Friday, June 20, 2014

Sleeping Beauty and the Royal Ballet


Sleeping Beauty is on everyone's minds because of "Maleficent" and I've been a little obsessed with ballet lately. The association of fairy tales with ballet is probably one of the reasons fairy tales have become associated with little girls and fluff, but it's just so ironic. I like to watch documentaries about ballet dancers, their daily life, and behind the scenes. Ballet is one of the most challenging professions in the world and the dancers literally devote their lives to it. What might seem so simple-a basic plie or tendue-is actually incredibly difficult to do with perfect balance, turnout, and grace.

The same analogy could be made with fairy tales themselves-though they are often made light of, there is so much more depth to the stories, and their history usually shocks people who study fairy tales for the first time.

The first video is about the technical challenges of the dancing in this ballet, especially for Aurora in the first Act. Below is a fascinating look at the history of this ballet in the Royal Opera House-the Royal Ballet used Sleeping Beauty as their return to the stage after World War II. As a story of good defeating evil, and of reawakening, it was a very deliberate choice. You can also hear the 2014 cast discuss their roles.

5 comments:

  1. Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking about the ballet lately.

    The only version of The Sleeping Beauty I've ever seen was the Matthew Bourne one, which was this weird gothic thing with vampiric fairies. Someday, I should seek out a more standard version for comparison.

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    1. I've never seen a Matthew Bourne ballet, but I'm aware of his all-male Swan Lake. Vampiric fairies sound like they have a lot of awesome potential though...but yeah his stuff is definitely not mainstream :)

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    2. I'm an old school monster fan, but I'm kind of picky about the depiction of vampires. Generally, I don't like it when they're used as good guys. Anyways, sometimes they show ballet on PBS's Great Performances on Friday nights. That's where I saw it.

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  2. I saw the classical ballet on stage and the Matthew Bourne version in the cinema. To be honest I didn't like either version. Matthew Bourne's third act ended with very little actual dancing and a strange vampiric ritual reminiscent of the Twilight saga. The classical ballet (or maybe just the version I saw) skimmed over the second act, turning the climax of the fairytale (the prince's rescue of Aurora) into a mere plot point. I have heard that 'The Sleeping Beauty' is one of the most technically difficult ballets, but suspense-wise it was rather disappointing. That little detail though about the Royal Ballet is very interesting.

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    1. Hmm...less interested in the Matthew Bourne version now. In general though, I think you're right that in ballets, the plot is secondary to the dancing. Kind of like in Nutcracker, the plot happens in the first act and the whole second act is just people coming out and doing dances to "thank" Clara for saving the Prince. As a kid I was always bored by the second act but now that I appreciate classical ballet more I actually prefer the second act. It depends on what you prefer in terms up straight up ballet, plot, or a combination.

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