I was able to attend the rehearsal of The Sleeping Beauty at the Nashville Ballet on Thursday. I was very excited not only to see a ballet but to see one based on my favorite Disney movie….win win! I have been blogging for almost 9 years about the day to day shenanigans of my 3 boys. I must say it is refreshing to do a blog about a ballet and not about who is potty training or who tried to cut me in half with a light saber!!

I viewed Act one and was hooked. I had my 3 year old son with me, or I would have stayed for the entire rehearsal. I love to watch people dance. It doesn’t matter what type of dancing it is; I am just fascinated with watching dancers. This is most likely because I don’t have a rhythmic bone in my body! The ballerinas are absolutely amazing.

Sleeping Beauty Nashville Ballet Family Things To DoSince it was a rehearsal, I saw mostly dancers. There were a few costumes and set props there, but the focus of this rehearsal was the dance itself. The dancer playing the Carabosse was in costume which was neat, and Aurora’s mother had some of her costume on. The dancer playing Aurora is incredible (dancer in blue). I really enjoyed watching her; she has such a talent.

We sat with Lauren, who is the Public Relations Manager for the Nashville Ballet. She told me all about the production’s history, the dancers, the costumes, and the extensive preparation required to put on a ballet. Youth dancers, ages 6 and 7 years, from the Nashville School of Ballet are also in the program. Unfortunately, I was unable to see them because they were in school during this rehearsal. If you have children in dance, I’m sure they will love seeing kids dance in the ballet. Honestly, I am clueless when it comes to ballet. Watching them rehearse and learning more about the ballet was eye opening.

About 6 weeks prior to the ballet they rehearse every day 9am to 6pm. I also got to see how athletic these men and women are. The muscles and definition in their bodies just show the amount of strength and work it takes to be able to perform. The Sleeping Beauty ballet features some of the most challenging choreography around for ballerinas. I heard their coach say to the ballerinas, “don’t let your arms touch the sides of your costumes”. So they are holding their arms away just enough from their skirts that it is a constant arm and shoulder workout! I thought to myself, I will never complain again during a 4 minute arm track in my YMCA classes! The coach was walking around correcting things that I would never even notice, which demonstrates the meticulous detail in the preparation.

Children Nashville Ballet Sleeping BeautyNow that I have had a sneak peak, I want to see the full program. If I was this amazed in a rehearsal room with dancers and a piano, then the real performance with costumes, lights, backdrops, and symphony will be beautiful. The music by Tchaikovsky is from the original Sleeping Beauty ballet performed in 1890. The Nashville Symphony will be doing the music for the ballet. I love music, so to hear the symphony perform the Sleeping Beauty music alone would be well worth it. The full production is going to be wonderful.

Yes, the ballet is family friendly. However it may not be toddler friendly, as it is 2.5 hours long with 2 intermissions. My son was talking and getting up and down. A few times he would stop and really watch them dance, but for the most part it just did not spark an interest in him.

So, if you need plans for next weekend, make sure to click the link below and get your tickets!! There will be 3 performances starting September 23-24 at TPAC. I took a few photos during rehearsal, but you can also see more photos and read about the dancers in the link below.

http://www.nashvilleballet.com/the-sleeping-beauty/


Nashville Family Fun Special Needs Emily Cox is a stay at home mom to 3 boys! Her oldest, Cooper (8), has Down syndrome; Hank (6) is her middle; and Quinn (3) is her little. Emily has a family blog that was created almost 9 years ago to keep family and friends updated when her oldest son had heart surgery. She loved it and has blogged ever since!