OKC BALLET PRESENTS
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
Oklahoma City Ballet will
perform The Sleeping Beauty February 17-19, 2017 at the Civic Center
Music Hall in Oklahoma City. This classic good-versus-evil tale is based
on the story by Charles Perrault, La Belle au Bois Dormant.
Debuting in 1890 at the
Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, The Sleeping Beauty is
known as one of the most demanding ballets to perform. Oklahoma City
Ballet Artistic Director Robert Mills will stage this cornerstone of classical
ballet repertoire by supplementing the Marius Petipa choreography that remains
from the original production with his own new choreography. The lead role
of Princess Aurora is considered one of the most difficult roles for a
ballerina in classical ballet. The role will be split, with Principal
Dancer Miki Kawamura and Soloist DaYoung Jung sharing the load. “The most
intimidating part is that this role is so definitive of classical ballet.
There’s no hiding, no cheating; you have to get it exactly right,” said
Kawamura. “It was definitely on my bucket list. I never thought I was the
Aurora type, growing up.” This will be her first time to dance the role
of Aurora.
This visually stunning ballet
tells the story of Princess Aurora, cursed by the evil Carabosse to die on her
16th birthday, when she will prick her finger on a spindle.
The spell is partially undone by the Lilac Fairy, who modifies the spell as
much as she is able so that the Princess will not die, but instead sleep for
100 years. The spell will then be broken by the kiss of a Prince. The
Lilac Fairy chooses Prince Désiré to awaken Aurora, and leads him to her.
Despite Carabosse’s attempts to foil the Prince, he arrives at the castle and
awakens the Princess.
The music for The Sleeping
Beauty was composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, one of his famous trilogy of
ballet scores (the other two are The Nutcracker and Swan Lake),
and it will be performed live by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic at all
performances. This will be the first time in more than 15 years for The
Sleeping Beauty to be performed by Oklahoma City Ballet, and marks the
first time that all three Tchaikovsky ballets have been in OKC Ballet’s
repertoire at one time.
The large cast will use the
entire company, and also a number of children from The Dance Center of Oklahoma
City Ballet. These students auditioned in September for roles in The
Sleeping Beauty.
The family-friendly classical
ballet in three acts will run in approximately 2 ½ hours.
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About Oklahoma City Ballet: Founded in 1972 by Ballet
Russe dancers Yvonne Chouteau and Miguel Terekhov, Oklahoma City Ballet has
been the city’s professional ballet company for 45 years. It is the resident
dance Company of the Civic Center Music Hall and currently boasts 45 dancers
from around the world. Led by Artistic Director Robert Mills, the Company
produces four main stage productions per season in Oklahoma City and tours
across Oklahoma and surrounding states. Oklahoma City Ballet restages the
classics in addition to neoclassical and other works of the 20th century.
It also regularly commissions new works from the industry’s leading
choreographers.
Courtesy of the Oklahoma City Ballet
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