Thumbelina
Director and Choreographer: Robin van Wyk
Cast: Members of Cape Town City Ballet and students from various Cape Town ballet studios
Venue: Artscape Theatre, until November 2
RATING: ***
Sweet and toothsome as an iced cupcake, Robin van Wyk’s new youth ballet Thumbelina translates Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale into dance, confirming this choreographer’s growing talent for creating spectacle that appeals to young audiences.
His choice of music, mainly by Shostakovitch, provides ear-pleasing accompaniment for the lyrical dance style; costumes are colourful and traditional, striking the right balance between quaintness and elegance. The lead duo of Thumbelina and her prince are resplendent in their white bridal attire, while creatures like Mr Mole, Mr Bug and the Toads are grotesquely costumed with tongue-in-cheek humour.
Opening night featured CTBC’s Elizabeth Nienaber and Ivan Boonzaaier as Thumbelina and Prince Cornelius, a partnership that gives the impression of confident collaboration. They are well matched in physique and proficiency, dancing with unaffected and contagious enjoyment; their finest moments came with the extended pas de deux of the last scene in Act Two. Show-stealers of note are the 10 little chickens in fluffy yellow costumes. Their ensemble is excellent, and they seem at home with van Wyk’s choreography; the cutest is the smallest, bespectacled member of the group.
Claire Spector, as the match-making Mrs Toad who fancies Thumbelina for a daughter-in-law, stands out for the strength of her performance: not even a quirky costume can detract from her graceful execution. Conrad Nusser, as her son, brings the requisite sense of comedy to his interpretation of this cameo role.
The partnership of Frieda Mennen and Marc Goldberg, who dance the Fairy Queen and King, offer pas de deux of striking calibre; this is surely a couple whose pairing will recur in future CTCB productions. Goldberg’s princely bearing and Mennen’s natural elegance are tailor-made for classical ballet.
As the creatures of Thumbelina’s world – fairies, flowers, jitterbugs, chickens and lovebirds – make their way across the stage in creditable ensemble, one realises this production is child-like rather than childish, with an appeal that touches young and old. Like the stories of Hans Christian Andersen.