ANGELINA’S STAR PERFORMANCE
Angelina Ballerina in Angelina’s Star Performance English National Ballet at the State Theatre; 10-23 December, Illawarra Performaing Arts Centre, 15-16 January 2010; QPAC Brisbane, 19-23 January; Geelong Performing Arts Centre, 27-30 January
MAGIC is what happens when the curtain goes up on a mob of mice dancing to Tchaikovsky and a story as familiar as Christmas (Sleeping Beauty meets the modern favourite of multitudes of little girls, Angelina Ballerina). Add to that the already magical interior of the State Theatre and the young dancers of the English National Ballet and it’s enough to make a 6-year-old gaze in wonder at the statues, the architectural excess (and the beautifully realized characters on stage) and say, “This is beautiful isn’t it? It’s so posh.”
My companion at Angelina’s Star Performance was Felicity Lola, who is experienced in all things Angelina and has also been doing dance lessons as well as soccer for the past two years. She thought the show was pretty good; she enjoyed the jokes and the dancing and also when the Queen disappeared and was replaced by a cutout. Carabosse was also good as a scary mouse is quite an interesting thing; and the Lilac Fairy was very pretty. The Prince was funny and not very good with a bow and arrow. Felicity Lola also thought Deborah Jones, the Australian’s dance critic, was nice to sit next to because she laughed in all the right places and also clapped when she was supposed to; most grownups don’t do this.
Mainly, however, as well as the performance, Felicity Lola really liked the fairy floss and also the merchandising, which was excellent. The light wand and the sabre thing that lit up and did different colours were good; as were the Angelina Ballerina mouse ears, soft toy and hoodie with the English National Ballet logo.
