Catch a ballet retelling of the classic tale, complete with the three bears, foxes and forest fairies
Apeksha Bhattacharyya with students at a rehearsal before the musical
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You've probably read the story of Goldilocks, the naughty little flaxen-haired girl who wandered through a forest and landed up in a house belonging to three bears. While they were away, she ate Baby Bear's porridge, broke a chair, and proceeded to take a nice, long nap until the bears came home and discovered her.
If you enjoyed the story as a child, this weekend, you can watch a retelling of the classic, where the students of city-based Indian Academy of Russian Ballet will perform a ballet enactment of the fairy tale.
A student putting on her ballet shoes
Ninety-five students are part of the production, with the youngest being four years old, and the oldest a girl of 20. "The little ones will play the elves, forest fairies, trees and flowers that Goldilocks encounters, while dancers between eight and 10 years will portray the foxes that accompany her to the bears' house," says Apeksha Bhattacharyya, founder of the two-year-old academy. The older kids, who have been training for several years now, will play the lead roles.
Bhattacharyya says that although preparations for the musical began in July last year, they didn't have a specific story in mind until a few months ago. "The initial plan was to just have a series of different performances, because pieces like Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet require a high level of prowess, and the kids haven't reached there yet."
Keira Munim, who plays Goldilocks, tries on a wig at the rehearsal
However, the plan changed this March, when Bhattacharyya decided she wanted the audience to experience an entire story through ballet. "Ballet is, after all, a story told through music and dance. First, we thought we'd go with Snow White, but we didn't have anyone to play the prince, as all the students are girls. So, we chose the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears," she says.
They had no reference material; the only major ballet production based on this story was performed by US-based Northern Ballet, which has not shared the choreography online. This meant going at it from scratch, with the narrative, choreography, and rehearsals coming together in a span of three months.
Bhattacharyya says, "We are excited about this performance, which is why we opened it to public. We wanted more people, beyond just the families and friends of our students, to be a part of it."
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