Moscow Ballet, La Classique Sleeping Beauty Baycourt Theatre
With the torrential rain and darkened skies on Saturday, what better afternoon escape than to settle snuggly in Baycourt for the matinee of Moscow Ballet La Classique, Sleeping Beauty, on tour in New Zealand.
No matter how well you think you remember afairy tale, each telling of it adds something. Sleeping Beauty has been through many incarnations from book to film over the years, with Angelina Jolie giving it a 21st century Disney makeover recently in the movie Maleficent.
The challenge with ballet is to tell a complex story without words, using the sets, costumes and, of course, expressive dance, and Tchaikovsky's popular symphonic score. With an audience ranging from aspiring young ballerinas and ballet mums to an older crowd, the dancers were able to captivate the young while also appealing to ballet connoisseurs.
The scene was set for the fight between good and evil in the opening act, where lavish costumes and whimsical fairies in bright tutus gather to celebrate the birth of Princess Aurora. Suddenly enters the evil fairy Carabosse, who curses Aurora to prick a finger and die. The outcome of the curse was reduced by the intervention of the good Lilac Fairy, and the princess falls into a sleep for 100 years, destined to be awakened by a handsome prince's kiss.
The principal soloist who danced Aurora was outstanding - particularly in the second Art's sleep sequence where she dances with Prince Desire in a mirage. The group scenes were mesmerising with dancers achieving split-second timing to the rich score.
You do not have to be a ballerina to love this lavish performance and lush music, which magically bring to life one of our most-loved tales.
