For the first time in over a decade, the Korean National Ballet will perform Rudolf Nureyev’s “Sleeping Beauty.”

The KNB first introduced Nureyev’s rendition of the classic fairy tale to local audiences in 2004.

For this performance, they invited former Stuttgart Ballet prima ballerina Marcia Haydee to take charge of the choreography.

The roughly three-hour-long ballet got off to a slow start during the full-concert press rehearsal at the Seoul Arts Center on Wednesday. However, that all changed the moment Carabosse appeared on the stage.

Without question, the pinnacle of the entire performance was ironically not Sleeping Beauty herself, but wicked fairy godmother Carabosse. And in another ironic twist, the character of the evil old lady is brought to life by the ballet company’s male principal. 

Donning an eye-catching silky black, robe-like dress with equally silky long black hair to match, the evil godmother stole the show.

Standing tall at 1.95 meters, the 24-year-old KNB principal ballerino Lee Jae-woo was nothing short of show-stopping.

Although Lee is surely used to towering over his fellow dancers on stage as the company’s tallest dancer, in the role of Carabosse the ballerino’s height beautifully added to the grand statuesque presence of the black witch. One’s eyes can’t help but anticipate his every move.

A black silk curtain that hangs across the stage is incorporated into Carabosse’s choreography. The garb is a stunning spectacle that further lends to the overall majestic and fairy-tale aesthetics of the ballet. 

“’Sleeping Beauty’ by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa, in fact, represents the pinnacle of classical ballet: ballet then proved itself as one of the major arts,” Nureyev wrote on the official website of the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, explaining his decision to tackle a new version of the beloved fairy tale ballet.

“When I was first learning to dance in Ufa, my ballet master, who had belonged to the Kirov ballet, used to tell me that ‘Sleeping Beauty’ was the ‘ballet of ballets.’ ... Today, Sleeping Beauty is still for me the perfect accomplishment of symphonic ballet,” he continued. The choreographer is required to find harmony with Tchaikovsky’s score. It is not a question of creating an event with no future with Sleeping Beauty, but of producing a lasting show that supports the excellence of a company.”

“Sleeping Beauty” will be staged at the Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater for five performances from Thursday to Sunday, with two concerts held Saturday. Ticket prices range from 5,000 won ($4.40) to 100,000 won and can be purchased at the ballet company’s homepage or at interpark.com.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)