On Friday 5th July 2019

Esther and I were invited to London

To one of our favourite theatres

To see London Children’s Ballet perform

Ballet Shoes

London Children’s Ballet was founded in 1994

To give talented young dancers

The opportunity to perform

In a professional ballet production

Every year over 700 children audition to join London Children’s Ballet

The 60 children who go on to be cast in the company’s productions

Are given 100 hours of free ballet training culminating in the chance to perform

In a professionally created ballet on a west end stage

The organisation does not discriminate on grounds of height, shape or income

Dancers are selected purely on their ability

London Children’s Ballet fundraises year-round to ensure that it is

Able to offer its unique opportunity to all of its young dancers

Regardless of their circumstances

Dame Darcey Bussell, Patron of London Children’s Ballet

Summed up the company’s mission:

‘To dance on a stage is the dream for so many young dance students. Unfortunately, few get this opportunity, which is one reason why London Children’s Ballet is so important. It gives children the chance to be part of a youth company, to be chosen for their talent regardless of shape, size or financial background.’

Esther and I were very excited to see Ballet Shoes

It is a book that I loved as a child

I have never been a dancer

I did spend much of my childhood on stage though

I played Louise in The Sound of Music when I was 8

The age that Esther is now

When I was not rehearsing or performing

I had my nose in a book

Now my own eldest daughter is 8

Almost 9

She is a dancer

She does Ballet, Jazz, Acro and Musical Theatre

I knew that she would love the story of Ballet Shoes

We read the book together

Listened to the BBC audio adaptation

And we also watched the film

On the day of going to the theatre to see the ballet

We spent the day in Kensington

Walking along Cromwell Road

And visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum

Just as the Fossil sisters used to do

In Ballet Shoes

Ballet Shoes tells the story of the Fossil sisters

Pauline, Petrova and Posy

The three sisters are adopted in the 1930s by an eccentric explorer

Great Uncle Matthew

Who delivers them into the care of his niece and a no-nonsense housekeeper

Then promptly disappears

When hard times come

The determined girls decide to seek their fortune by joining a stage school

With intentions of acting and dancing their way into the history books

This may be bliss for Pauline and Posy

But Petrova dreams only of tinkering with motor cars and flying in an aeroplane

As the little family grows up

Each girl is pulled to follow her heart

Learning valuable life lessons along the way

Esther and I could not wait to see how the story

Would be danced on the stage

This year’s revival of Ballet Shoes

Was choreographed by ex-LCB cast member, Ruth Brill

Who is now a First Artist of Birmingham Royal Ballet

Ruth returns to London Children’s Ballet

18 years after she starred as Pauline Fossil

In the original 2001 production of Ballet Shoes

Which was choreographed by Cathy Marston

This year’s production was wonderful

Esther and I loved every moment

All the children danced beautifully

Their characterisation was wonderful

And every part big and small

Was played with energy and control

And emotion

I had been worried before the show

That Esther would struggle to follow the story

But she was entranced and enchanted

And kept telling me where we were in the book

And who was who and what was what

Esther’s favourite part of Act 1

Was the dance with Nana and Sylvia worrying that the money was gone

She said to me

They are so sad Mummy

The dancing and expression was beautiful

It was easy to forget that we were watching children

There were so many highlights throughout the evening

But for me

Theo Dane danced by Ruby Runham was stunning

I could not take my eyes off her

I loved her character

Her dancing was beautiful

And when she later played a young girl

Auditioning for Alice

The contrast with her performance as Theo Dane

Confirmed her fabulousness for me

She was brilliant!

I loved the friendship between Petrova and Mr Simpson

As we left the theatre I asked Esther which character she would like to play

She said Petrova and I think it is because Tilda Marriage Massey

Played her with such character

Posy was very Posy like

Exquisitely danced with all the sass

By Annalise Wainwright-Jones

She reminded me of my daughter Bea

Who I can totally imagine owning that role in years to come

From start to end of the ballet

There was one other

Who stole the stage every time he stepped on to it

Ruben Garcia

I don’t think I will ever forget his face

I urge you to remember his name

He oozed charm and confidence

His dancing was amazing

Awesome!

I wish my William had seen him

In each of his different roles he shone

Like the star I am certain he will one day be

His portrayal of Puck in Act 2 was magical

Breathtaking

A star of the future

I am sure of it

So charismatic

A wonderful performer

And only 11 years old!

Other highlights of Act 2

Were the character of Winifred

Danced with beautiful melancholy by Lucie Apicella-Howard

The very cute and over enthusiastic fan of Pauline

Danced with wonderful affection by Sasha-Renee Soulelli

The Tiny Fan was another of Esther’s favourites

She was an utter delight to watch

Pauline’s ‘tantrum dance’ when she loses the part of Alice to Winifred

Was utterly brilliant

Danced with power and precision

Packed with passion and emotion

A very believable performance

From the wonderful Stella Chambaud

Esther and I both felt we would liked to have seen more of Petrova in Act 2

The end of the ballet seemed to come all too soon

With Petrova and Gum flying off in their aeroplane

The performance ended to rapturous applause and a well deserved encore

A magical ballet

True to the story that so many of us know and love

Esther and I are so glad that we had the opportunity to see

London Children’s Ballet

Esther left the theatre feeling inspired to work extra hard

At her own dancing with Charlotte Hudson School of Dance

Hoping that one day she may have the chance to play a part in a ballet story

Like the amazing children we were lucky enough to see dance today

Congratulations to all the dancers in Ballet Shoes

You are making roads in the sky!

Thank you for letting us come along for the ride

We received two tickets in exchange for our honest review