NASHVILLE, Tenn. – February 12, 2025 – Nashville Ballet has announced Paul Vasterling’s The Sleeping Beauty is returning to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Jackson Hall on Saturday, February 22 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 23 at 2 p.m.  Tickets are on sale now and expected to sell quickly. 

Step into a world of enchantment with Nashville Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty, a performance perfect for audiences of all ages that is sure to captivate hearts and inspire dreams. Featuring Paul Vasterling’s choreography after Marius Petipa and accompanied by The Nashville Symphony, this dazzling production brings Tchaikovsky’s music to life with beloved characters and themes of love and triumph. 

Audiences will experience the magic of Princess Aurora’s journey, from her cursed slumber to the awakening kiss, in a performance that celebrates the power of true love with music by The Nashville Symphony. This timeless tale, perfect for audiences of all ages, is sure to captivate hearts and inspire dreams. Last presented by Nashville Ballet in 2017, the exquisite production includes gorgeous sets and costumes courtesy of Cincinnati Ballet, providing a new experience for Nashville audiences.

“Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty is a masterpiece of composition, challenging even the most seasoned dancer,” said Nashville Ballet Artistic Director and CEO Nick Mullikin.  “We are grateful that an artist like Nicolas Scheuer has set the bar so high, and shown the path for our young artists to step forward in the future. This year we will see many debuts, including Colette Tilinski and Jamie Kopit in the role of Aurora. Our Nashville audience will be astounded by how far their ballet company has evolved since the last time we did this production.” 

These Nashville Ballet Company Artists will play principal roles throughout this production.

The Sleeping Beauty Principal Dancers (in alphabetical order):

Jamie Kopit as Princess Aurora (Saturday evening show)

Claudia Monja as the Lilac Fairy (all shows)

Nicolas Scheuer as Prince Desire (both matinee shows)

Brett Sjoblom as Prince Desire (Saturday evening show)

Owen Thorne as Carabosse (all shows)

Colette Tilinski as Princess Aurora (both matinee shows)

Katie Vasilopoulos as the Queen (both matinee shows)

The Sleeping Beauty will not only showcase the incredible cast of company dancers and members of NB2, Nashville Ballet’s official second company, but also approximately 50 youth cast members from School of Nashville Ballet and Rejoice School of Ballet, with some youth cast members as young as 6 years old, the youngest in any of their productions.

After an unforgettable 13-year career, Company Artist Nicolas Scheuer will be concluding his time with Nashville Ballet to pursue his personal passions. Scheuer joined in 2012, making his debut as an apprentice in The Sleeping Beauty. He was cast as Prince Desire when the production returned in 2017, Scheuer’s first full-length principal role with the company. Scheuer has performed in many other principal and solo roles including Prince in Cinderella, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, and Sugar Plum Cavalier in Nashville’s Nutcracker.

Coming full circle, Scheuer returns to the role of Prince Desire in his final performances with Nashville Ballet. He will perform, with Colette Tilinski as Princess Aurora, on the two matinee shows, taking his final bow following the Sunday matinee.

Katie Vasilopoulos, Nashville Ballet’s Director of Artistic Operations and Strategy, joined NB2 in 2008 and progressed to the main company during the 2012 season. During her 13-year career, she originated several roles in Paul Vasterling’s choreography including one of the Three Witches in Something Wicked, Tiger Lily in Peter Pan, and the Mother Figure in Appalachian Spring. Other highlights include the Swan in Carmina Burana, Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy in Nashville’s Nutcracker, the 4th Movement lead in George Balanchine’s Western Symphony, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, and The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella.  Vasilopoulos will step out of retirement for the two-day production to play the role of the Queen in The Sleeping Beauty for the matinee performances.

FUN FACTS ABOUT NASHVILLE BALLET’S THE SLEEPING BEAUTY:

– The Sleeping Beauty premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1890, featuring choreography by Marius Petipa (known as the “father of classical ballet”) and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

– The Sleeping Beauty is Tchaikovsky’s longest ballet, lasting nearly 4 hours (counting intermissions)! Today, ballet companies typically shorten the length. Nashville Ballet’s version is approximately 2 hours 15 minutes (including one intermission).

– The Sleeping Beauty ballet is based on the famous fairy tale by Charles Perrault. A number of famous fairy tale characters from Perrault’s other stories also make appearances in this ballet, including Princess Florine and Bluebird, Little Red Riding Hood, and Puss in Boots.

– Though Carabosse (the wicked fairy) is a female character, the role is often performed by a male dancer. In Nashville Ballet’s production, Company Artist Owen Thorne will dance the role.

– The Cincinnati Ballet provided 8 giant wardrobe cases, traveling the 273 miles between Cincinnati and Nashville via semi truck, to include approximately 182 professional dancer costumes, 40 youth cast costumes, and 9 boxes of hats, headpieces and wigs.  

– The heaviest costume belongs to the Catalabutte — a whopping 20 pounds. For perspective, an average pair of men’s jeans weighs approximately 2 pounds.

– The production will feature an estimated 52 tutus that were rebuilt in 2018-2019 by Diana Adams in the same Karinska method, which takes 120 hours per tutu.