The Nashville Ballet invites you to Princess Aurora’s magical journey, from her cursed slumber to the awakening kiss, in The Sleeping Beauty. Featuring Paul Vasterling’s choreography after Marius Petipa and accompanied by The Nashville Symphony, this dazzling production brings Tchaikovsky’s music to life with beloved characters and themes of love and triumph.
This not-to-be-missed show for ballet aficionados, young and old, returns to the Tennesse Performing Arts Center’s Jackson Hall on Saturday, February 22, and Sunday, February 13.
The exquisite production, last presented by Nashville Ballet in 2017, includes gorgeous sets and costumes courtesy of Cincinnati Ballet, providing a new experience for Nashville audiences.
“Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty is a masterpiece of composition, challenging even the most seasoned dancer,” said Nashville Ballet Artistic Director and CEO Nick Mullikin. “We are grateful that an artist like Nicolas Scheuer has set the bar so high and shown the path for our young artists to step forward in the future. This year we will see many debuts, including Colette Tilinski and Jamie Kopit in the role of Aurora. Our Nashville audience will be astounded by how far their ballet company has evolved since the last time we did this production.”
Nashville Ballet Company Artists will play principal roles
The Sleeping Beauty Principal Dancers (in alphabetical order):
Jamie Kopit as Princess Aurora (Saturday evening show)
Claudia Monja as the Lilac Fairy (all shows)
Nicolas Scheuer as Prince Desire (both matinee shows)
Brett Sjoblom as Prince Desire (Saturday evening show)
Owen Thorne as Carabosse (all shows)
Colette Tilinski as Princess Aurora (both matinee shows)
Katie Vasilopoulos as the Queen (both matinee shows)
The Sleeping Beauty will not only showcase the incredible cast of company dancers and members of NB2, Nashville Ballet’s official second company but also approximately 50 youth cast members from the School of Nashville Ballet and Rejoice School of Ballet, with some youth cast members as young as 6 years old, the youngest in any of their productions.
Photo Credit: Karyn Photography
Scheuer comes full circle
After an unforgettable 13-year career, Company Artist Nicolas Scheuer will conclude his time with the Nashville Ballet to pursue his passions. Scheuer joined in 2012, debuting as an apprentice in The Sleeping Beauty. When the production returned in 2017, he was cast as Prince Desire, his first full-length principal role with the company. Scheuer has performed in many other principal and solo roles, including Prince in Cinderella, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, and Sugar Plum Cavalier in Nashville’s Nutcracker.
Coming full circle, Scheuer returns to the role of Prince Desire in his final performances with the Nashville Ballet. He will perform with Colette Tilinski as Princess Aurora on the two matinee shows, taking his final bow following the Sunday matinee.
Fun Facts About Nashville Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty
- The Sleeping Beauty premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1890. It featured choreography by Marius Petipa (the “father of classical ballet”) and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
- This ballet, based on Charles Perrault’s famous fairy tale, features several renowned characters from Perrault’s other stories, including Princess Florine and Bluebird, Little Red Riding Hood, and Puss in Boots.
- The Sleeping Beauty is Tchaikovsky’s most extended ballet, lasting nearly 4 hours (counting intermissions)! Today, ballet companies typically shorten the length. Nashville Ballet’s version is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes (including one intermission).
- Though Carabosse (the wicked fairy) is a female character, a male dancer often performs the role. Company Artist Owen Thorne will dance the role in Nashville Ballet’s production.
- The Cincinnati Ballet provided eight giant wardrobe cases, which traveled 273 miles via semi-truck between Cincinnati and Nashville. These cases included approximately 182 professional dancer costumes, 40 youth cast costumes, and nine boxes of hats, headpieces, and wigs.
- The heaviest costume belongs to the Catalabutte — a whopping 20 pounds. For perspective, an average pair of men’s jeans weighs approximately 2 pounds.
- The production will feature an estimated 52 tutus that Diana Adams rebuilt in 2018-2019 using the same Karinska method, which takes 120 hours per tutu.
Tickets to Nashville Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty are available at TPAC.org
