The Sleeping Beauty (1890)

The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet in three acts with a prologue and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Opus 66, finished in 1889. This iconic classical dance, created by Marius Petipa, was first performed in January 1890. It is the second of his three ballets and his second-longest piece in any genre, clocking in at 160 minutes. Ivan Vsevolozhsky created the initial story based on Perrault's La Belle au bois dormant, or The Beauty Sleeping in the Forest; Marius Petipa was the first choreographer.

It tells the narrative of Princess Aurora, who was abducted by fairies to shield her from the fury of the seventh fairy, who was not invited to Aurora's birth celebration. In a jealous passion, the seventh fairy cursed the child, dooming her to stab her finger on a spindle and die. Fortunately, one of the fairies had not yet given her gift, so the curse was lessened. Instead, Aurora will slumber for a century and will only be roused by the kiss of a lovely prince.

The Sleeping Beauty fairy tale is a timeless masterpiece that has been passed down through generations. It is definitely one of the most famous ballets of all time. The Sleeping Beauty was the most often performed ballet in the former Imperial Mariinsky repertoire after the 1917 Revolution. As the first collaboration between the legendary Russian composer Tchaikovsky and Russian choreographer Petipa, this ballet is significant in ballet history.