The evening show from Kate Simmons Productions (Warrington), was an evening in three parts. To start the evening was a showcase from KS Dance. Nine numbers were presented in total, starting with a 'Lady Marmalade / Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend ' mash-up from 'Moulin Rouge', and finishing with Queen's 'Somebody To Love' sung by Cara Rees and an all-singing / dancing ensemble. Most if not all of the items in this section I had already seen before in KS Dance's last showcase at this theatre in February. The amount of budding talent and ability on display is awe-inspiring and amazing, and I enjoyed watching these items a second time.
The rest of the evening was devoted to classical ballet, and before the interval, a condensed version of 'The Red Shoes'. I don't know who composed all the music for this ballet, but I recognised some of the music as being by Claude Debussy. Therefore the music was not written specifically for this ballet, but rather, the music had been chosen to accompany this adaptation of the story.
With choreography by Amanda Gilliand, Tracey Moss, and Emma Jackson, the story unfolded easily and effectively, and even if you did not know the story beforehand, one was able to follow it without difficulty. After all, the main purpose of ballet is to tell a story through the medium of dance; and therefore if one doesn't understand the story, the dancers have failed. The second aim of classical ballet is grace and poise, elegance and beauty of line, and again, that requirement was fulfilled here with proficiency. Ruby Webster played the young girl Karen, fascinated with and desperately wanting a pair of beautiful red shoes made by a local tradesman (Adam Pritchard), and was taken on her journey of avarice, happiness, and (because this is a tragic story) death, by a talented ensemble of villagers, circus performers, angels, etc etc. Webster danced with skill and proved to be a most worthy protagonist as her body balanced the precision and poise required for the dancing and the gait and emotions required for the acting with seeming ease.
And finally, after the interval, and we came back to watch the title piece of this evening's presentation; a classical ballet of 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'. This time using the music of Hector Berlioz [I wonder what the fascination with French composers is?], and choreographed by Kate Simmons, Amanda Gilliand, Shaun McLaughlin, and Simon Horrill, this was an adaptation of the famous Lewis Carroll novel which has delighted youngsters for generations.
Again, the dancing was truly first class, and not only did we understand the story, but we also got a flavour of the temperaments and characters on display, from a highly energetic but frustrated White Rabbit (danced with aplomb by Oisin Middleton), to the "Off-With-His-Head" nastiness of the Queen Of Hearts (Simon Horrill). I loved the Caterpillar - a long train of dancers holding on to each other. Such a simple idea but hugely effective. However, the idea of drowning the dormouse was less effective in this version. I liked using the arm as the long neck for the flamingos, this looked brilliant, although I pity those dancers having to hold their arms up for such a long time!
Costuming was excellent, as was the set design; especially at the start of this ballet which gave perspectives from Alice's point of view, with doors and keys etc. This was clever and worked well, as did the following sequence of the gushing water. Lighting and sound worked well and, the story unfolded with a whole ensemble of chorus, cameos, and smaller principal roles, all of whom were excellently chosen and danced superbly. No wonder this was left until last, as it was indeed the company's showpiece.
Elegant, graceful, and completely en pointe; this was both magical and dramatic, and superbly realised.
Kate Simmons Productions continue to deliver professionally produced, highly entertaining, and high quality shows, performed by some extremely talented and dedicated dancers / artistes.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 1.4.23
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