Would you like to see Cinderella performed by a male dancer?

Calendargirl

It might be a tight fit forcing a big male foot into a dainty glass slipper.🥺

Not keen, like to see things as they should be.

In Grimm's fairy tale, the ugly step-sisters were made to cut off their toes and heel by their mother, to try and get the slipper on their feet.

No. If there’s a choice, then you can choose which version to go and watch, i.e. vote with your feet.
I didn’t mind with Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, but I knew what I was going to watch, not being tricked into paying for something I didn’t want to see.

It is a traditional story and if I wanted to see it I would want to see the old,old story done the traditional way. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Rewrite another similar story if necessary but don’t call it Cinderella.

Callistemon and glorianna your quotes are not about ballet though?
I don’t much like ballet so I wouldn’t be going anyway but I don’t think everything should be changed just to be trendy and make a statement, some things just need to be left traditional

If they want to make a new ballet with male dancers that’s one thing but changing a story to shock doesn’t do it for me

If they believe in their concept, then they should have the courage of their convictions and allow potential patrons to be told what to expect. We love ballet but would not book to see a male Cinderella.

This innovation is sans point rather than en pointe….

Is there anything left for women with men taking over everything of ours?

Yes absolutely would love it

I would like to see some of it , maybe be enthralled, maybe bored , but it’s still the lovely music and costumes
I have been known to go to the loo at an interval and “ accidentally “ find the exit ! At experimental events

I can’t find any evidence that boys were called Ella or were used to clean ovens and hearths, in the time when Cinderella was originally set,
If they want to be original, rather than what could be construed as plagiarism, why not produce a new ballet/pantomime called Chimneyfella, with lots of lithe young men being cruelly treated and having to squeeze into tight spaces, then descending and whirling round en pointe (they’d have to learn to suffer that) scattering soot over stage and audience.?
Such fun!

Glorianny

Well if we did Shakespeare as it was originally meant to be there would be young men playing all the women. Reimagining and redeveloping is all part of the creative process of interpretation, performances change for all sorts oof reasons. Why not a male Cinders?

First female actor played in Othello 1660. So wrong there.

Cinderella is a strong female, so no I wouldn't waste my money ey. Why can't they think up something original, instead of changing things to suit their woke agenda. Of course they have no imaginative writers nowadays,see disney and black snow. All these years traditional fairy tales have stood the test of time, loved by all, so now into confusing children, which of course is their aim.

It wouldn't bother me personally, I quite like a surprise, but I don't see it as challenging or groundbreaking, just a bit of a novelty

Hardly a new idea.

nanna8

It is a traditional story and if I wanted to see it I would want to see the old,old story done the traditional way. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Rewrite another similar story if necessary but don’t call it Cinderella.

I am inclined to agree.

I can’t find any evidence that boys were called Ella or were used to clean ovens and hearths, in the time when Cinderella was originally set
Little boys were sent up chimneys as chimney sweeps.
Oh, he'd only be a little boy though, so no self-respecting Princess is going to take more than a passing glance at a sooty boy.

Back to the drawing board.

Ashcombe

If they believe in their concept, then they should have the courage of their convictions and allow potential patrons to be told what to expect. We love ballet but would not book to see a male Cinderella.

This innovation is sans point rather than en pointe….

I agree. If they advertised each performance as being performed by the male or the female Cinderella, then bookings would demonstrate the popularity of each concept.

I note from Caravansera's link that the dancers will be the female dressed as a female and the male dressed as a male, regardless of which role they are playing. The female dancer will either be dressed in rags or riches and the male likewise.

Glorianny you always raise Shakespeare but in Shakespeare's time they only used adolescent boys to dress and play the part of females (women being almost banned from acting) never bearded 6 foot strapping men. They were trying to create the illusion that it was indeed a female inside the costume. Shakespeare did create strong female characters but he didn't want them looking like obvious men. Orthello would have been played by a white man with makeup to portray the darker skinned Moor, would you endorse that these days?

Sparklefizz

Is there anything left for women with men taking over everything of ours?

👏 👏 👏

Will we see all the traditional female roles taken over by men?
Snow White, Sleeping Beauty perhaps.

Ailidh

I definitely would.
I remember seeing Matthew Bourne's all male Swan Lake many years ago, and it was amazing.

Yes, absolutely stunning 😍
It was the most fabulous show.

noooooooo!

Jackiest

Stereotypes always need challenging and it is about time the male female roles in life were given a kick so I would go and hope to see the male Cinderella.

I don’t think I’d call Cinderella a stereotype, just a female character. I’m not sure what Scottish Ballet are proposing ( or indeed why). Will Cinders and the prince be a same sex couple, or will both roles be reversed?

I suspect that if one to see Scottish Ballet's performance of Cinderella with a male lead one would suspend disbelief fairly quickly.

Some years ago we saw Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo in London. The programme started with the Dance of the Cygnets which was very funny. As the programme continued the dancing became more serious and by the final piece we'd forgotten that we were watching men.

Not only do they have to learn to dance in point shoes, they have to learn to dance like women.

Whenever they next come to he UK I'd recommend them. They do it very well.

Have you all forgotten that there used to be principal boys in pantos?

Seems there will be no gay Cinders!

‘ Audiences attending the production of Cinders will not know until the curtain goes up whether the main character will be a man or a woman.
One version will be traditional - with a female Cinderella being swept off her feet by her Prince Charming.
But in the other, a male Cinders will be rescued from a life of drudgery by his princess.

The female will wear the ballgown, regardless of whether she is playing Cinders or the princess that falls in love with the male Cinders.
The ballet company claims the break in tradition is a world first.
The ballet, set in a draper's store at the turn of the 20th Century, will feature an art-nouveau inspired set with the traditional score by Sergei Prokofiev.
While there will not be an LGBTQ+ coupling for Cinders, Scottish Ballet said there would be a gay love story blossoming in the background for some of the other characters.

I think it would be wonderful. A surprise. Traditional or novel. I'd love to see how the choreography uses the extra male strength.

I would prefer to know what I was paying for before going - tickets to the ballet are not cheap, and I don't like the idea of a 'surprise'.

Having said that, I don't object to the idea in principle. If I've understood correctly it is just a different take on the story, with a man as the oppressed stepchild instead of a woman? With a Princess looking for a mate and evil stepbrothers, I can't see the harm - it could be interesting.