Russian National Ballet Performs The Sleeping Beauty

If deciding to attend a ballet for the first time, The Russian National Ballet's performance of The Sleeping Beauty held in Eisenhower Auditorium on Friday, March 31 was a prime choice. A familiar story combined with beautiful composition and graceful choreography, The Sleeping Beauty has all the potential to be breathtaking. The one determining factor is of course the specific company's art design, and more importantly, execution of the masterpiece, but with its devotion to upholding the rich traditions of the great Russian ballets of the past, few doubt The Russian National Ballet's abilities.

To the untrained eye, a ballet is simply dancing. Ballet is transformed into art through the fusion of the above-mentioned aspects (plot, score, choreography, art design, execution) into one total experience. Unlike most other performing arts, dance incorporates no spoken words; rather, it has a language all its own, and when every factor of the ballet is in full form, it is hard to not get lost in this unique language.

Although the ballet began primarily with men as the focus competing in the formation of various stances or moves, the addition of modern dance into the stylistic aspects of ballet made it into the art form known today. This competitive nature of ballet makes The Sleeping Beauty a candidate capable of great things, but combined with the outstanding athleticism of these dancers (principal and choral), the night's outcome was awe-inspiring to say the least.

As each principal dancer is displayed in unique garb and accompanied by his or her own thematic score as well as in some cases (Carabosse, the Lilac Fairy, etc.) a following of "side-kicks," the opportunity for light competition is immediately prevalent and utilized. The story, which takes place over a total of 118 years and centers around the ceremonies of a King in tribute to his daughter Aurora, includes a gift-giving 18th-birthday celebration - the perfect backdrop for the fairies to present the princess with the best possible gift.

Each fairy displays his/her own personality and as the event advances, the presentation of the gifts increasingly becomes more spectacular. This is a testament to the competitive nature of the art itself.