After reigniting the Centennial Concert Hall stage to begin the 2021-22 season, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet returns to a digital presentation for their latest production: Marius Petipa’s iconic The Sleeping Beauty. 

 

“It’s both a blessing and a difficult thing,” says Artistic Director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet André Lewis. Certainly no substitute for the magic of live performance, this hybrid pivot features video of the dancers recorded on the concert hall stage.  

“(The Sleeping Beauty) is such a large, magnificent production so I think people will have really a wonderful experience,” says Lewis. “It will be different; but, it’s just as exciting.” 

In the early part of the new year, in the midst of the COVID-19 Omicron surge in Manitoba, the decision was made to film the production and that had the dancers and artistic staff rethinking all aspects of the ballet. 

“I do find it more challenging,” says RWB principal dancer Alanna McAdie. Rather than performing the nearly two-and-a-half-hour ballet once — as the dancers would in a typical show — an eight-hour day of filming made for a test of physical, mental and emotional strength. 

“That was probably the most difficult thing to prepare for,” says McAdie. “You just have that day to try and nail all the shots and be prepared to repeat things… it takes a lot of calmness.” 

An integral part of the classical ballet tradition, RWB’s production of The Sleeping Beauty completes the Tchaikovsky ballet triptych — which includes Swan Lake and The Nutcracker — over the last year or so. 

“It’s a beautiful ballet,” says Lewis. “It speaks to the beauty that the art can represent and the soul of the dancers.” 

The Sleeping Beauty Re-awakens streams on-demand Friday, February 25 through Sunday, March 13. Visit: www.rwb.org for more information.