The classic fairytale ‘Sleeping Beauty’ contains all the ingredients for a marquee ballet: an enchanted setting, a breathtaking Tchaikovsky score and an unforgettable bedchamber scene.

Unfortunately, none of those factors added up to an even semi-mystifying experience at the Syracuse OnCenter Friday night. The combined efforts of the Upstate New York Ballet troupe and Syracuse Symphony were riddled with tear-jerking disappointments, starting with its targeted preschool demographic. The ballet was ripe with blemishes and annoying failures to breathe life into a timeless, bewitching fable.

I have to admit, my expectations were high. As the auditorium lights flickered to cue curtain call, parents attempted to pacify their squeamish children. I did my own calming as my thoughts strayed into the fantastical realm illustrated by Walt Disney’s 1959 screen adaptation. Looking around, I quickly became jealous of my girly counterparts in the audience who remembered to bring their mini tutus and sequined plastic wands.

Taking in the ornate stage design, regal brass soundings and elegant costumes reminiscent of ‘The Nutcracker’ and ‘Swan Lake,’ something I had long forgotten resurfaced: my 13-year-old dream of becoming (italics!!!!!!!!!!!)the(italics!!!!!!!!!!!) Aurora of ‘Sleeping Beauty.’ A glimpse of euphoria was quickly shattered by realization of the fact that 13 years was also the average lifespan of the stage performers. Aside from a few members of the royal party masquerading as stage props, the citizenry of Far Far Away looked like day care center recruitments.

Another striking blow to my inner child presented itself through excessive script liberties taken by the ballet’s producers. One element of the show was already lost in overdone hand signaling used to substitute for actual dialogue, but modifications to the actual storyline were unbearable. A sugarplum-like ‘Fairy Corps’ flitted across the stage and regretfully replaced the usual doting godmothers. Each fairy seemed far more occupied with curtsying to the crowd than rescuing Aurora from narcolepsy.

Most jarring of all was the use of a thorny bouquet instead of an apparently too morbid spinning wheel. God forbid the little tikes start having bloodied nightmares starring possessed spinning wheels. Or in this case, genetically modified flower bushes.

As one of the few college students in the audience, my deflated impressions had no effect on the misty-eyed children entranced around me. One audience member, 7-year-old Annie Baker of Split Rock School, came to see her first ballet with her friends in Girl Scout Troop 465. Throughout the show, Baker sat nestled in her mother’s lap in raptures and timidly shared her opinions about the show during intermission.

‘I want to be one of the girls wearing the white dresses,’ said Baker, a novice ballet dancer herself. Her mother, Jodi, said she enjoyed the young age group of the performers, and praised that feature of the show.

‘I think that’s what makes it most fun to watch,’ said Jodi Baker, who described the evening out with her daughter as ‘very special.’

Nina Vergara, a Syracuse resident, was also impressed by what the performers could do at such a young age.

‘I think it’s really cool they can move like that,’ Vergara said. ‘For a show that long, everyone fit together, no one messed up and it was graceful.’

A long show indeed. Act Two included a wedding procession-turned showcase for ‘Aesop’s Fables,’ starring the nonsensical dance routines of Little Red Riding Hood and Puss ‘n’ Boots. I couldn’t help but think of Peter Jackson’s ‘The Return of the King,’ as this show could have ended at least three or four times. The members of Girl Scout Troop 465 must have felt my pain, since they managed to sneak out of their seats 15 minutes early. Lucky rascals.

Published on February 5, 2006 at 12:00 pm