Rockford Dance Company will present The Sleeping Beauty, a retro twist on a ballet classic, on Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 6pm at Maddox Theater at Rockford University.

The whimsical production features dancers from RDC’s company and school, as well as from the community.

RDC guest choreographer Lucas Segovia says that his unique approach to The Sleeping Beauty will be highly appealing to broad audiences. “My goal with this production of The Sleeping Beauty was to imagine what this story would look like in the America of the 1950’s. I wondered what if instead of a Queen and a princess, we could talk about a traditional American family that welcomes their child and later on celebrates her sweet sixteen party at a diner, as opposed to a castle. And what if, instead of a Prince Charming, we had a simple, kind-hearted man -who happens to be the Busboy of the diner.”

The basics of the story stand: we still have magic,
jealousy and a spell. However, unlike the original version, this one is centered on friendship and
kindness, where the hero is not a prince but a teenager that works and happens to like Aurora.
Segovia’s production utilizes the original music by Tchaikovsky and some of the traditional
choreography by Petipa.

Segovia explains that he chose to this challenging ballet for RDC’s spring production because “I
believe the Company and the organization as a whole is ready for a challenge to push the
boundaries of classical ballet. After directing RDC’s annual production of The Nutcracker for the last two years, I realized that the dancers were at a technical and artistic capacity that was optimal for this difficult, yet beautiful ballet. Additionally, I wanted to include as many members of the community as possible, and this particular production welcomes many adult dancers as well as students from across the city.”

RDC’s The Sleeping Beauty features one guest artist, Christopher Damle, who is a dancer with
Madison Ballet, and also has a cast of over 50 dancers of all ages, as well as professional skaters!

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children under 12. $5 more at the door. On sale now at
www.rockfordancecompany.com.