HAVING hung up the pointes a few years ago, I decided it was time to rekindle an old flame and grabbed a ticket to WA Ballet’s Cinderella.

What unfolded at His Majesty’s was a delightfully chaotic mix of campy forest creatures, a face‑palming prince, a pushy stage mum, and two wickedly feral stepsisters all woven through the Brothers Grimm’s classic — with a Macarena thrown in for good measure.

Reimagined by the company’s former principal dancer (and ex‑evil stepsister from the company’s 2011 production), Jayne Smeulders, it brings the stage to life, infusing it with colourful, vibrant performances and giving the audience the freedom to choose which characters’ story they wish to invest in. A choose-your-own-adventure of sorts.

As Cinderella twirls across the stage, you will spot in the corners mischief unravelling; the stepsisters plot, the stepmother shamelessly flirts with the dressmaker, and dear old daddy dearest demonstrates how truly terrible it is to be the only man in an all-woman household. The horrors! 

But these detailed, animated and clever side performances keep the audience hooked and engaged — no small feat in the age of phones and short attention spans.

The mastermind telling the plot behind the movement through music, is principal conductor Jessica Gethin alongside the WA Philharmonic Orchestra, who waves her conductor wand much like fairy godmother, charming the audience further into the fantasy world.

Smeulders and Gethin work in collaboration, bringing ensemble pieces to life, hypnotising the audience with RuPaul-runway-looking winged and hooved dancers trit-trotting and darting through intricate patterns and shapes.

A crimson-lit soirée of rubies, scarlets, and rose, a dance spun beneath the stars, a runaway slipper, and a girl daring to dream — it’s a tale we think we know, but this time told with the Smeulders’ touch.

Cinderella runs at His Majesty’s Theatre till December 14.

3.8 out of 5 Chooks

by ISLA TOMLINSON