BALLET

Goldilocks, porridge and ballet are coming to the capital

A musical version of Goldilocks & The Three Bears is in town

The classic tale of porridge, bears and a little girl called Goldilocks was written way back in 1837 by British author Robert Southey and it’s delighted, and occasionally terrified, kids ever since – and this month you can see a musical version of it, performed by the UK’s Northern Ballet (they’re from Leeds). Goldilocks & The Three Bears is part of the UK and UAE’s Creative Year Of Collaboration (you can read more about that on p51) and What’s On sat down with Abigail Cockrell, who plays Goldilocks in the show. How do you turn a fairytale into a 40-minute ballet? It translates well into dance. The characters are charming, the set is colourful and has an illustration feel to it, and the music is catchy and fun to dance to. Everything comes together. What will kids enjoy the most? The scenery is beautiful to look at and the characters are really fun. There is some wonderful dancing, some funny moments and the music is great. Is it a big production? It is deliberately a small production to make it accessible and easy for children to follow, and it also allows us to tour it widely and reach as many people as possible. There are six dancers in the cast, plus backstage crew. How long have you been dancing? I started ballet when I was about eight years old and trained at the University Of North Carolina School of the Arts And Pacific Northwest Ballet. I began my professional career with Sibiu Ballet Theatre in Romania and then went to the Bucharest National Opera, where I performed demi-soloist and soloist roles in ballets such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote and In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated. I joined Northern Ballet in 2016 and have performed in many different ballets, including Kenneth Tindall’s Casanova and David Nixon’s The Little Mermaid. Tell us about Northern Ballet Northern Ballet was formed in 1969 and is now based in Leeds in the north of England and we perform at more than 30 theatres every year. We also tour internationally, most recently to China in 2016. We specialise in storytelling through dance and this year we have premièred three new ballets; Casanova, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas and The Little Mermaid. What do you like about Goldilocks? I like the story because it leaves an important message for kids to be careful, and not to take what isn’t theirs. They get to learn a life lesson in a fun way by hearing, reading or watching the story. November 24

Abu Dhabi National Theatre, Al Nayhan, Abu Dhabi, Thur and Fri, timings TBC, Dhs110 to Dhs185. Tel: (04) 3042340. Taxi: next to Sky News building. artforall.ae