There's a new long ballet: Cinderella - A Tragic Tale by Terence Kohler with music by the Russian born composer etc. Lera Auerbach.

The Helsingin Sanomat review was bad, but otherwise I've heard only good of it, and my Russian teacher was effervescent with enthousiasm on Wednesday. So I had great expectations when I went to see it on Thursday.

Unfortunately I was disappointed. Not that it was bad. Far from it. Actually I watched all the two hours of it spellbound. The set and the costumes were beautiful, as was the lightning. Choreography was plain and fun, although much of humour was a little too clumsy for me. The dancers were good - Nicholas Ziegler as the stepmother was a bit of a surprise when I was expecting Minna Tervamäki! The music didn't intrude - maybe that was the fault. In the programme Terence Kohler speaks of a Gesamtkunstwerk, and in the ballet everything does work wonderfully together, but somehow it lacks intensity.

So close...