Freedom of My Mind

By the time Pacific Northwest Ballet’s new production of Sleeping Beauty debuted on January 31, 2025, anticipation seems to have been sky high. It certainly was for me. There were tantalizing sneak peaks of the costumes by Paul Tazewell (Hamilton, PNB’S Swan Lake, the movie Wicked) or the sets by glass artist Preston Singletary. There were articles about how much money PNB had spent on this new production and on opening night, the full auditorium was buzzing, clearly sharing in my anticipation. 

The danger of such high expectations is that it is difficult to meet them. This often worries me when I am feeling the thrill of anticipation (such as when I flew all the way to London simply to watch Marianela Núñez). Sometimes, I think it would be better if I came to a ballet like Switzerland, with neutrality.

So, did PNB’s new production meet these heady expectations? I think, on the whole, it did, with a few caveats.

In terms of story, this Sleeping Beauty is much the same as traditional ballet versions of Sleeping Beauty. The main difference is that Artistic Director Peter Boal worked with ballet historian Doug Fullington to recover the original choreography, much as Alexei Ratmansky did for American Ballet Theatre’s Sleeping Beauty.

However, unlike Ratmansky’s version, PNB did not aim to recreate the ballet as experienced by Imperial Russia in the 1890s. They aimed to create a self-contained mythical world that happens to feature the original choreography of Marius Petipa.

The mythical world is rooted in the Pacific Northwest, with designs by Preston Singeltary, inspired by his Tlingit culture. Paul Tazewell worked with Singeltary to employ the traditional Tlingit form line in the costumes. The results are stunning.

The costumes were almost the real stars of the ballet and perhaps threaten to overwhelm the dancing.

What was most obvious about this return to the original choreography? Firstly, in the tempo. It is hard to appreciate just how slow the tempo has become in contemporary productions until you compare it with the original tempo. Dancers at the Royal Ballet or Mariinsky almost seem to be dancing in slow motion by comparison and one is suddenly impressed that they manage not to fall over.

Likewise, there are fewer soaring jumps and lifts. And in some of the dances, such as “The Flower Waltz” that opens Act 1, the corps (in this case, PNB students) do less dancing, as they create layers of shapes, opening and closing their baskets of flowers, garlands, and hoops to create a kaleidoscope of images. I actually enjoyed it more than I usually do and my seat in the dress circle (lower balcony) was an ideal spot to appreciate the shapes created.

I was excited to see Angelica Generosa as Aurora, and she did not disappoint, as she is an ideal Aurora, with a smile that sparkles nearly as much as her tutu. She did seem a little shaky, however, on opening night, with a few wobbles (more on that, later). Jonathan Batista was very princely, but sadly had less to dance than in some other productions (the Royal Ballet production gives the prince a soulful adagio, demonstrating his unhappiness before he meets the Lilac Fairy). I would have enjoyed seeing him dance such an adagio.

Aurora’s Act 3 variation has clearly not changed radically over the intervening years, but Prince Desiré’s definitely has. Instead of the eye catching double tours and manège we are used to now, in PNB’s production he performs rapid petite allegro and twenty-four brisé volés, which don’t soar as spectacularly, but can be more difficult for the dancer to execute. It was a joy to see this original variation restored, and performed with dispatch by Batista.

Sleeping Beauty is an inherently joyful ballet, but it is performed so often and by so many different companies, which each have their own production, that it can become, like The Nutcracker, overexposed and stale.

However, as PNB principal dancer Kyle Davis noted in an article, many dancers at PNB never danced in a Sleeping Beauty before. The resulting freshness came through and the excitement of the dancers was palpable.

Generally, Sleeping Beauty is all about Aurora and sometimes the divertissements can seem like filler. In this production, however, the excellent performances of all the dances, from Puss n’ Boots (Maddi Rayn Abeo and Price Suddarth, spot on with their deadpan cat aloofness) to Red Riding Hood, to the Jewel Fairies, meant that it almost threatened to overshadow Aurora and her prince.

I am always happy to see Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan, a dancer who appears to hold nothing back; I consistently find myself smiling. She danced Fairy Candide in the Prologue, as well as Diamond Fairy in Act 3. She and Clara Ruf Maldonado, a lovely Princess Florine, danced Aurora on different nights and it was evident that both dancers were Aurora ready.

In fact, there were five Auroras on the stage on opening night: Angelica Generosa, Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan, Clara Ruf Maldonado, Maddi Rayn Abeo, and Ashton Edwards.

Ryan Cardea brought lively personality to the role of Catalabutte, making the character stand out. And Amanda Morgan was regal as the queen, who perhaps is the real power on the throne. Elle Macy was an authoritative Lilac Fairy and Dylan Wald seemed to have a blast as Carabosse. All the different roles came alive, from the children to the adults.

Now, on to my caveats. Act 3 is overlong. Its an embarrassment of riches (perhaps a good problem to have), including an ingenious puppet ogre who loses his boots to Tom Thumb. One is very nearly worn out by the time Aurora and her prince finally dance, despite enjoying it all. This is a minor complaint, though.

Peter Boal and Associate Artistic Director Kiyon Ross have both spoken about their desire break down the sharp gender divide in classical ballet. Most often discussed is Ashton Edwards, who identifies as nonbinary and dances in traditionally female roles. On opening night, Edwards danced as the Canary Fairy, the favorite moment of many of my companions that night.

One reservation I have had, though, is that it is not obvious to me that this could work in the opposite direction, with woman dancing in traditionally male roles. Because there are far more females than males competing for limited professional positions, this strikes me as potentially unfair to women, if it becomes more common.

Perhaps with this in mind, Peter Boal made the decision to have one of the four suitors for Aurora played by a woman. This would partly eliminate any potential unfairness, if increasingly men and woman can swap roles.

Certainly, I love the fact that both men and woman played Carabosse on different nights. I also see no problem with having two of the four Jewel Fairies danced by men, though some of the steps lend themselves better to pointe work, making the men look a trifle awkward at times. This can be fixed easily with slight choreographic changes, however.

Unfortunately, I was not convinced by the choice to have a woman play one of the suitors. Apart from the fact that it gave the unfortunate appearance of a junior company that doesn’t have enough men to go around (PNB does have enough men), I can’t help but wonder if it contributed to some of Angelica Generosa’s evident nerves.

Melissa Guilliams, who played one of the suitors, is a beautiful dancer in her own right, who danced Princess Florine on another night. She was recently included in Dance Magazine’s list of 25 To Watch. Not only did it seem unfair to her (she has no training in partnering; nor is it clear to me that it would benefit her career if she did dedicate time to partnering), but it was unfair to Angelica Generosa, as well. The Rose Adagio is already one of the most difficult moments in ballet rep. Both Guilliams and Generosa looked uncomfortable and there were at least two times where I saw Guilliams struggle to hold up Generosa, with at least one very noticeable bobble. My heart was in my mouth throughout.

Making an already difficult moment in ballet even more difficult (particularly for women) is not a blow for gender equality.

Perhaps I have spent too much time discussing this choice by Boal; it was certainly, for me, the most radical decision of the evening, and the most consequential, though by no means a cataclysmic one.

So I end this piece by affirming that the night is a testament to the creativity and dedication of the entire company, in front of and behind the scenes at PNB. They should be proud of this labor of love. I look forward to seeing this production again, though I can’t help but hope that next time they will choose dancers trained to provide the best support that can be given to Aurora, who will always deserve that and more on her special night.