To open its season, Orlando Ballet will return to a cornerstone of classical ballet, a musical masterpiece and a fairy tale for the young and young at heart.
The Sleeping Beauty, with music by the famed Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, tells the story of Princess Aurora, who, cursed by a wicked and vengeful fairy, falls into a century-long sleep until awakened by the kiss of a young man looking for true love, Prince Florimund.
The story is a fairy-tale classic with its prince and princess, good and bad fairies and appearances by other beloved characters from the world of make-believe that included Cinderella, Puss in Boots and Little Red Riding Hood.
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will play the ballet’s score, which features some of the most famous passages in classical music. It helped that Walt Disney borrowed heavily from the score for his acclaimed 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty.
Orlando Ballet last presented The Sleeping Beauty in 2024. It will be choreographed by Christopher Stowell, a classical ballet authority and artistic director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet who also choreographed Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake last season.
The ballet—which premiered in 1890 and is based on a 1697 story by French writer Charles Perrault—was originally a very long show with three acts and two intermissions. Through clever transitions and scene changes, the full production now requires just one intermission, says Jorden Morris, artistic director of the ballet.
“Christopher has added some fresh new choreography to the production, which challenges our dancers and is a treat for the audience,” adds Morris. Orlando Ballet’s family-centric season will also include another Tchaikovsky classic, The Nutcracker, and the premiere of an all-new production of Alice in Wonderland.
