Carolina Ballet will wrap up its 20th season with a family favorite - Sleeping Beauty. The shows run May 17 to May 20 at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts.
Even if you're not a ballet aficionado, it's likely you've heard of a couple of famous ones - Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Sleeping Beauty joins those ballets as the third in a trio of renowned traditional Russian ballets set to music by composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
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Carolina Ballet last performed the ballet in 2014, according to a press release. For this performance, Artistic Director Robert Weiss' choreography includes a fierce dragon and the addition of a dancing role for the fierce Raven.
“We are eager to cap off such a historic season with performances of the beautiful fairytale Sleeping Beauty,” Weiss said in the press release. “The well-known story of Princess Aurora is portrayed so uniquely through ballet.”
Performances include a couple of matinees at the family-friendly time of 2 p.m. on both May 19 and May 20. Tickets start at $32. Carolina Ballet does offer discounts for college students and military personnel. It also offers free tickets for most shows for high school students, including Sleeping Beauty. High school students just need to bring their student ID to pick up a free ticket. The ballet's website has more information.
And everybody can get a free preview of the performance at 2 p.m., Saturday, at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh's North Hills. The store will be offering a sneak peak of the ballet in a special event that's designed for all ages.