Sleeping Beauty

Synopsis

Sleeping Beauty is the much-loved tale of a cursed princess doomed to sleep for one hundred years. However, the enchantment is finally broken with an handsome prince awakens when with a kiss.

Our Review:

31 March 2010

Dance companies have been bringing the much loved story of Sleeping Beauty to life for years. Now it’s the turn of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, who provide a performance that despite being visually stunning, is frequently unconvincing.

The classic tale tells of a young Princess, Aurora (Nao Sakuma), who, on her christening, is cursed by the evil fairy, Carabosse (Marion Tait). Under the spell, Aurora should, one day, prick her finger on a spindle and die. However, with the help of the Lilac fairy (Andrea Tredinnick), her fate is bettered, so that she will instead fall to sleep for 100 years, only to be woken by her true love’s kiss.

From beginning to end, the set, lighting and costume provide visual perfection for David Bintley’s ballet. Philip Prowse and Mark Jonathan capture the nineteenth century in all its essence. So much so that the final act's mise-en scene is  enough, alone to gain a...

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Latest User Review

Peter Rivendell - 31 March 2010:

"The dancers are beautiful and well trained, but the numerous solos mean that it often feels more like a scholarship competition than it does a performance of unison ... the ensemble undoubtedly has posture, but they spend more time decorating the stage, than they do dancing on it." Sounds like The Sleeping Beaaty was just like most traditional narative ballets then... I much prefer contemporary styles but I thought the BRB's Beauty was everything you could wish for - lavish, sumptuous, extravagantly staged and costumed and performed with enormous grace and charm and technique, while still managing to be fresh and lively - despite being as essentially formulaic as this type of traditional ballet inevitably is. Great performances from Iain Mackay, Nao Sakuma, Marion Tait and Joseph Caley. Magically wonderful....

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