Overview

Relaxed Performances are designed to welcome the Disability Community into artistic spaces. The National Ballet of Canada is excited to welcome families who usually find access to the arts limited, to see Act III of The Sleeping Beauty in a more relaxed and approachable environment on March 22, 2022 at 2:00 pm for just $25 for adults/$15 for children. This performance has been structured to ensure that children and adults who are Neurodiverse, members of the d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing and Disability Communities feel safe, celebrated and cared for.

Things to Know About the Relaxed Performance

• Seating will be limited to the Orchestra and Grand Ring levels and will remain below capacity
• Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children 13 and under
• Accessible seating is available, please contact our Box Office by emailing info@national.ballet.ca or calling 416 (1 866) 345 9595 if you need an accessible seating area when booking your ticket
• There will be a host who introduces the show and some of the dancers before the performance begins. ASL Interpretation will be provided from the stage during this portion of the performance
• Please contact our Box Office if you are bringing a service dog with you to the performance and you will be seated in an area that provides more room for your dog during the show
• A gender neutral and accessible washroom is located on the Grand Ring (level 2) and families are encouraged to use any washroom that makes them feel comfortable and allows them to be authentically themselves

How to Prepare for the Performance

Venue Guide

A venue guide and video have been created to help you prepare for your visit.

Fact Sheet

A fact sheet has been prepared for the show – it includes information on the first two acts of the ballet, and some short notes on lighting, sound and other parts of the show that will help you prepare for the performance.

About The Sleeping Beauty

In Rudolf Nureyev’s The Sleeping Beauty, King Florestan and the Queen are hosting the christening of their baby daughter, Princess Aurora, when they are interrupted by the evil fairy Carabosse. Angered that she was not invited to the christening, Carabosse tells the court that Princess Aurora will one day prick her finger and die. The gentle Lilac Fairy amends the curse, promising that Princess Aurora will not die but rather fall asleep for 100 years, until her true love awakens her with a kiss. On Aurora’s 16th birthday, she pricks her finger on a spindle that Carabosse has hidden inside a bouquet of flowers. The entire court falls asleep and a thick forest grows around the palace.

Act III of The Sleeping Beauty is devoted to wedding celebrations for Princess Aurora and Prince Florimund, whose kiss at the end of Act II awakens the court and restores the kingdom to its former splendour. Several of the guests perform exquisite variations, including the Bluebird, Princess Florine and the Pussycats, who are characters from French fairy tales. The celebrations conclude with Princess Aurora’s grand pas de deux with Prince Florimund, in which they express their love and commitment to one another, signalling the triumph of good over evil and defeating Carabosse forever.

Learn More

Credits

Produced, originally staged and with additional choreography:
Rudolf Nureyev, after Marius Petipa

Staged by:
Karen Kain, C.C., LL. D., D.Litt., O Ont. and the Artistic Staff of The National Ballet of Canada

Music:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Set and Costume Design:
Nicholas Georgiadis

Lighting Design:
David Hersey

Premiere: Teatro alla Scala, Teatro alla Scala Opera House, Milan, Italy, September 22, 1966
The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: National Arts Centre, Ottawa, September 1,1972

The Sleeping Beauty is made possible by generous contributions from Margaret Fleck & Jim Fleck, C.C., The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., Gretchen Ross and Nancy Pencer & Michael Benjamin.