The West Australian Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty is the relief audiences need off the back of one hectic year.
Taking audiences to a medieval French kingdom, it tells the story of a young Princess Aurora who is destined for a fate changing curse. Enter, fearful fairy Carbosse (Kiki Saito & Juan Carlos Osma) who torments the castle’s joyful atmosphere.
Osma presents beautiful solos within the ballet, demonstrating striking movement while embodying a desolate, sadistic fairy fuelled with rage. Over the 2021 season, he has constantly shown his world-class art, each performance being a clear standout.
Juan Carlos Osma as Prince Desiré in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Bradbury Photography.
The story fast forwards to Princess Aurora’s (Chihiro Nomura) teenage years, where she graces the stage with a bubbly yet graceful routine. It’s this dance which leers the eyes of the Princes, coming from the four corners of the earth.
From the pack, one of WA Ballet’s jewels Matthew Lehmann catches the light as the Western Prince, displaying subtle humour towards his onlookers.
Occasionally, the Princes felt quite unacquainted and disconnected from both the audience and Aurora. Perhaps the staging of the grand party could have been pieced together more coherently.
The bubbly, bouncing Babette (Nikki Blain) ferociously drove the attention off the principals with her characterisation and on-stage feeling the most natural. A very welcomed showstopper.
Alexa Tuzil as Princess Aurora and Juan Carlos Osma as Prince Desiré with the dancers of West Australian Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Bradbury Photography
One Hundred years later and the audience is transported to Act II with a grand blast of music from the West Australian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Out of the whole zoo of animals that appear in the ballet, it’s Julio Blanes starring as the Golden Deer who captures attention straight away being graceful but with a comedic tint.
Prince Desire’s (Oscar Valdes) quest for Aurora’s heart was fuelled with the utmost essence of love. Their bodies flowed naturally through the dance, and most routines felt genuine.
As the story wraps up, audiences are left satisfied with The Sleeping Beauty. A music score and story full of zest left the ballet’s filled audience with raw and uncontained emotion.
The season runs from 18 Nov – 12 Dec 2021.