Withstanding rain, hail and wind, spectators stood before the National Opera of Paris, excitedly anticipating this season’s “La Belle au Bois Dormant” choreographed and directed by Rudolph Noureev. I had the fortunate opportunity to attend this spectacle with a group of other students on March 11. Among the neoclassical mise en scene, costume design and spectacular engaging lighting, dancers spun, twisted and leaped in petit pas pattering across the stage. A symphony to honor Tchaikovsky, led by the brilliant composer Vello Pähn, masterfully presented the Russian ballet that the audience awarded a standing ovation.

This ballet was an incredible performance, led by Bleuenn Battistoni as Aurore and Guillaume Diop as Le Prince Désiré, who notably was awarded an Etoile from the National Opera of Paris in 2023, the highest title a dancer can achieve under this organization. Throughout Battistoni and Diop’s stunning performances, the variations were also incredibly stunning. Unifying in their costume, movement and spirit the dancers incarnated such illusions of regency, royalty, drama and a narrative of love. 

For the readers that are not familiar with the piece, “La Belle au Bois Dormant” is a Russian ballet originally shown in 1890 with choreography by Marius Petipa and composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The two artists created an exciting dynamic artwork that expressed a neoclassical sensibility that confronted and appreciated the French Ancien Regime, notably through the inspiration of Charles Perrault, writer of the interpreted story of Sleeping Beauty. If you have the opportunity to see this dance in its original philosophy of Petipa, I encourage you to spend the four hours experiencing a stupefying conception of ballet.

The dancers performed immaculate choreography throughout the three acts that highlighted the geometry and verticality of the scene. With each jump, spin and lift the columns flanking the stage grew and grew. Squares, circles, spirals of silhouettes dressed in tutus and coats were given an air of architectural grandeur. The audience sat anxiously grasping and clinging onto every second of every dancer in each act, yet the fast-paced assemblage of shifting bodies contrasted with the slow soft steps of the pas de deux left the audience amazed and astounded. Helped in part by the costume design and the lighting, shimmering dancers became blue birds, curious cats and scintillating stones.

One performance that stands out is the pas de deux between Prince Désiré and the Vision of Aurore in Act II Scene I. Surrounded by misty forest woods, the Prince loses himself among dryads and the Lilac Fairy. As he contemplates his surroundings, exploring the stage in graceful leaps, a vision comes to him of the sleeping princess. The two embrace, coupled in mist and majesty as their bodies turn, fold, extend and consider each other. As arms and hands grasp in tender longing, we see the two unified ephemerally. Understanding the temporary nature of this dance is integral to the intense feeling of longing and yearning that the prince possessed. Suddenly a man bewitched by beauty, Désiré desires that touch, that dance, once again. 

This scene contrasts extremely well with the third act, titled “The Marriage of Aurore.” Among the pas de cinq of precious stones and the bubbling blue birds, or the chaleureux cats with their playful paws, we find Aurore and Désiré once again together. No longer are they cast amongst trees in a fleeting moment, but rather their union is a sacred, eternal and enchanting encounter. The audience witnesses bounding leaps and grands jetés on the part of Désiré, a man joyous and exuberant facing his bride, while Aurore, performs precise turns, liberated from the curse placed on her. Her steps built in intensity until finally the two joined together, a royal marriage between true love eternal.

While this ballet was performed in Paris and most Justice readers are not hitching  flights to sold out shows, I would be remiss if I did not mention the opportunities to witness a dance performance that is closer to home. I would encourage readers to go to the ballet performances in Boston, especially if you qualify for discounted tickets. Flood the opera and marvel at the hard work of these performers, it is truly a beautiful sight to behold.