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Ever since 17th-century Frenchman Charles Perrault penned Sleeping Beauty, others have co-opted the famous fairy tale. The Brothers Grimm trimmed the length, Disney turned it into a musical, and Anne Rice’s adults-only novel began with Beauty waking up to a visit from the prince’s, er, sword.
Perhaps the most ambitious version is Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty, which originally clocked in at four hours long. Ballet Arizona, together with the Phoenix Symphony, will tackle the fairy-tale dance spectacular through Sunday, February 12, at Symphony Hall.
“There’s no bigger ballet than The Sleeping Beauty,” says artistic director Ib Andersen. “It takes the most and requires the most…of everything.” Though Andersen’s interpretation is shortened to two-and-a-half-hours, the show is still so massive that costumes and sets arrived on three tractor-trailers and over a dozen assistants are needed to help dancers with outfits and wigs.
Feb. 9-12, 7 p.m., 2012
