Dance Talks | Stanton Welch’s Cinderella

Listen to this special Dance Talk as we journey back to the creation of Stanton Welch AM’s “Cinderella” with Ballet Master Steven Woodgate, the original stepsister Florinda in the 1997 premiere. Woodgate, along with Soloist Jacquelyn Long and Demi Soloist Jack Wolff, reflect on preparing for the ballet.
0:00 Welcome
1:04 Panel Introduction
4:47 The Australian Ballet 1997
6:56 Steven Woodgate on other versions of Cinderella
8:43 Steven Woodgate cast as the original Florinda and dancing en pointe
11:45 Developing Stanton Welch’s stepsisters, Grizabella and Florinda
13:25 Partnering with the stepsisters
14:47 Who are Stanton Welch’s stepsisters?
18:00 Who is Stanton Welch’s Cinderella?
21:30 Cinderella’s mother, the ghosts, and their role in the ballet
25:05 Ghost choreography
28:13 Who is the Prince?
30:32 Cinderella’s relationship with the Prince
33:47 The King’s relationship with the Prince
35:50 The Prince’s entrance
37:08 The stepsisters’ relationship with the Prince
37:45 Who is Dandini?
39:52 Dandini and Cinderella partnering
41:40 Strong women in Stanton Welch’s ballets
44:56 Audience reaction in 1997
46:37 Thoughts on the ending
47:48 Q&A
48:11 Cinderella as a “tomboy”
49:30 Cinderella’s relationship with her birth parents
51:10 Expectations and Welch’s Cinderella
56:20 Prokofiev’s Cinderella score
1:00:13 Behind the scene of a ballet master