Brigham Young University Theatre Ballet will perform the beloved tale of “The Sleeping Beauty” in a fully staged ballet featuring the BYU Philharmonic performing Tchaikovsky’s classic musical score Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 14-16, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall. Matinees will be performed Friday at 10 a.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $15, with a discounted ticket price of $7 for ages 2-11, and are available at the Fine Arts Ticket Office at byuarts.com/tickets or by calling 801-422-4322.
The BYU Theatre Ballet dancers will also be featured at a pre-show party for those coming to the performances. Children of all ages are encouraged to meet the dancers and make personal connections before seeing them on stage. The pre-show party will begin one hour before each performance in the concert hall lobby area.
Scenic and light design by Benjamin Sanders, costumes by Marsha Russell, and original choreography by Marius Petipa restaged by Shani Robison and Suzi Wood all combine to tell the familiar story of a princess named Aurora, a brave prince and 100 years of enchanted sleep.
"The Sleeping Beauty" continues the tradition of BYU Theatre Ballet, presenting full-length ballets each year during its February "Ballet in Concert" productions.
“One of our favorite aspects of this year’s production of ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ is the live orchestration of Tchaikovsky’s score provided by Kory Katseanes and the BYU Philharmonic,” said Shani Robison, BYU Theatre Ballet artistic director.
“BYU Theatre Ballet’s first collaboration with the orchestra was two years ago in ‘Cinderella,’ and it was an amazing experience for the dancers to perform to live music. What a blessing it is that within this college we can collaborate in the arts to provide not only a visual experience, but also a beautiful acoustic experience with this wonderful score,” she said.
Other collaborators include acting coach Rodger Sorensen, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications, and two principal professional ballet dancers as ballet coaches: Sara Webb, principal dancer at Houston Ballet, and Michael Bearden, principal dancer at Ballet West.
“Both have personally performed ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ many times throughout their illustrious professional careers,” said Robison. “In fact, Sara was a guest principal dancer at Ballet West and performed ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ with Michael just two years ago. It is exciting to see what the dancers have learned from these two top current professionals—they certainly have benefited greatly from this invaluable experience.”
Hannah Brown and Hilary Wolfley will alternate as Princess Aurora with Ruger Memmott and Tomas Farnsworth as Prince Florimund.
For more information, contact Shani Robison, (801) 422-4748, shani_robison@byu.edu.
Writer: Preston Wittwer
