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The Colorado Ballet keeps getting better and better, and this show proves that they can try something new and daring and do it well. It was certainly unusual and not classical ballet, but the dancing was first rate. The music was good and the choreography was excellent.
This ballet could have been compressed into two acts with one intermission. That said, the first act is FAR TOO LONG!!!!! It could have been told in 35 to 45 minutes and still have been too long. The music in the first act is schizophrenic, overbearing and tedious. The staging lacks the oomph of the Nutcracker and the dance is far more interpretive dance than ballet. The first act drones on and on an is filled with no passion or heart. It is dark and boring. But then comes the second act. Spectacular! Beautiful! Marvelous! The dancing is superb, the interaction between Belle and the Beast is perfect and interesting and most importantly, easy for even a six year old to follow. The music in the second act becomes beautiful and almost Tchaikovsky-esque. The third has brief moments of the schizoid music from the first act, but overall is a great ending to the ballet. If you can make it through the first act, the second and third are worth it! The reviewer for the Denver Post must have left after the first act. I can only recommend the ballet as a whole because of the 2nd and 3rd acts. Had the whole performance followed the pattern of the first act... One star and not recommendable.
Although the Beast was not as frightening as his castle, the overlay of growls was a neat effect and the shaggy mane was awesome. The Asian undertones in the music and sets created a different delight to this intense tale, and I was glad it did not include singing candelabras. Dana Benton was wonderful as Belle. As always, CB's dancing was synchronized and artistically beautiful - a great performance. My daughter and her friend loved it - we had a lovely girls' day out!
Beauty and the Beast was a great ballet! Didn't know what to expect but the dancing was good. Very theatrical...
Absolutely magnificent. Act II is unsurpassable. The emotions depicted by the dancers was phenomenal.
I must admit after reading the reviews in the newspaper, I was not expecting the best performance. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this ballet. It flowed beautifully. The music was wonderful. The dancing superb. The recorded parts of the performance were not intrusive at all and added to the performance. I am not one to see things twice very often, but I would see this one again. I am also a big fan of Dracula and hope it returns to the Colorado Ballet. I have seen that one three times.
I had read Kyle McMillan's review in the Denver Post so going into the performance on February 28th I had some reservations. However, it was fabulous - the music was terrrifc and the dancing was so fluid and meaningful. I had no problems with Hercules flexing his bicepts. It is important that the dancers convey the emotional side of their characters and his conceit really came out. You cannot beat the titles that are now available for ballet. It helps keep yothe story line on track. In my mind I would rank Beauty up there with Dracula - very different, dark kind of story with suspense and great dancing. No the usual Disney-esque production some parents were expecting. The sets were quite inventive and some moments reminded me of a Julie Taymor production. A great, great , piece of theater. How lucky we are to have such an accomplished ballet company. Kudos to all!
The first 1/3 of the ballet dragged a little and the music was dreadful. I thought the sets were fantastic and some of the costumes extremely clever and beautiful (forest wild boars, bushes, cloaked candle holders, doors of the castle, etc.). However the dancing left a little to be desired and the story did drag. Also we had TERRIBLE seats. We were nose bleed, on the side: everyone had to lean forward in their seats in order to see! Even tall people could not see! These seats should not even be sold. I also wish more of the performance had been accompanied by the mini-live orchestra. Half piped in music and half live was rather distracting. Sincerely, Sushi
Outstanding performance, great choreography, stage design and music, we loved it!
Beauty & the Beast was beautiful. The story was well told and the set design was wonderful.
Great performance - costumes were great and so was the visual effects.
To begin, I travel over 300 miles to see attend the Colorado Ballet. I choose to attend a matinee performance for travel reasons. This is the second matinee in the last two productions that the experience was ruined by unruly children and ushers who seated people 30 minutes into the performance. This is without question rude and demeaning to the company. I may not attend another performance of the Colorado Ballet for these reasons. It is almost as close to attend Ballet West in Salt Lake City. There is a reason why the patronage has dropped, not only economic, but the lack of professionalism of the staff of Ellie Caulkins Opera House and that of parents who do not control their children before, during, and after the performance. The ballet was well staged and the troupe performed well. There were several lapses of consistency in the choreography. A little more imagination in the forest scenes would have gone a long way. Using the aerial ballet at the end was effective. I would have liked to see more of this beautiful technique throughout the performance. I would recommend attending this production, but only in the evening when I assume children are in bed.
Very Good! My 6-year old absolutely loved it! Way to go.
Because I had heard the ballet performance of Beauty and the Beast would be "mesmerizing" for children, and because my children really enjoyed the Colorado Ballet's performance of the Nutcracker last December, I took my children to see Beauty and the Beast (3 kids, 7 or older). The production started off so slow that it was painful; I kept wondering if I was in the wrong ballet. It picked up toward the end, but my children did not enjoy it, and couldn't wait for it to end. This is great for adults; kids over 12 may also enjoy it.
Enjoyed every minute. Dancers were fabulous. Correography was amazing Good story telling. Not for under 10 yrs old
Wonderful lighting, scenery, choreography, costumes. The dancers were very expressive and energetic.
I've been a ballet attendee for the past 20 years. Beauty and the Beast was lovely, although the beginning "the creditors come collecting" was too long almost to the point of ho-hum while the ending "love and compassion saves the day" was too short and ended too fast. I attended the 2:00 mid-afternoon. Some of the supporting dancers were late - not in sync - the girls did not move as one. One of the male dancers appeared confused and then caught up. I thought the male dancers moved better in one flow together than even the dancers playing Belle's sisters. I would have like to have seen more conformity; a better fluid of movement. Dana Benton - superb. Igor Vassine - superb. Dmitry Trubchanov was outstanding and made the character very memorable. Janelle Cooke was excellent.
An average performance of an average ballet. Might want to save your money for a different ballet.
Great overall. A little slow at first. The second and third acts were great. Though it's based off of a children's story, I would not recommend this for very young children, as the stroy line is not explicit and might be difficult for them to follow. Overall, I was very impressed with the choreography and music.
A little dar sometimes scary for children. You definately need to explain the fairy tale version, instead of the Disney version.
