Sleeping Beauty — International Ballet

Culture · Dance · Gare du Midi

The most performed classical ballet in the world, in an international touring production. A safe bet for November, and one of the rare cultural outings that works from seven to seventy-seven.

The Sleeping Beauty is to ballet what The Nutcracker is to Christmas: an obligatory passage you think you know and rediscover every time. Tchaikovsky’s score accounts for much of it, Petipa’s choreography for the rest.

Why it still works

Because it is a grand-spectacle ballet that never pretended to be anything else: sets, costumes, virtuoso variations and large ensemble scenes. No prior knowledge is required, which makes it an excellent first experience of classical dance.

The local tip

This is the ideal way to take children to a performance without risking disaster: the story is familiar, the pace holds, and the intervals fall at the right moments. Book in the stalls rather than up high — in ballet, seeing the legs matters.

Tchaikovsky, Petipa, and two hours that go quickly.

The editorial team
ici Biarritz