When choreographers want to refresh their belief in the possibilities of classical dance, they return to The Sleeping Beauty. From Frederick Ashton to Alexei Ratmansky, from Kenneth MacMillan to George Balanchine and on to William Forsythe and Christopher Wheeldon, Marius Petipa’s 19th-century masterpiece has been a guide.
It has influenced other things, too. I always wonder how much the horned hat worn by evil fairy Maleficent in Disney’s 1959 cartoon was inspired by Oliver Messel’s designs for Carabosse in the Royal Ballet’s 1946 production, which launched Ninette de Valois’s baby ballet company on its path to world fame.
