Beautiful in every way, just about sums up the English National Ballet’s rendition of The Sleeping Beauty currently showing at Milton Keynes Theatre.
To marvel at Nicholas Georgiadis’ costumes alone, it is worth seeing the fairy tale brought to life with exquisite dancing, and choreography from Kenneth MacMillan and Marious Petipas, all played out to one of Tchaikovsky’s most ingenious of scores.
But it is of course the dancing which is the real delight.
When Petipa was premiered in 1980, mime played a much more significant part in ballet than it does today, thus the dancing is infused with much expression and subtle story-telling.
It is with great prowess that the dancers stretch the capabilities of the human body to the extreme as they tell the tale of Princess Aurora.
Good and evil struggle against one another as Carabosse, the evil queen, struggles against the Lilac Fairy, over the fate of Aurora’s life, following that fated finger prick on a spindle.
Daria Klimentova is particularly noteworthy in the role of the Lilac Fairy, as was the remarkable Tamara Rojo as Princess Aurora, demonstrating technical mastery with elegant grace, although every single dancer deserved praise.
It is a four act production, with some of the most stunning technical flourishes left for the final act, where the Prince and Aurora’s wedding is celebrated with an array of dance spectaculars.
All accompanied by the stunning English National Ballet orchestra.
The Sleeping Beauty is a feast for eyes and ears in every way, which definitely casts a spell.
At Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday, for further information visit: www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre.
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