dance review.pdf

Jennifer Oller
DNC 4010
Dance Review
Fall 2005
Sleeping Beauty Awakens Detroit Opera House
On the breezy, shivering night of October 21, 2005, The Opera House opened its
doors for the eagerly awaiting artistic and non artistic public to view the magnificent
Kirov Ballet. The well known ballet company presented the wonderful classic, "Sleeping
Beauty". This ballet was composed by Peter Tchaikovsky and originally premiered on
January 3, 1890 in the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg. For this performance, the
Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre of St. Petersburg performed the music beautifully.
There was a magnificent time in which the curtains were closed with nothing but
the Orchestra playing. They performed as if the audience was there to see them play.
There was such stillness in the air as the music magically filled the Opera House
transporting one into a new realm, in a world sending them soaring high into the clouds
listening to the glorious music. Up until this performance I always was more attentive to
the dancers rather than the music. This time the music really moved me and commanded
attention for playing an important part as much as the dancers. The orchestra soloists
played the violin, cello, flute, oboe, clarinet, and harp. Other instruments included the
viola, double bass, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, percussion, and piano.
The grace and beauty of the Kirov Ballet never left the stage. The presence was
grand and the technique was flawless. There were five parts to the ballet. These were
Prologue, Act I, Act II, Act III, and Apotheosis. In the prologue, the king and queen
celebrate the birth of their daughter, Princess Aurora. The sounds of the harps and

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violins introduce the Lilac Fairy and the good fairies. Then the wicked fairy, Carabosse,
upset that she didn't receive an invitation, comes and spoils the celebration by putting a
curse on the princess. The curse will cause Aurora to die when she pricks her finger with
a spindle. The Lilac Fairy scares Carabosse away. The king rids the kindgdom of all
spindles to prevent the horrible curse from happening. The dancing in this section
consists of soloists of the fairies. The first soloist is wearing a white tutu and dances with
slow then quick burees. The second soloist in yellow does a series of quick lame ducks
on a diagonal pathway on a straight line. The third soloist in pink prances on pointe. The
fourth soloist in orange dances a series of turns consisting of chaine, soutenu, coupe, and
lame duck. The purple soloist danced with grand music playing as her grand entrance left
upstage diagonal introduced her cissone and pique variation.
A group in purpled comes out and finishes in two vertical lines with pique
arabesque sequence and finish in a soutenu turn. It then gets dark, and the ugly bad
Carabosse comes. A green spotlight shines on her all black long clothes, dress and cape.
Reminds me of the wicked witch of the east from The Wizard of Oz. The green
represents envy and greed. The fairies try to protect Aurora from Carabosse.
During Act I there is a beautiful gold fountain displayed at what looks like a fun
filled garden party. Purple flowers and greenery adorn teh atmosphere. Women are
wearing light green knee length skirts while men are all in green knee length pants. Little
kids are in front row and everyone is dancing in straight lines. The little boys are wearing
purple or green shirts with green pants and the little girls are in pink and green dresses.
THe focus is of the arms in elonge and envelope. With floral wreaths, men are in a circle

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formation upstage as the kids in the front with women are in straight horizontal
downstage and vertical sides. Aurora is a teenager at this point in which she pricked her
finger on a sharp needle hidden in the flowers given to her. Instead of dying she merely
falls asleep. The kindgom was to fall asleep for 100yrs unless princess Aurora is kissed.
During Act II the fairy leads Desire, the prince, to the castle. The park is
overgroan and inhabited by the evil Carabosse. Desire reaches the castle in search of the
princess. Once he kisses Aurora she and the kindgom awakens. The cool effect at this
time was the purple lighting on the purple fairy. It looks really dreamlike. All of the
effects of the lighting were really effective in this ballet.
In Act III, inside the palace was very golden with costumes of gold and white,
chandeliers as fixtures with gold and crystal and the flower pots were even golden. The
wood and marble added warm tones to the castle. The king and queen make a grand
entrance. The fairies with different color tutus had golden sparkles and danced in a
circular pathway. The Blue Bird and his wives danced. However there was a bit of an
error. He leaped off into the curtain landing on Little Red Riding Hood who was waiting
behind the curtain. The Hop o' My Thumb and his brothers were happy go lucky in
brown clothes like they were poverty stricken wearing vests, shorts, and shirts and boots.
The guests also include Puss in Boots and the White Cat, Little Red Riding Hood and the
Wolf, and the Ogre.
With many guests, characters, incredible scenery, color appealing costumes,
magical orchestra, and talented dancers, this ballet was a marvelous experience. One I
hope to have in the future. I recommend this ballet to anyone who likes fairy tale ballets.