The Sleeping Beauty
Pacific Northwest Ballet
McCaw Hall, January 31, 2025

Leave it to Peter Boal and his creative team at Pacific Northwest Ballet to come up with an idea that transports a classic Russian ballet from a fairy tale palace to what Boal refers to as "a mythical land resembling the Pacific Northwest." Using Tlingit artist Preston Singletary and famed costume designer Paul Tazewell, Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty is transported from the traditional castle full of courtiers in white wigs and 18th-century costumes to the misty woods and waters of our beautiful region.

On opening night the audience was fascinated by Singletary's dramatic staircase — a massive carving of an eagle whose unfurled wings formed an arch over the procession of dignitaries and fairies coming to celebrate the birth of Princess Aurora. The dancers wore Tazewell's striking costumes based on Northwest Coastal ovoid forms (e.g., raven, eagle), instantly recognizable as PNW tribal patterns, in dramatic yellows, reds, and black. The program notes describe in detail the Tlingit beliefs shaping each form and color, but the overall impression on the audience was "wow!"

Equally intriguing were the thoughtful and appropriate adaptations of Marius Petipa's fabulous choreography. While preserving all the beloved favorites, some of the dances were given a refreshing shake-up by Peter Boal, himself a famous principal from the New York City Ballet. With the help of Douglas Fullington, an expert in Petipa's choreography and notation, the adapted steps were as demanding as ever yet somehow less formal and more in tune with Pacific Northwest sensibilities. The result was a mixture of surprise at new interpretations and delight with how well they fit in with the familiar music.

Act 1 illustrated the flexibility of Petipa's Russian style with some dramatic forward-facing elements in corps movements, while Act 2 preserved the ballroom quality of the court without undermining the Tlingit sensibility of Singletary's guardian eagle. Oh, and Sasquatch (called the Ogre, but we knew exactly who he was) made his appearance by being chased by a gang of dancing children, whose joyful teasing made all of us Big Foot believers!

The opening night principals, Angelica Generosa as Princess Aurora and Jonathan Batista as Prince Désiré, were nothing short of wonderful. Generosa's playful teenager in Act 1 performed the Rose Adagio with joyful delicacy, while Batista's courtesy — together with his vibrant solos — expressed all that needs to be said about a happy marriage.

In a big, elaborate ballet like this one, there are dozens of remarkable performances, but Act 2 is designed to show off one delightful "divertissement" after another as the wedding guests take turns honoring the newlyweds. The Puss in Boots and White Cat duet danced by Price Suddath and Madison Rayn Abeo was hissingly hilarious, The Bluebird and Princess Florine duet with Mark Cuddihee and Clara Ruf Maldonado was breathtaking, and Hop o' My Thumb, His Brothers & The Ogre was the delight of the evening. Not to be overlooked, however, was the highlight of Act 1 when Carabosse, performed by Dylan Wald, brings her gang of mice to the party in the shape of four dancers with multiple puppets that horrify the courtiers and delight the audience.

Though I don't normally review the program handed out to the audience, compliments go to En Face magazine for describing all the process and planning that went into developing a new work. It's unusually comprehensive for this new production of The Sleeping Beauty, since the concept is so original and central to the culture of our region. At first the idea of a Native American take on a classical Russian ballet seems a bit odd, but it all works wonderfully well, in a similar way to how the "green" Ring at Seattle Opera used the Pacific Northwest landscape to make Wagner's Ring cycle new again — distinctly ours yet appreciated around the world for its familiar music and fascinating origins. I predict this new Sleeping Beauty will have the same reception.