Matthew Bournes'- The Car Man May 21 2015

Check out my review at Practically Perfect Mums of Matthew Bournes The Car Man. A modern ballet with some adult themes and hard hitting scenes. Fabulous dancing though!!

A complete contrast to English National Ballets' My First Swan Lake at the Bristol Hippodrome, which I took my daughters (5 and 8) to see a couple of weeks ago. They have a narrator, which explains to the children what is happening in the story. It was a great way to get the children to engage with the ballet. It was also only 1hr 20mins, a much more manageable length!  I will certainly be booking up for next years My First Sleeping Beauty. 

The first ballet I saw as a child aged 11 was Ondine, also at the Bristol Hippodrome. It was the tale of a sea nymph, Ondine,  who captures a young Prince called Palemon. Rather like a balletic version of The Little Mermaid! It was magical. The part of Palemon was played by a young Anthony Dowell, who later went on to become Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet. 

I will always remember seeing this ballet and still have the poster I bought as a souvenir!