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Mary Jessie Floor March 24, 2017 Dance-2100 Ballet Performance Analysis Ballet West's Sleeping Beauty

First premiered by the Imperial Ballet at the Marisnky Theatre in St. Petersburg Russia in 1890, the story of The Sleeping Beauty was presented to the world. With the original music composed by Russian composer, Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty is considered the most famous piece of classical repertoire in ballet. Professional ballet company, Ballet West, based in Salt Lake City, Utah first debuted the classic in the United States in 1986 under former Artistic Director Bruce Marks. In 2007; current Artistic Director Adam Sklute created his own version of the ballet that has been a favorite of audience members for ten years. The Sleeping Beauty begins as a prologue with three acts that follow. The prologue is the christening of Princess Aurora. Before the curtain rises, the beautiful and mesmerizing music of Tchaikovsky play a lullaby to the ear. This beginning sound will remain throughout the whole ballet and is recognized as Tchaikovsky’s proudest musical work with his most complex scores and developed themes and motifs. When the curtain lifts, the stage is set in the palace of the King and Queen whom have invited all the Fairies of the land to the christening of their daughter, Aurora. Immediately, the audience is presented with beautiful costumes, vivid colors, and magical scenery. As the Fairies present their gifts to Princess Aurora, giving her the qualities of kindness, joy, temperament, and beauty, they fill the stage with grace and excitement. Each fairy greatly personified their characters and qualities. The fairies danced with fluidity creating a

whimsical appearance, as if they were weightless. The peaceful atmosphere of the christening suddenly changes when an uninvited guest, Carabosse, the fairy of jealousy arrives. Played by Principal Artist, Emily Adams, she is in rage because the hosts had neglected inviting her so she casts an evil spell on Aurora: that one day she will unexpectedly prick her finger on a spindle and die. Emily Adams was fierce and precise in her movements, perfectly presenting the evil character of Carabosse. Even in her eyes, you could tell she was an evil character. When she appeared on stage, she was surrounded by her evil minions who tormented the party guests. The minion Beasts played by Ballet West artists were comical and exciting to watch as they frolicked among the stage pulling tricks. At this moment in time, the party guests are in much despair until the Lilac Fairy, played by First Soloist Allison DeBona, good sister of Carabosse, arrives and modifies her sister’s wicked spell. The Lilac Fairy danced with elegance and total control of her body’s movements as if she were lightly suspended into the air. Instead of Aurora dying, she will fall into a deep slumber and can only be awaken by the kiss of her true love. The first act, The Spell, then follows. It is the day of Princess Aurora’s sixteenth birthday and many young people of the land have brought flower garlands to show their appreciation and waltz around the stage graciously with the music. The act opens with a group of children dancers carrying their gifts into the palace. As the luxurious waltz music plays, they create interweaving patterns and formations while their faces are illuminated with joy. Meanwhile in the background, two old women are suspiciously knitting a “gift” for the princess. Two guards interrupt the festivities to arrest them. As the women are exited off the stage by the guards, the quickly reveal their true identities to the audience (Carabosse and her minion) with mischievous grins. Moments later, the joyous atmosphere resumes as different princes from four corners of the world come to

ask for her hand in marriage. This marks the well-known moment in the ballet of The Sleeping Beauty as she dances with each of her handsome bachelors. Princess Aurora, performed by Principal Artist Beckanne Sisk beautifully executed the character of Aurora: timid yet beautiful and precious. Sisk held each balance perfectly after each attitude promenade. What was most impressive about Beckanne Sisk in her portrayal of Aurora is that even though the ballet has a high technical demand, she never once let go of Aurora’s character. Just moments after Aurora continues dancing joyously around the stage with the roses given to her by her admirers, she pricks her finger on a spindle that was hidden in a bouquet and collapses. The guests fear for the princess and the stage is filled with anger and sadness as Aurora is taken off the stage. The Lilac Fairy then arrives, adorned in her beautiful lilac purple tutu encrusted with jewels, puts all the people into a peaceful sleep and encloses the kingdom in branches. The curtain then rises to reveal the second act, The Vision, when Prince Desire, performed by Principal Artist Rex Tilton, is leading a hunting party in the forest a hundred years later. The Fairies appear and present him with a vision of the beautiful Princess Aurora and lead him to the hidden castle where she lay. Although the evil Carabosse and her minions have been guarding the kingdom, the Lilac Fairy abolishes the evil and lets the prince pass. As Prince Desire enters the palace, the sleeping beauty is shown and he then kisses her, causing the spell to break and Carabosse to forever vanish. The third and final act, The Wedding, celebrates the marriage of Princess Aurora to Prince Desire. The entire court is filled with many wedding guests who present their story to the audience. In this act, the Bluebird and Prince Florine emerge played by Soloists Jenna Rae Herrera and Tyler Gum. Both artists performed their roles with excitement and precision. Bluebirds requires a great amount of detail to the lower body while being quick. Gold and Silver,

performed by artists Gabrielle Salvatto and Chelsea Keefer were also beautiful solos despite their level of technical difficulty. The whole stage was brought to life with the many characters who arrived such as Beauty and The Beast, Mother Goose and The Good Little Mouse, Little Ridding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, and The Frog Prince and Princess Fanny. Along with these characters were also Puss-in-Boots and The White Cat. This moment in The Sleeping Beauty ballet is one of the most popular for its comical duet as it always seems to coax a smile on each audience member’s face. Artist Elizabeth Weldon performed the role of the White Cat. She brought the character to life with her cat-like movements and facial expressions. The final act ends with a grand pas de deux of Prince Desire and Princess Aurora. The overall execution and technique were brilliant on the part of both principal artists. Moments of embrace shared between the two dancers truly emphasized their love for one another. The brilliant pas de deux was also filled with exhilarating moves, especially being the fish dive in which the prince caught her in impeccable time. Aurora’s beauty was furthermore eventuated by her glistening grown and wedding tutu. Each partnered turning sequence was precisely coordinated and impressive. It was easily seen that each artist worked with one another for countless hours in the studio in order to one day flawlessly perform it on stage. Beckanne Sisk performed her wedding solo of the third act with superb grace so much so that it looked completely effortless. Her timing and musicality was excellent as she danced with the live orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s timeless music. The Sleeping Beauty presented by Ballet West filled the Capitol Theatre with magic. The classic story of Princess Aurora and the spindle spell was furthermore brought to life through Adam Sklute’s rendition. Being the epitome of a classical ballet, The Sleeping Beauty is one that requires dancers to transform into characters, in which Ballet West executed excellently.