Customer Reviews

Cinderella Ballet [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an excellent performance and presentation, empasizing very precise, virtuosic dancing. Since the choreography for this and most of the classical repertoire is not set in stone, it suffices to say that the choreography here is intersesting, lively, and virtuosic. A good sense of humor is important in this ballet and it comes across very nicely here(after all, they have the word "Comic" in their name!). Since there is not much competition in Cinderella dvds, this qualifies as the best around(but it is excellent in its own right!).

...you'll love this recording. Even if you don't love ballet you may enjoy it. I have had friends borrow it who normally would never watch ballet and tell me they enjoyed it. Believe it or not I bought this as a gift for my husband while I was trying to track down a copy of La Cenerentola. It wasn't what I expected (my fault) but we were anything but disappointing.

This is really not very good, I'm afraid. The choreograpy is inept minus, the sets almost non-existent, the studio in which the ballet was filmed far too small, and the handsome prince nudging forty (Roland Gawlick, incidenally, View Videos, not Gatwick as you list him on the sleeve!) Hannelore Bey, as a charming, rather gamin Cinderella, is the film's saving grace. The score is heavily cut, and the choreographer's mis-treatment of the Waltz of the Stars has to be seen to be mis-believed. Otherwise it has historical interest as a souvenir of pre-Glasnost Soviet influened East German production values, but not
much else going for it. Save your money!

Here is a feast for anyone who enjoys good dancing. Roland Gatwick has complete control of his art. Hannelore Bey is light and airy. The filming is not as good as it could be. Too much close-up work. Despite this, it is a wonderful production.

The focus here is on comedy. This version of Cinderella tells the story, but the concentration is not on the dancing. Cinderella is played by someone who seems an okay dancer, but isn't a very good actress. If you are looking for highly choregraphed ballet, this is not the thing you want. The dancing seems at best secondary. There are some amusing moments here. The Prince, searching for the girl who left the slipper, mounts what is like a playground horse, and goes nowhere really, just bounces up and down on it. If you don't care about the lack of dancing, you'll probably enjoy this