-related problems for British companies, I believe?