BRB's The Sleeping Beauty: celebrating 40 years of magic

Daria Stanciulescu as Carabosse in Sir Peter Wright's The Sleeping Beauty

Eilis Small as the Lilac Fairy in Sir Peter Wright's The Sleeping Beauty

Lachlan Monaghan as Prince Florimund and Eilis Small as the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty

Yu Kurihara as Princess Aurora in Sir Peter Wright's The Sleeping Beauty

Yu Kurihara as Princess Aurora and Lachlan Monaghan as Prince Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty

By Graham Watts, 23 February 2024

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“The clash of the fairy titans must be the 100-year duel between Carabosse and the Lilac Fairy”

Reviewed at Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham on 21 February 2024

The Sleeping Beauty (Marius Petipa, Sir Peter Wright)

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Philip Ellis, Conductor

Philip Prowse, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Mark Jonathan, Lighting Designer

Royal Ballet Sinfonia

Yu Kurihara, Dancer

Lachlan Monaghan, Dancer

Daria Stanciulescu, Dancer

Eilis Small, Dancer

Momoko Hirata, Dancer

Lucy Waine, Dancer

Reina Fuchigami, Dancer

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

Jonathan Gray, 23rd April

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells with polished but low-key interpretations across the board.

***11

Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère: a night to remember in Oslo

Vikki Jane Vile, 17th April

Norwegian National Ballet gives a marvellous rendition of Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère. Opening night in Oslo was a strong argument for its place in any season, displaying ballet escapism at its best.

****1

José Martínez unveils his latest Don Quichotte in Palermo

Vito Lentini, 29th March

José Martínez has envisioned a Don Quichotte that recalls the original 19th century choreography while also acknowledging some of the notable 20th century versions and it's splendid looking.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's reimagined La Bayadère triumphs

Mark Vicente, 26th March

Dutch National Ballet's new production of La Bayadère does away with the ballet’s problematic gestures and movements, allowing the choreography to truly shine.

****1

American Ballet Theatre's double bill is short and sweet in New York

Ivy Lin, 15th March

American Ballet Theatre presents Balanchine's Raymonda: Grand Pas Hongrois and Ratmansky's Firebird which showcases the company well and provides a strong contrast.

****1

Mejia debuts in a sumptuous Sleeping Beauty at New York City Ballet

Carla Escoda, 12th February

Roman Mejia and a raft of soloist debuts galvanized Peter Martins' Sleeping Beauty. An elegant production with some incidental messiness and the structural liability of a princess' dependence on a kiss.

****1

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Graham Watts

Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic writing regularly for Dancing Times, Dance Europe, Danza Europa, and many more publications. He regularly writes features for Sadler’s Wells, London Coliseum and La Scala. Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in the United Kingdom and of the UK National Dance Awards he has interviewed many of the greatest names in dance including Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Boris Eifman, Alexei Ratmansky, Andris Liepa, Sir Peter Wright, David Bintley and Dame Gillian Lynne. When not involved in dance Graham is a keen fencer, and has captained the British Sabre team.