The Biggest Ballets ... The Best Productions

Sleeping Beauty 2013!

Join us Friday, May 31 at 7:00 and Saturday, June 1 at 2:00 and 7:00 for one of the most enduring and magical classical ballets of all time, The Sleeping Beauty. Featuring Sarah London as Princess Aurora, North Carolina Dance Theatre's Ben Ingel as Prince Florimund, Blair Chamberlain as The Lilac Fairy, and the talented dancers from our Pre-Professional division, BCA's Sleeping Beauty blends this storied fable of young love with some of the most exquisite dancing every devised for the classical stage. Mix in a brand new production from BCA's talented production team and you have the perfect family-friendly evening. Tickets range from $10 to $22. They go fast so call Diana Wortham Theatre at (828) 257-4530 or visit dwtheatre.com to reserve your tickets today. You can also order your tickets directly from BCA. Simply download and fill out the Sleeping Beauty 2013 Ticket & DVD Order Form and bring it by the Front Desk with your payment.

Download the Sleeping Beauty 2013 program.

NCDT's Ben Ingel to Star in Sleeping Beauty!

North Carolina Dance Theatre dancer Ben Ingel stars as Prince Florimund -- opposite BCA principal dancer Sarah London as Princess Aurora -- in BCA's Sleeping Beauty. Ben brings to this storied role outstanding emotional range, pure classical technique, and unmatched stage presence. Don't miss Ben & Sarah!

Meet Ben Ingel

Ben Ingel is currently a member of the second company of North Carolina Dance Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has studied with the Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy as a scholarship/stipend member, Boston Ballet, NCDT and attended North Carolina School of the Arts in high school. He has had the privilege of working with Ethan Stiefel, Dwight Rhoden, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, Johan Kobborg, and Claudio Munoz.  He has performed and learned various classical and contemporary ballet repertoire including George Balanchine's Who Cares, Alonzo King's Chants, Mark Diamond's Bolero, and Dwight Rhoden's World Premiere of The Groove with North Carolina Dance Theatre II.

Sleeping Beauty: One of the Greatest Stories of All Time

About Sleeping Beauty

Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Original Choreography by Marius Petipa

Restaged by Wayne Burritt & Angie Lynn

First Presented January 15, 1890 at the Imperial Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia with Carlotta Brianza as Princess Aurora, Pavel Gerdt as Prince Florimund, and Marie Petipa as The Lilac Fairy.

Prologue: The Christening

King Florestan and his Queen are celebrating the christening of their long awaited newborn daughter Aurora. Catallbutte, the King’s loyal minister, is checking the invitation list to make sure that no one has been forgotten. The good fairies, led by the Lilac Fairy, have been invited to be godmothers to the little Princess. Upon her they bestow magical gifts, blessing her with every imaginable virtue so that some day she can marry the perfect prince. This, in turn, will seal the security and happiness of the kingdom.

Just as the ceremony is coming to a happy conclusion, the evil fairy Carabosse arrives and, in revenge for being left off the invitation list, declares that the Princess will prick her finger with a spindle and die.

Averting this tragedy, the Lilac Fairy promises that Aurora will not die, but will instead fall into a deep sleep that will last a hundred years or more. At the end of that time, a king's son shall awaken her with a kiss.

King Florestan at once forbids all persons in the kingdom to keep a keep a spindle, under pain of death.

Act I: The Spell

It is Princess Aurora’s sixteenth birthday, and princes from the four corners of the earth seek her hand in marriage.

Before the festivities begin, Catallbutte catches the village gossips with a banned spindle. Upon hearing the news, The King is furious and condemns the gossips to death. But the Queen pleads for their lives and The King, showing mercy, grants their pardon. Then, the festivities begin.

At the height of the celebration, Carabosse, in disguise, presents Aurora with a spindle. Unaware of the danger, Aurora pricks her finger and collapses, as if dead. Carabosse reveals herself in triumph and vanishes. Just in time the Lilac Fairy appears and casts a spell of sleep over the entire kingdom.

ACT II: The Vision

Prince Florimund is hunting by the river with members of his court. Mysteriously, a vision of Aurora’s castle appears and he is thereafter distracted from the merriments of the hunt party.

As the court is leaving to continue the hunt, the Prince realizes he is at a crossroads. He must choose between returning to his life in the court or to stay in the mysterious forest. The Prince decides to stay. The Lilac Fairy appears and grants him a vision of Aurora’s beauty. He declares his love for the Princess and is led to the castle where, guarded by Carabosse, Aurora sleeps.

Together, the Prince and the Lilac Fairy’s magic defeat the evil Carabosse. The Prince awakens Aurora with a kiss and the spell is broken.

Act III: The Wedding

The whole kingdom celebrates the wedding of Princess Aurora and Prince Floriumnd. The guests include fairy tale characters who present their stories as gifts to the royal couple. Princess Aurora and Prince Florimund are crowned with glory, and their reign of light begins.

The Sleeping Beauty 2013 Rehearsal & Show Schedule

This schedule is in addition to any standing & special rehearsals.