Ballet classic ’The Sleeping Beauty’ premiering in Tbilisi for first time in 60 years
Tweet 
Share
One of the most iconic classical ballets will be premiered to theatre-goers in Tbilisi for the first time in six decades, with dancers of the State Ballet of Georgia gearing up to present The Sleeping Beauty in the capital later this month.
First premiered at Russia’s Mariinsky Theatre in 1890, the ballet went on to become a staple of classical repertoire for major theatres around the world.
It will be staged at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre to mark 200 years since the birth of Marius Petipa, its choreographer and one of the famed names of classical dance.
See moments from rehearsals for 'The Sleeping Beauty' by Italian baritone Andrea Zaupa below:
The production will come to the audience in a new redaction by Nina Ananiashvili, a celebrated international dancer and artistic director of the Georgian company, and Alexey Fadeechev, choreographer and Ananiashvili’s former partner on stage.
Glimpses from rehearsals for the work have been offered to social media followers through photographs and videos by the Tbilisi theatre as well as Italian baritone Andrea Zaupa.
In Tbilisi for featuring in opera staging Turandot, the singer also attended studio rehearsals for the ballet premiere and created photo and video teasers on the preparations.
State Ballet of Georgia dancers in rehearsal for the premiere. Photo: Andrea Zaupa.
The Sleeping Beauty will be staged in its complete form at the Tbilisi theatre for the first time since the 1950s.
Fragments of the ballet have been presented at the venue over the recent years, including for a 2017 occasion celebrating the 35th anniversary of Ananiashvili's stage career.
With scenography and costume design for the new redaction coming from Anatoly Nezhny, the premiere will also feature lighting design by Steen Bjarke.
The show will cast artists of the troupe in six dates of the premiere bill. Photo: Andrea Zaupa.
Moscow State Academic Children’s Music Theatre conductor Alevtina Ioffe will lead the Tbilisi theatre’s orchestra for the performance.
A premiere bill of six shows for The Sleeping Beauty will host dance enthusiasts at the Opera and Ballet State Theatre between April 27-May 20.
Young Georgian dancer Nino Samadashvili will lead a performance of the classical ballet Laurencia at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus, dancing the title role in the work first staged by Georgia's famed dancer and choreographer Vakhtang Chabukiani.
Dancers recognised all over the world will take to the stage in Georgia’s capital alongside acclaimed contemporary troupes to delight viewers within the second edition of Tbilisi Ballet Festival next month.
South Korea’s K-Arts Dance Company, Georgian artists from troupes across the world and the Tbilisi-based State Ballet of Georgia will be on stage to make the third Tbilisi Ballet Festival an event to attend later this month.
Famous Georgian ballet dancer Nina Ananiashvili was awarded the highest artistic prize of Georgia at a special show on Friday to mark her contribution to the country’s cultural development.
Star dancers from two companies will make their first and last stage appearances in the classical ballet Laurencia at Tbilisi's Opera and Ballet State Theatre this weekend.
State Ballet of Georgia dancers are in rehearsals for the Georgian premiere of Medea, a one-act ballet by Yuri Possokhov, to be presented in a bill with two other works by the choreographer in Tbilisi next month.
State Ballet of Georgia are marking their post-lockdown Autumn renewal of shows with open-air performances of an adapted version of the classic Don Quixote, with dance enthusiasts invited to the yard of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre to enjoy the production.
Metamorphoses, a literary masterpiece of the Roman era, will join modern dance and sound in the latest premiere of Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet in Georgia’s capital next week.
The troupe of the Taras Shevchenko National Opera of Ukraine were hosted at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre on Saturday during day three of this year’s Tbilisi Ballet Festival, in a show dedicated to Ukraine and involving international ballet talents Marcelo Gomes and Alejandro Martinez.