Singapore Dance Theatre’s Sleeping Beauty
PUBLISHED March 3rd, 2015 04:00 pm | UPDATED June 24th, 2020 12:43 am
Singapore Dance Theatre kicks off its 2015 season with Sleeping Beauty, a ballet often considered as the pinnacle of classical repertoire. Featuring choreography by Marius Petipa, Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) will bring this beloved fairytale to life at the Esplanade Theatre from 12 to 15 March 2015.
The Story
Sleeping Beauty was the first fairy tale in the Mother Goose collection by the French writer Charles Perrault in 1697. If you’ve watched Disney’s 1959 animated feature, you’d know the story begins the christening of a long-wished-for princess (Princess Aurora) for the King and Queen. Fairies are invited from far and wide as godmothers to offer gifts, such as beauty, wit, and musical talent, to the baby girl.
But a social faux pas by the King – all but the evil fairy Carabosse were invited – caused her to curse Aurora to prick her finger on a spindle and die on her 16th birthday. But the good Lilac Fairy comes to the rescue, and reduces the curse to 100 years of sleep.
A 100 years later, the dashing Prince Florimund stumbles upon the old castle where Aurora slumbers. He kisses her, breaking the spell. The ballet ends with a grand finale – the wedding scene.
SDT’s Sleeping Beauty
In a legendary demonstration of passion, Tchaikovsky composed the entire score of Sleeping Beauty for the Imperial Ballet at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater in only 40 days. First performed January 3, 1890, the now-classic ballet was originally created by Ivan Vsevolozhsky and choreographed by Marius Petipa.
It is believed that Sleeping Beauty is the ultimate test for any ballet company, demanding the highest level of classical technique and pushing dancers to their physical limits with many challenging solo variations and intricate corps numbers packed into a three-hour long performance.
Singapore Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director, Janek Schergen agrees, ‘Sleeping Beauty is the turning point for technique for a company, and is often considered as the finest achievement in classical ballet. Sleeping Beauty remains a production that fully demonstrates the artistic achievement and maturity of SDT on stage. This entirely classical version was first produced for the company in 2010 and was a milestone moment for the company at the time. In the 5 years since bringing Sleeping Beauty to the stage, it more and more reflects what SDT has become today, in terms of confidence and authority in classical ballet productions in our repertoire. The sets and costumes, by Tracy Grant Lord, and the magnificence of Marius Petipa’s original vision, remain a testament to why the ballet remains such a strong and memorable part of our ever growing repertoire.’
This is the third time the SDT is performing this ballet. Every time performance sees minor changes made to the production, but overall, it is sticks to its original version. ‘You don’t change ‘Sleeping Beauty”, says Janek Schergen, ‘It changes you, as a dancer and as a ballet company.”
Reprising their roles are principal dancers Chihiro Uchida and Rosa Park as Princess Aurora, Kenya Nakamura and Chen Peng as Prince Florimund, and Emma Hanley Jones as Carabosse. The ballet will also see Li Jie and Elaine Heng performing as the Lilac Fairy for the first time.
With its awe-inspiring opulence and outstanding choreography, Sleeping Beauty is set to turn heads this year. Be spellbound by one of the most famous ballets in the classical repertoire!
Sleeping Beauty by the Singapore Dance Theatre will be at the Esplanade Theatre from 12 to 15 March 2014. For tickets and more information, please see SISTIC and Singapore Dance Theatre.
All Images: Nicolethen Studio
