"The Sleeping Beauty"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 24, 2023
by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2023 by Mary Cargill
It is no exaggeration to say that without “The Sleeping Beauty”, ballet as we see it today would not exist. New York City Ballet’s program provides a useful outline of its importance, starting with the group around Diaghilev and without that great impresario, there would be no Balanchine, no Royal Ballet, and possibly no modern ballet at all. “The Sleeping Beauty” is more than a collection of pretty music and difficult dancing attached to a simple fairy tale, and any production should try to convey what it is about the work that has captivated so many brilliant artists over the years. Of course, the dancers should not look as if they were tiptoeing around a great cathedral, overawed by the grandeur, but they should all be part of the overarching story. That story, to me, isn’t just about a nasty guest who was overlooked, and the moral isn’t “doublecheck your list”, it illustrates, so elegantly, the importance of generosity.
Emily Kikta and Peter Walker in "The Sleeing Beauty" photo © Erin Baiano