Last weekend saw Royal Concert Hall play host to the Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) accompanied by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. They played their full show in the evening however in the afternoon a younger audience got their chance to experience these incredibly talented musicians and world class dancers.
Wonderfully hosted by Shireenah Ingram and the main man (aka the conductor) himself Phil Ellis, this show was an incredible, highly entertaining and educational introduction for children into the arts. The Royal Concert Hall was packed full of aspiring little ballerinas, lots dressed up in beautiful dresses. They eagerly watched and listened in awe of all of the musical instruments as they were introduced to them one by one with some incredible facts. Whilst the smaller ears may not have followed all of the dialouge about the instruments, such as 16ft of pipe in a tuba, there were audible grown up murmurs along the lines of ‘wow I didn’t know that’.
Following this the dancing commenced in the form of Cinderella; where music, words and ballet jointly told the famous tale. The dancers were from BRB’s associate school Elmhurst, for younger dancers, however they were themselves incredibly talented and graceful, performing with true finese. Other classic dances followed, including the bluebird pas de deux from sleeping beauty and a famous clog dance, which really got the attention of the little ones with the comical dame character.
It was a gentle way to demonstrate how dance and music can tell a story. At one stage the youngsters were challenged by Phil to “unlock your imaginations and let the music show you the pictures.” Little minds, ears and eyes were captivated from start to finish.
Review by Josie Opal
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