Sleeping Beauty with Classical Ukrainian Etoile Ballet

About the Performance

Who will awaken the beautiful Princess Aurora from her 100-year slumber? We invite you to a magical world that will swirl with brilliant waltzes performed by Classical Ukrainian Etoile Ballet. Thanks to the beautiful music of Tchaikovsky and the magnificent choreography of Marius Petipa, Charles Perrault’s “fairy tale” has become a jewel of classical ballet, a timeless poem about the struggle between good and evil.

Sleeping Beauty is a harmonious combination of beautiful music, virtuoso choreography, a fairy-tale plot, and visual splendor, making it one of the most popular and beloved ballets in the world.

About Sleeping Beauty
The evil fairy Carabosse curses Princess Aurora and predicts her death from a needle prick on her sixteenth birthday. The good Lilac Fairy mitigates the curse: Aurora will not die, but will sleep for a hundred years, and only a kiss from a prince can awaken her. Aurora falls asleep, and with her the entire kingdom. A hundred years later, Prince Désiré, led by the Lilac Fairy, finds Aurora and awakens her with a kiss. The curse is broken, and the lovers celebrate their wedding.

This ballet requires a high level of technical skill from the dancers. It contains complex steps, jumps, pirouettes, and lifts. Particularly famous are the Lilac Fairy’s dance, the waltz, the pas de deux of Aurora and Prince Désiré, and Princess Aurora’s variation in the first act, which requires virtuoso technique and lightness from the soloists.
The production of classical choreography by Marius Petipa will be performed by Classical Ukrainian Etoile Ballet – a company organized in Kiev by soloists Irina and Anatoliy Khandazhevsky from Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre in Ukraine. The performers include professional ballet dancers – winners of international ballet competitions, honored artists from Ukraine, soloists from Ukrainian, and since February 2022, European theaters. The performance involves artists of the highest level, and in their productions the company uses authentic theater costumes and sets, made by hand. A professional theater lighting designer accompanies the ballet performance and creates an unforgettable atmosphere during the show. The music is reproduced in a very high-quality recording by the Kharkiv Opera Orchestra. This is a unique opportunity to see authentic classical ballet at the highest level performed by stars from the world’s ballet stages!

Ballet soloists:
Irina Khandazhevskaya, Prima Ballerina, honored artist of Ukraine, soloist at Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre, choreographer, diploma winner of the international ballet competition “Premio Roma”. Honorary prize “People’s Recognition 2010” in artist nomination. Awarded the “P. Virsky Prize” in choreography nomination 2007. @irinakhandazhevskaya

Anatoliy Khandazhevsky, soloist at Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre (Ukraine), choreographer, prize winner in international competition in Tallinn. @anatoliikhandazhevskii

Maria Shupilova, soloist at Kyiv Opera. @shupilova_maria

Kristina Kadashevich, leading soloist at Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre, winner of international ballet competitions.

Katerina Andrenko, soloist at Odessa National Opera, Hamburg Chamber Ballet, Opera Poznan. @andrenko_kate

Dmitry Lazovik, soloist at Belarusian State Academic Musical Theatre, winner of international ballet competitions.

Vsevolod Maievskyi, soloist at English National Ballet, Ukrainian-born former dancer at Mariinsky Ballet. @vsevolod_maievskyi

Larisa Hrytsay, soloist at Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre (Ukraine), soloist at Odessa National Opera. @lorikeets89

Audience reviews:
Birgitta: A fantastic break from everyday life! Beautiful costumes, skillful dancing, beautiful music and everything took me to a dream world for a moment.

Ami: Wonderful! Grand Pas de deux was so beautiful that I started crying!

Ingrid: Fantastically beautiful dancing and music and lovely costumes!

The tour is presented by the Norwegian organization Kultur for Folket to support Ukrainian classical ballet art and Ukrainian artists who do not have the opportunity to