We students tend to approach dance two ways: there’s those dances we can actually do, and those that we, well, can’t. The dances performed by the National Ballet of Canada are obviously very difficult, yet their dancers achieve incredible grace and beauty. And when this grace is combined with wonderful music, then it all adds up to a delightful afternoon.

The National Ballet’s current production of Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty has an interesting history. It was first performed in the winter of 1890, in St. Petersburg, Russia but received much criticism from professional writers of the time as being too serious for a ‘fairy tale’ ballet. But, this French-based ballet, with decorations and costumes fitting the 18th-century French style was very popular with the people of Russia, and with the Tsar. The music was one of the three contributions Tchaikovsky made to the world of ballet (along with the more famous Nutcracker and Swan Lake), and the dancing has always proved to be a special challenge.

The story of the ballet is much the same as the classic fairy tale. The baby princess Aurora is cursed by the wicked fairy Carabosse, that if Aurora pricks her finger (with a needle, etc), she will die. Another fairy alters the curse so that if pricked, Aurora will only fall asleep until awoken by a prince. Of course, Princess Aurora does stab her finger on a needle and falls asleep. The Prince Florimund comes to the rescue, falls in love with Aurora, saves her with a kiss, and in the end they are married. How perfect that this romantic story was performed around Valentine’s Day.

The National Ballet’s production of Sleeping Beauty does credit to the splendor of the fairy tale. The scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiandis were rich and vibrant, capturing the decorative spirit of the classical French setting, and the stage management allowed for sets to be changed in a way that allowed the show to proceed unimpeded, while maintaining novel features.

Rudolf Nureyev’s choreography tests the principal dancers continuously, and the audience was astonished at many of the difficult maneuvers, always responding with enthusiastic applause (often before the end of the dance/song). A special mention should be made for Sonia Rodriguez who danced the main role of Princess Aurora (she alternates with three other principal dancers in the role during the run of the show) to perfection.

Beloved former prima ballerina Karen Kain deserves much of the credit for staging the show beautifully, with a large corps de ballet (cast) all on stage at once during much of the production. The famous dances like the Bluebird pas-de-deux were showcased with loving care, like small glittering facets on the larger gemstone.

Dances like this one are tough acts to follow. But the inspiration, grace, and portrayal of love created a fun Valentine’s challenge for any love-struck couple-to see if they could match the elegance and romance of the ballet.

The Sleeping Beauty continues to Feb. 29 at the Hummingbird Centre.