SCOTTISH Ballet present their spectacular Cinderella this winter, taking the classic tale to Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Newcastle in January after a December run at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre.
Directed by Scottish Ballet’s artistic director Christopher Hampson, the run follows its European premiere in 2015 which saw Bethany Kingsley-Garner acclaimed for her performance as the put-upon girl who longs to go to the ball.
The principal dancer again takes up the role this festive season, during which Scottish Ballet say they will get through around 600 pairs of pointe shoes. The last production before the company celebrate their 50th birthday next year, they are holding an appeal for the shoes, a pair of which costs £40.
As Cinderella, Kingsley-Garner will need three pairs per evening, one for each of the production’s three acts.
“Acts one and three need softer shoes as there’s a lot more running around, while act two needs a harder shoe,” says Kingsley-Garner from Scottish Ballet’s HQ in Glasgow’s Pollockshields, the dancer’s “home-from-home”.
“There’s a lot of pas de deux in that act, lots of partnering and balancing, and the shoes go through a lot.”
To coincide with the appeal, Kingsley-Garner visited the Freed factory in Norwich where highly skilled makers craft the shoes using satin from Scotland and classic techniques tailored to each dancer.
“They make the same shoes Margot Fonteyn would have worn, from scratch, by hand, which is very unusual in 2018,” says Kingsley-Garner, who met her own personal maker at the factory.
Rather than names, each maker “signs” the shoes with a symbol. The man had been making shoes for Kingsley-Garner since the dancer began training at the Royal Ballet in London at the age of 11.
“He made my first pair of shoes for me, and I’ve been in the job almost the same amount of time that he has,” she says. “I put shoes on for him and he could see what his craftsmanship does to my feet, and my confidence on stage. I even tried turning one of the shoes and it’s very difficult. To have that connection there, to put a face to my maker, was wonderful.”
As well as Cinderella, Kingsley-Garner is currently rehearsing for Scottish Ballet’s forthcoming digital season and Helen Pickett’s adaptation of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, set for the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2019.
She’s already preparing for the two-month run which will see her dance for three hours each night.
“For Christmas season you have to factor in the length of tour and the cold,” she says. “You need to boost your immune system months in advance. The last thing you want is your dancing being affected because you’re unwell. A few weeks before we go into the theatre, I start running late at night, as that’s when the performances happen, when we’re used to eating our tea and watching Strictly Come Dancing.”
Just as important is the less arduous task of sewing ribbons on to the shoes, which Kingsley-Garner likes to do herself.
“If I’m speedy I can sew a shoe in half an hour,” she says. “It’s therapeutic, like a tennis player sorting out their rackets.”
Dec 8 to Dec 30, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, various times, £29 to £42. Jan 4 to Jan 12, Theatre Royal, Glasgow; Jan 16 to Jan 19, His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen; Jan 23 to Jan 26, Eden Court, Inverness. www.scottishballet.co.uk
You can donate to the shoe appeal at bit.ly/CinderellaShoeAppeal
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