Northern Ballet - Three Little Pigs Tour 2013/14

[Jan McNulty]

When I walked into the foyer of Northern Ballet's HQ in Leeds today it was full of excited little children playing with a variety of pig toys and colouring in sheets.  Part of the foyer had been sectioned off as a play area with bales of straw, which made it very atmospheric.

 

Eventually we were allowed into the auditorium and the excitement rose to fever pitch!

 

I think these ballets for young children are an excellent way of promoting ballet to a young audience and, indeed, for teaching them theatre-going skills.  Before the performance started there was a delightful announcement about the house rules that was relevant and easy to understand.

 

The programme gave a good synopsis of the story (also available via the website) but it seemed very straightforward to follow the action without having read it.  (Mind you, I just about remember the story from my childhood a trillion years ago!).

 

The set is very attractive and clever in the way the houses fall down when the wolf huffs and puffs.  The choreography is straight-forward and attractive - nothing too complex to confuse the children but with enough content to please the adults.  The costumes were delightful.  The music is played live by 4 musicians and is a mix of well-known pieces starting off with "Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?".  The dancers danced with enthusiasm and

 

One of the nice things about attending this performance was how spellbound the very young children were by it.  There was oohing and aahing and it was obvious that they were all enjoying the action.

 

The performance lasts for about 40 minutes and I would highly recommend it as a treat for children young and old!