Top Hat on Stage ('11/'12'/13'/'14)

The film has been adapted into a stage musical that began touring the UK during late 2011. The Show opened at Milton Keynes Theatre on 19 August 2011 before touring to other UK regional theatres including Leeds, Birmingham and Edinburgh. The production is also scheduled to transfer to the West End's Aldwych Theatre on April 19, 2012 with an opening on May 9, 2012 and bookings ended on 26th October 2013. 

On Thursday 1st December 2011 I went to the Leeds Grand Theatre with my Mum to see Irving Berlin's Top Hat which is based on RKO's Motion Picture. It is Fred and Ginger's greatest Hollywood dance musical - live on stage for the very first time in 76 years!

 

Tom Chambers ('Strictly Come Dancing' winner and 'Holby City' heartthrob) plays Jerry Travers, the famous American tap dancer who arrives in London to appear in his first West End Show. Travers meets the irresistible Dale Tremont, the girl of him dreams, played by Summer Strallen (triple Olivier Award nominee and star of 'Love Never Dies', 'The Sound of Music' and Hollyoaks') and follows her across Europe in an attempt to win her heart with his wonderful song and dance routines.

Irving Berlin's celebrated score features such classics as 'Cheek to Cheek', 'Let's Face The Music and Dance', 'Isn't it a Lovely day to be caught in the Rain' and 'Top Hat, White Tie and Tails.'  It was also Black Tie and Tiara Night for one night only on the 1st December so I wore my ballgown and felt very special in it!   Top Hat was brilliant at the Leeds Grand Theatre! Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen are fantastic as Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont! The rest of the cast are great too. They sang some of Irving Berlin’s greatest hits, such as, 'Cheek to Cheek' and 'Top Hat', 'White Tie and Tails', 'The Piccolino', 'No Strings' (I'm Fancy Free) and 'Isn't This A Lovely Day To Be Caught In The Rain?' which are all in the film 'Top Hat.' They also sang 'Let’s Face the Music and Dance' and 'I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket' which are from the film 'Follow The Fleet.'

The costumes, sets and dance routines were all wonderful and I loved every minute of it! I want to see it all over again! I had a lovely time!

 

 

If you are a fan of Fred and Ginger, you should definitely watch the film and then go see the show in the West End, you will love it!! :D xx  

 

The Nucracker by The Royal Ballet

 

 

Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable score combines with the magical choreography inspired by Lev Ivanov in an atmosphere of fantasy and the supernatural. Hoffman’s Christmas story unfolds with breathtaking splendour and beauty in the most festive and enduring of all ballets. 

 Act I
As conceived by Peter Wright, after the original book by Lev Ivanov. Herr Drosselmeyer (Anthony Dowell), a mysterious magician and creator of mechanical toys and clocks, was once employed at the royal palace, where he invented a trap that killed off half the mouse population. In revenge, the wicked Mouse Queen cast a spell on Drosselmeyer’s nephew, Hans-Peter (Ivan Putrov), which transformed him into an ugly nutcracker doll. The only way to break the spell is for the Nutcracker to slay the Mouse King and for a young girl to love and care for him in spite of his awful appearance.

When Drosselmeyer is invited to entertain the guests at a Christmas party given by his friends, the Stahlbaums, he decides that this could well be the opportunity he has been looking for. The Stahlbaums have a daughter, Clara (Alina Cojocaru), who is a little younger than Hans-Peter. And what better time than Christmas, when the mice are busy stealing the leftovers, for a confrontation between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker? Drosselmeyer decides to put the Nutcracker in the tender care of Clara and makes a special Christmas angel to guide her through her task.

When all the guests have departed and the house is asleep, Clara, in search of the nutcracker doll, creeps downstairs and discovers Drosselmeyer waiting for her. He draws her into his own special world of fantasy, where time is suspended, and exerts all his powers to transform the living room into a great battlefield. Then he summons the Mouse King (Christopher Saunders). In the ensuing fight between the mice and the toy soldiers, the Nutcracker slays the Mouse King, but only through the intervention of Clara, who, out of compassion, saves the Nutcracker’s life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Act II

Restored to his real self, Hans-Peter dances with Clara, and they find themselves in the Land of Snow. Drosselmeyer then sends them on a magic journey to the Sugar Garden in the Kingdom of Sweets, where they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy (Miyako Yoshida) and her Prince (Jonathan Cope). Freed at last from his imprisonment inside the nutcracker, Hans-Peter recounts to the Sugar Plum Fairy his great adventure and how Clara saved his life. They then join in a magnificent entertainment put on by Drosselmeyer to honor them for their bravery.

 

Returning to reality, Clara runs out into the street in search of Drosselmeyer and encounters a strangely familiar young man, while back in his workshop Drosselmeyer prays that his efforts will be rewarded. His nephew returns; the spell has indeed been broken.

 

 

 

 I can't wait to watch my Nutcracker Ballet DVD with a lovely warm drink and treats on Christmas Eve! :) xx 

 

 

 

The Orchard Book of Stories from the Ballet

A beautiful new edition of a classic ballet story collection.  Travel to the magical Land of Sweets across the Lemonade Ocean in The Nutcracker; be dazzled by the magical Firebird with her flame-bright feathers; and dance until the clock chimes midnight with Cinderella and her handsome prince.  Master storyteller Geraldine McCaughrean retells these classic tales with poetry and magic, while renowned artist Angela Barrett's exquisite illustrations dance off the page.

I love all the ballets, they are magical!  I also love Angela Barrett's gorgeous illustrations.  She is a wonderful illustrator! This book is lovely! :) xx

Cinderella Birmingham Royal Ballet

 

 

Neglected and abused by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella’s life is one of drudgery and hardship. Then, on the evening of an extravagant ball at the palace, amidst swirling, magical mists, her Fairy Godmother appears and casts a spell that will change her life forever.

 

 

 

 

 

Arriving at the ball in a beautiful dress, Cinderella draws everyone’s eyes to her, including those of the handsome Prince. He sweeps her off her feet and they dance the night away, until the clock chimes midnight and the party comes to an abrupt end.

 

 

 

 

Thrust back into her miserable existence, Cinderella can only dream of what might have been, until an unexpected royal visitor comes to her home, searching the land for the mysterious owner of a jewelled slipper...

 

 

 

 

This is a wonderful and magical ballet! xx