“we were ready for a show and a delightful show we witnessed”

For the past 13 years, English National Ballet (ENB) has entertained hundreds of thousands of people with it’s My First Ballet series.

This spring the series brings us Swan Lake to centre stage and it is certainly a fantastic outing.

The plot is loved, well known and has been adapted to a plethora of entertainment mediums from cartoons, through to film and Ballet – The magician Rothbart has turned the princess Odette into a swan: only at night can she return to human form. Will Prince Siegfried be able to save her, or will he fall for Rothbart’s sorcery?

The difference here is that ENB has adapted this story for children aged three upwards. Giddy with elation with my sister and tutu clad three-and-a-half-year-old Niece, who conveniently is enamoured with Ballet lately, we were ready for a show and a delightful show we witnessed.

The renowned Tchaikovsky score recorded by ENB’s Philharmonic and conducted by Gavin Sutherland sets the tone for the young and excited auditorium – a pleasant surprise was the sight of the narrator, Araminta Wright, walking across the closed curtains to first address the audience – a lovely addition, helping the younger audience navigate the story better and a fantastic idea of introducing Ballet in a personable and story-telling manner.

From the exposition is was obvious that the young audience was as respected as any other ballet – going audience – the set up was fully reflective of a Ballet – from the stellar performances of the students from English National Ballet School to the original set & costume design by Peter Farmer, all elements created a beautiful and full backdrop for all audiences to absorb. 

Act I flies by in a flash of episodic chunks of dance interspersed with narration, presenting a well – balanced juxtaposition of sensory stimulation versus the calm presence of a bare stage and narrator, helping the story move along and the children take a breather from the action on stage. A true testament to how well this was thought out was my niece’s attention only waning 5 minutes before the interval and 5 minutes before the end. When questioned during the interval if she would like to return to the ‘movie’ as she called it, she enthusiastically nodded, asserting that right after finishing her ice cream she wanted to go back and watch “Odette, the Prince and the Sorcerer”.

The cast performed beautifully – particular stand-out interpretations were Zai Calliste as Prince Siegfried. His performance was nothing short of a full bloom – he has clear stage presence and performs with noted sentiment. His spectacular pirouettes notably impressed the audience with an array of applause. Ailey Osaki as Odette’s best friend, Odile, also left her mark dancing with passion and incredibly poised fouettés. Her characterisation of the role also reflected the ensemble’s dedication to the characters through nuanced portrayals.

As a first introduction to the magical world of ballet – this ENG production sets the perfect tone.