Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a ballet by Christopher Wheeldon

Christopher Wheeldon

Christopher Wheeldon is an international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Born in Somerset, England, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of 8. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18...

 with a scenario by Nicholas Wright

Nicholas Wright

Nicholas or Nick Wright may refer to:* Sir Nicholas Wright , English academic* Nick Wright , English footballer* Nick Wright , English footballer...

. It was commissioned by The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, and the National Ballet of Canada

National Ballet of Canada

The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...

 and had its premiere Monday, February 28th, 2011. The music by Joby Talbot

Joby Talbot

Joby Talbot is a British composer.Born in Wimbledon, London, Talbot studied composition at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Brian Elias and Simon Bainbridge....

 is the first full-length score (1 hour 40 minutes) for the Royal Ballet in 20 years.

The work is based on Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...

's well-known children's story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...

. Wheeldon was attracted by the physicality of the characters and the perfect central role for a ballerina: "The Royal Ballet already has a wealth of full-blooded ballets. I wanted to create something lighter and more friendly." He chose Lauren Cuthbertson

Lauren Cuthbertson

Lauren Cuthbertson is an English ballerina and a Principal of the Royal Ballet in London, England.-Biography:Lauren Cuthbertson was born in Devon, England...

for the lead role of Alice as someone who could "captivate the audience and make them believe in Alice." As for the music, Talbot explained that he "wanted to find a new sound, the right timbre for Wonderland." His orchestral score has a large percussion section and four female voices.

Reviews

The premiere was well received by the audience although some reviewers commented on an excessively long first act. Wheeldon's choreography sometimes had to fight for attention, given all the special staging effects. Joby Talbot's exhuberant score was credited with providing sophisticated, danceable music with vividly descriptive melodies. Lauren Cuthbertson's performance was said to be "alert, funny and deliciously un-twee". Writing in The Telegraph, Sarah Crompton sums it all up: "Wheeldon’s Alice will undoubtedly be hugely popular; it’s colourful, enjoyable fun. But it needed a little more dance and a little less action to take its place alongside those English story ballets the choreographer himself so admires.".