The fairytale ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is brought to life by the Royal Czech Ballet. On their second visit to Hobart after ‘Swan Lake’ in 2022, the ballet will perform three shows in Tasmania this weekend.
The ballet is written by Tchaikovsky and based on the well-known Grimm fairy tale.
The king and queen celebrate the birth of their daughter Aurora and many guests from the kingdom attend the celebrations, but omitted is the bad fairy Carabose. Insulted, she gatecrashes the celebrations and puts a curse on the young princess, stating Aurora will die at 16 years of age by way of a spinning wheel needle.
Fortunately, the good fairy Lilac is in attendance also and while not being able to remove the curse entirely, she softens it, so that Aurora will not die but sleep for a hundred years and be awoken by the kiss of true love (Prince Desiree).
This ballet has become the most loved ballet of Tchaikovsky.
The role of Aurora will be played by the ballet’s principal dancer, the acclaimed Cristina Terentiev. Terentiev has toured the world with her husband Alexei Terentiev, including a contract with the Canada Atlantic Ballet Theatre where, she said, “We met with artists from different countries and with different schools including two artists from Australia who worked there.”
Ballet is a disciplined art on and off stage. Terentiev said, “Our daughter Alice, she turned 21 this year, ballerinas give birth very early, at the beginning of their career, so as not to interrupt their career for a long time.”
Although Terentiev has danced as part of ‘the leading couple of Moldova’ with her husband Alexie, she said, “The time comes and since he is 6 years older than me, the artists switch to acting parts and this time Alexei will perform the part of the king.”
Watch out for Natalya Kusch, formerly of The Australian Ballet and Queensland Ballet, as part of the production.
The end of the ballet will provide a happy ever after in, ‘Chic ball, a Pas De Deux and the Mazurka’.
You can see the Royal Czech Ballet in Hobart at The Theatre Royal on Friday 8 September, Saturday 9 September and in Launceston at The Princess Theatre on Sunday 10 September.
