Cinderella – The Untold Story: A Quirky Take On A Classic Children’s Tale ~ Adelaide Fringe 2019 Review

[CHILDREN’S/DANCE ~ SA] Live From Tandanya – Tandanya Theatre, Sat 16 Mar. The South Australian Children’s Ballet Company has done a fabulous job of bringing to stage a very fun, quirky and different take on the Cinderella story. Of course, when you have a large cast of young hopefuls, the selection of the show to perform is key, and this version of Cinderella provides plenty of opportunities for many of the cast to shine in their own way. And when we're talking many of the cast – we’re including additional characters like Goldilocks, the Three Bears, Puss In Boots and the list goes on! The other great point of balance is the attention and roles of the not so sought after Ugly Step Sisters – who really shone, not just in their dancing, but their key acting roles, mixing dance with physical theatre and repugnance. The set was simple, just an armchair, shared at different times by the Narrator and Prince (not so) Charming and a ladder that was used to manually adjust the necessary time-piece towards midnight. Csaba Buday’s choreography needs to be singled out, putting a show together to feature the many young stars this dance company has in a way that still allows for the story to be told and for the characters to be, well characters! The costumes were grand, colourful and at times, particularly for the sisters, quite flexible in how they were used. Little Miss 6, who is learning dancing said, “5 stars, that’s as good as it gets isn’t it Grandad?” All in all, the audience went away satisfied at what they'd experienced and certainly that included many who were not ‘family’. We took away the brochure to the Company’s next presentation – I’d have no hesitation taking my little dancer along. 4 stars Clayton Werner #ADLfringe