Kenneth believed The Sleeping Beauty to be the most important ballet in the classical repertoire. He grew up in The Royal Ballet on The Sleeping Beauty and he said he learned how to choreograph from it, how to build up to a pas de deux as a high point, the length of the pas de deux and solos and how to position it. He was inspired by the structure, and although he often chose not to use that structure in his own ballets, you could say it was his touchstone. He believed that if a company looks after The Sleeping Beauty it is looking after the artform of ballet. There are parts of this production of The Sleeping Beauty that Kenneth choreographed, for example the Garland Dance in Act I, some of the diverts and all of the mise en scene, but it is close to the traditional version that he learned with The Royal Ballet. The Sleeping Beauty is always a pure classical ballet, very exposed for the dancers and a wonderful opportunity for a company to shine. There must be such strength in the depth of the company, both in terms of technique and stagecraft. I sometimes think Petipa (the original choreographer of The Sleeping Beauty) must have been a bit of a sadist; poor Princess Aurora! Her first entrance must be absolutely terrifying, it’s so unforgiving. But for a great performance every single person involved must have total belief in the production, and then you get the sense of cohesion and the performance really takes flight.

For this production, I’ve worked very closely with English National Ballet’s superb Wardrobe Department, overseeing the renovation of the costumes, and it has proved to be a fascinating and amazing journey. As the original production was 18 years ago, inevitably the costumes have been through a lot and it’s very fortunate that English National Ballet have such skilled and experienced people working for them. We started by
looking at the costumes we received from American Ballet Theatre and seeing what could be salvaged and what needed to be replaced. Using what we call ‘the Bible’ (a huge collection of notes and photocopies from when the costumes were originally made, which contains swatches of original fabrics, colour samples and dying instructions), we’ve tried to arrive again at Georgiadis’s original concept. Although he could be very minimal when he needed to be, Georgiadis was really a very sumptuous and theatrical designer and I think he would be thrilled to see these costumes now. Over the years they’ve been adapted to fit various dancers bodies, which means they’ve strayed from the original designs, but I think they now truly reflect what he was trying to achieve. Even elements like wigs and headdresses had been slightly altered and we’ve really tried to bring them back as close to their original design as possible. Georgiadis also designed the original sets, but it was felt that they weren’t really appropriate for British audiences who expect something grander, so Peter Farmer was brought into to re-design them. Peter has a wealth of experience in designing beautiful sets and is well respected in the industry. He understands the intricacies of designing sets that, although visually striking, can be easily put up, stored and moved around, which is imperative when a production is going on tour. I’m delighted with his beautiful designs, as I feel they are sympathetic to the production and fit perfectly with the costumes.

I have worked with English National Ballet before, when the Company staged Kenneth’s The Rite of Spring, and English National Ballet has also performed Act III from Anastasia and My Brother, My Sisters. When I came to watch rehearsals I was very impressed with the dancers, and it was particularly exciting to see The Rite of Spring on the road: more people saw that production with English National Ballet than had probably ever seen it at the Royal Opera House. By the time it was performed in Athens it was superb, no-one was counting any more, it was passionate, intense and deeply felt. I am always amazed when I see a production finally on the stage. You could say that it represents a human triumph – dancers, choreographers, musicians, designers, technicians, wardrobe, all those brilliant people working together towards a common goal. There are so many talented people in the ballet world, and sometimes the skill can take you by surprise. Suddenly you are aware of someone who is brilliant at make-up, or who can make a wig look exactly right. And all these talents finally come together to create something truly great and memorable for an audience.

I’m thrilled that English National Ballet has chosen to perform this version of The Sleeping Beauty, as I think it conveys the respect Kenneth felt for classical ballet, which is sometimes perhaps overlooked. It’s a production that’s a marriage of great music, good design and outstanding choreography and I think it’s a production that can grab people for life.