CLASSIC BALLET - Young dancer Đỗ Hoàng Khang Ninh of HBSO will perform Cinderella in the classic ballet Cinderella which will be staged at the Opera House on June 1 and 2 to celebrate International Children’s Day. Photo courtesy of HBSO

HCM CITY – The HCM City Ballet, Symphony Orchestra and Opera will stage the classic ballet Cinderella at the Opera House on June 1 and 2 to celebrate International Children’s Day.

The ballet is based on folk tale Cinderella composed by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev between 1940 and 1944.

Cinderella is about a young woman living with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. Then she meets her Fairy Godmother and her life changes miraculously.

The ballet’s premiere was choreographed by Rostislav Zakharov and conducted by Yuri Fayer in 1945 at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre.

It has inspired thousands of ballet performances around the world.

The ballet was first performed by HBSO in 2013. It was choreographed by Norwegian Johanne Jakhelln Constant, who was the artistic director of Ballet Quad Cities (US) from 1997-2006.

The ballet will be restaged by Nguyễn Phúc Hùng, a general director in charge of HBSO's programmes, for the upcoming show.

Hùng, a graduate in choreography of Fontys Dance Academy in the Netherlands, has choreographed several contemporary dances such as Chạm Tay Vào Quá Khứ (Touching the Past), Đi Qua Tình Yêu (Gone Through Love), and Hoàng Hôn (Sunset).

The performance will feature young dancer Đỗ Hoàng Khang Ninh as Cinderella.

Ninh earned a scholarship to study with The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, and participated in cultural exchanges to Korea. She has performed in the ballets Gissele , Falling Angels and Ballet Kiều, which won the excellence award at the National Dance and Music Festival in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk in June 2022.

The production will also include Đặng Minh Hiền as the stepmother, Nguyễn Đức Hiếu as Prince Charming, La Mẫn Nhi as the Fairy Godmother, and dancers from HBSO Ballet and the HCM City Dance School.

The show will begin at 8pm at 7 Lam Sơn Square in District 1. Tickets can be purchased at the venue. VNS