Premiere in Russia

In different cultures the dream is observed as a sacral concept, opening the door to another world, inaccessible to the awake. There, the mind gives its control up, while the more deep and ancient powers take reigns and make the sense.

Upending dramatically what is praised as one of the most classical of classic ballets, Jeroen Verbruggen argues the motto “life is a dream” by an affirmation that the dream is the real life itself, because it hosts the basic powers that shape our reality. So… Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess, a true rose in a golden palace. The reason she fell asleep is known widely, but what were her dreams about? This ballet story is a fascinating journey to the depths of the conscious (or further: subconscious) parts of the mind of a girl on the very eve of the womanhood. In her long dream she makes a lot of discoveries, and the main of them is that everything in the world possesses its opposite side. Love and sexuality; mother’s love and parental pressure; the desire to protect and the disruptive jealousy; and even the golden palace turns out to actually be a gilded cage. The point is that whatever young person you are, it is time to learn to make decisions and to stand for them firmly — yet, not wrecking the connection with all the other world. Thus, this dream is not as sweet: sometimes it turns a pure disaster. The bonus, however, is that you always have a chance to wake up.

Mixing violently Charles Perrault's fairy tales with the versions by Brothers Grimm, interlacing Tchaikovsky’s music with the eternal problem of maturing children and authoritative parents, Verbruggen and the brilliant Leipzig Ballett offer the audience not a legend, nor a thriller, but a breathtaking and thought-provoking psych experiment.

The visual conception of the production is created by a tandem of designers: costumes are due to Charlie Le Mindu, who worked for Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger, etc; while scenography belongs to Kiara Stephenson, international known for her collaborations with many stage and theatre companies, among which design for Björk’s US and Europe tour.

I want to inspire new audiences for ballet, to show them that it's much more than just tights and ballet skirts.
MARIO SCHRÖDER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE LEIPZIG BALLET

Verbruggen's choreography has absolutely nothing in common with the classical Russian ballet. The dream of this Beauty trends to become as terrible as a nightmare, while the performing is triumphant and beautiful from the start to the end.
MITTELDEUTSCHE RUNDFUNK

Age category 12+