It was probably one of the first ballets that was about real
people, not kings, queens or magicians; it's about a young couple on a farm and the girl's widowed, matchmaking mother.
The story is simplicity itself – boy meets girl, problems arise, boy gets girl – and it is very funny.
And fun together with a
kaleidoscope of colour, dance and music is just what the capacity audience got from Southern Youth Ballet at the Congress Theatre.
The fact that some 65 children and dancers from all over the south, representing more than 20 different dance and theatre arts schools come together to perform a full-length ballet is remarkable enough.
But consider also that for many of them this is their first opportunity to dance to live, not recorded, music; then the achievement becomes all the more wonderful.
All the cast, from the youngest aged nine to the more mature dancers, showed enjoyment in what they were doing.
The joy was infectious and happily 'caught' by the audience.
Since Liz Buckland founded Southern Youth Ballet in 1996, we have come to expect a high
standard of dance from this
company.
But now there is an added
accomplishment – crisp movement in the mime sequences and very expressive faces from the dancers/actors.
The leading characters not only danced but also acted their roles with élan and charm. Kariss Rihoy reached comedy heights as the rich but rejected suitor, Alan but did not miss the pathos of the character.
Jilly Lindley as the Widow needed merely to walk across the stage to draw forth hoots of laughter.
The rural charm of the central couple was accentuated by the acting of Danny Hay-Gordon and Judith Whitburn and their dancing, including lifts, was refreshing and sure.
Originally, La Fille Mal Gardee premiered in France two weeks before the fall of the Bastille in 1789 with music that was a
potpourri of some 50 popular French songs and airs.
Frederick Ashton's version for the Royal Ballet was unveiled at Covent Garden on January 28 1960.
It used Ferdinand Herold's music arranged by Lanchberry and the production was hailed as an English classic.
The Southern Youth Ballet Orchestra at the Congress was superb, conducted with flair and sensitivity by Kenneth Roberts.
A classic evening of dance and I for one cannot wait for the next SYB production later this year – The Nutcracker at the Congress on November 29.
PICTURED: The central couple Judith Whitburn and Danny
Hay-Gordon.