Hawth Theatre, West Sussex.
21 February 2026.
The lovely afternoon began with Aurora introducing the family-filled audience to the mime actions they will see during the performance of Sleeping Beauty by Let’s All Dance. Described as being suitable for children from age 2+ and those with additional needs, Let’s All Dance is a C.I.C (Community Interest Company) producing narrative ballets to reach children and families with high quality, accessible and affordable live dance. Today’s Sleeping Beauty is performed in one act, in just under an hour, which was perfect for its audience.
Today’s setting takes place in a theatre studio where the staging area is ground level and tiered seating rises above it. This made for great visibility for all, but the intimacy it provided was also very engaging. For example, the Lilac Fairy and Carabosse both had plenty of mime dialogue to deliver to the audience. The close proximity seemed to work very well for young concentration and attention spans and also helped the miming, by Syanne Day (Lilac Fairy) and Laura Glare (Carabosse) to come across in a clear and concise way. The two fairies brought pleasing contrast to the stage; Day was soft and reassuring, while Glare was lively and dynamic.
A chandelier overhead, used atmospherically to change scenes, and a backdrop of gold fabric, with a layer of rose-filled net in front of it, brought a warm, rich feeling to the stage. This worked particularly well when Aurora was asleep for a hundred years; she lay on the gold velvet Victorian-style sofa across the centre back and the netting was draped around her.
Some lovely tangible moments included confetti being lightly thrown over the audience by Blu Fairy, danced with charming and spirited characterisation by Ben Randall. And Aurora’s 16th pink and white birthday cake, placed reverently centre front, so close to the audience they could reach out and touch it!
The prophecy scene, where Carabosse declares the princess Aurora will prick her finger and die, was acted out on the far side of the stage — a useful tool to help the flow and telling of the story. When Aurora (Anna Yliaho) re-entered the stage on her 16th birthday, in glittery pink dress and tiara, she ran in enthusiastically from another entrance, helping to differentiate from the dream scene. She waved to the audience, and her parents gifted her a necklace. There were plenty of well thought out moments like this.
There were some sweet adaptations to the traditional storyline in today’s version, such as Aurora’s refusal of the first prince she danced with – she got scared when dancing with him and he lifted her onto his shoulder, and she jumped back down! They also danced the Rose Adagio together, with simple references to the original choreography. And towards the end, Carabosse relaxed and became kind again. She stepped aside to allow Prince Desiré to reach the Sleeping Beauty and awaken her.
Maybe it was a touch confusing when Aurora seemed to awaken early from her sleep independently. She saw Prince Desiré (Alistair Beattie) and danced in a trio with him and the Lilac Fairy. It was a dream though, and she returned to the sofa beneath the net ready to be awakened by Prince Desiré’s kiss. Perhaps this was done so that he wasn’t a stranger to her when she awoke?
The ending was attractively choreographed; Aurora and the Prince knelt together before the King who held his crown over them. A special first introduction to theatre and ballet, as well as Tchaikovsky’s classical music. After the bows, a lovely extra for children in the audience; they were invited to join the cast on stage for a photo opportunity, making it an even more memorable trip and maybe encouraging some future ballet dancers!
By Louise Ryrie of Dance Informa.
