PREMIERE OF CINDERELLA BY PROF. ALEXANDAR ILIC IN SKOPLJE
On the stage of the Macedonian National Opera and Ballet on Saturday 19th November 2022. was the premiere of the contemporary dance performance Cinderella – Love is in the Air by the Serbian choreographer Aleksandar Ilić, performed by the soloists and ensemble of the ballet of this art house in Skopje. Luxurious costumes, but belonging to the time in which Ilić set the story, were made by Katarina Radošević Galić, costume designer from Croatia (assistant to costume designer Angela Bogeska), set design by Filip Korunovski from Macedonia, sound design by Georg Draušnik from Croatia, and light design by Milčo Aleksandrov . Assistant choreographers are Mojca Majcen from Slovenia and Saša Evtimova, who will interpret the role of the main character Vila (Fairy).
– It is about the famous fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm, which we have placed in a contemporary choreographic setting. In the new staging performed by the Macedonian ballet, “Cinderella” is slightly moved in relation to the fairy-tale and established libretto, but in each part the originality and message of this fairy tale is preserved. When Olga Pango, the director of the ballet, invited me to do the play, she wanted us to present it to the audience in a more modern context. I am sure that we managed to preserve the characteristics of the main characters (Prince, Stepmother, sisters), but also contributed to a new aesthetic interpretation of the fairy tale – says Aleksandar Ilić.
Ilić has set the action of the play in a more recent period, more precisely in the seventies of the last century, at the time of the premiere of the film Grease with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the lead roles.
– It was a time that is most closely described by the lyrics of the famous song by Bijelo Dugme, The Bastard and the Princess, or in our case, the Princess and the hooligan. When the biggest event was going out to the school dance, or when the only imperative was socializing, love and chewing gum. By retelling the story of Cinderella in this way, we brought the fairy tale itself closer to our time, and made this work more interesting for the youth and children, our main audience. In the end, I did not deviate from the original synopsis, from Prokofiev’s music and all that are the main characteristics of this fairy tale, which is Love, and that kindness will save the world. – says Aleksandar Ilić.
In the performance of Cinderella, the actors are: Hristina Nakjevska (Cinderella), Miroslav Mitrašinović (Prince), Saša Evtimova as the main Fairy, Marija Josifovska Ristovska portrays Stepmother, there are sisters Andru Kuk and Kristijan Jangos, other fairies, women and men…
Due to the premiere’s great interest, the performance of Cinderella was sold out, and so was the first rerun, which was scheduled for November 25th on the stage of the Macedonian National Opera and Ballet.
Article taken from the POLITIKA website
Photography by Sasho Stojanovski