SENSITIVE, bullied, put-upon and exploited to the limits of her endurance… only a heart hewn from granite could fail to be moved by this Cinders.
Oh yes. For Elisha Willis wears her rags like a mantle, bringing such gravitas to the role that it is hard to imagine anyone else in the future being remotely capable of following in the dainty footsteps of that particular silver slipper.

She projects a vulnerable, child-woman ambience as her perfect footwork is mirrored by what must be one of the most expressive female faces in ballet today.
For this is a simply superb spectacle. And when Iain Mackay’s Prince sweeps on to the stage, the final piece of this magical jigsaw is complete as the pair glide with a dazzling synchronicity that brings gasps of approval from a crowd that has already surrendered its collective soul to the vision unfolding before them.

There are many who would suppose that the fairytale is mere fantasy, yet nothing could be further from the fact. For such stories are actually distillations of the truth, the notion that bad luck can so often change and there are people out there who will look after you – hence Victoria Marr’s angelic, other-worldly study of the Fairy Godmother.
And like the many lifts we see throughout the night, we in turn are uplifted by the sheer optimism of the tale.
However, stark contrast is provided in riotous abundance by the sour old sisters, a chalk and cheese pair played by Samara Downs and Carol-Anne Millar. There grotesqueness is really about vanity and delusion rather than ugliness, and Skinny and Dumpy soon start to generate plenty of laughs as they make utter fools of themselves at the ball.

Meanwhile, Marion Tait as the wicked stepmother maintains that licking -lemon-juice-off-a-nettle look throughout, some welcome relief from this bulldog visage being provided by the delectable seasons, stunning routines courtesy of Momoko Hirata, Laetitia Lo Sardo, Angela Paul and Delia Mathews.
Nevertheless, David Bintley’s serenely beautiful choreography would not be complete without the haunting designs of John F MacFarlane, in turn brought to life by David A Finn’s ethereal lighting.
The dark despair of the kitchen finds its stark counterpoint when the glass coach appears and Cinderella is taken to the ball, a dazzling brightness that feasts the soul as well as the eyes.
And complementing these magnificent scenes as only they know how is the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, in the ever-safe hands of conductor Koen Kessels.
Cinderella runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome until December 9 and - believe me - is an absolute must-see.