This site has limited support for your browser. We recommend switching to Edge, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox.

When Beauty Awoke

How many ways to think about “Sleeping Beauty”? In the first written Italian and French versions, the plots outline the fate of a young girl as the object of family jealousy, trickery and, after being drugged asleep, ravishment. By the mid-19th century, the Brothers Grimm toned down the storyline, romanticized and adapted it as a story fit for children. Ivan Vsevolozhsky, Tchaikovsky, and Marius Petipa’s 1890 landmark ballet further refashioned it. But another few generations of scholarly research recognized the darker undertones and representations of girls in the fairy tale tradition. Apart from handsome swains or huntsmen who save damsels like Beauty or Red Riding Hood from stepmothers or disfigured crones, the producers of even the most treasured classics should take some measure of the plight of characters, even if fantasy.

subscribe to continue reading


Starting at $49.99/year

  • Unlimited access to 1000+ articles
  • Weekly writing that inspires and provokes thought
  • Understanding the artform on a deeper level

Already a paid subscriber? Login

MARINA HARSS


comments

Blog posts

By Moonlight
REVIEWS | Róisín O'Brien

By Moonlight

As the lights dim in Sadler’s Wells, I am struck by how dark the theatre I’m sitting in is. These few moments before a show begins create a unique situation of near complete trust on the audience; there’s no light, natural or artificial. 

Continue Reading
Giant Leaps
REVIEWS | Karen Hildebrand

Giant Leaps

During the past ten years, Jody Sperling has created a portfolio of dance works that calls for action to protect and preserve the environment. She has traveled to the Arctic to dance on disappearing ice. 

FREE ARTICLE
Magic Numbers
REVIEWS | Sophie Bress

Magic Numbers

To stand out in a sea of world premieres, honesty and emotionality are key, if Repertory Dance Theatre’s most recent program, “Venture,” is any indication.

Continue Reading
Dancing for Real
INTERVIEWS | Victoria Looseleaf

Dancing for Real

On the cusp of celebrating their company’s milestone anniversary, Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, who co-founded the New York-based Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 1994, still have plenty to say, both onstage and off. 

FREE ARTICLE
Good Subscription Agency