Saturday 17th March 2018, after a week off watching rugby, I’m back at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay for two performances of the Birmingham Royal Ballet production of ‘The Sleeping Beauty’. Having not had the opportunity to watch much Ballet over the last few years, today comes as an added bonus to my theatre culture, so really looking forward to this show. It’s a different experience to watch a Ballet, with stunning music (today’s written by Tchaikovsky) and dancing so graceful and effortless (or so it would seem) it just takes you into a different world, relaxing everything your body puts up against you throughout your working week, it’s the perfect de-stresser.

I have to commend the layout of this Ballet, with magnificent costumes and a lavish set to add to the superb dancing on show. The attention to detail is fabulous, with superb pointe work set against some fascinating dance steps. For the matinee Yvette Knight plays the role of Princess Aurora, with Maureya Lebowitz for the evening, their performances are just incredible with such poise and balance throughout. I’ve never seen anyone balance en pointe for so long in various parts of the Ballet, that was something to savour. In fact the whole cast are just superb, elegant, precise and a total joy to watch.

The Orchestra of the Birmingham Royal Ballet are another brilliant facet of this company. The music is played to perfection, giving the dancers plenty of scope to perform, with perfect timing throughout. I am so impressed with this company, everything they have done today has been outstanding, and watching it twice in the same day has been so beneficial to understanding just how technically perfect these dancers and musicians have to be. Another superb day at the Centre, well worth watching twice, and an amazing experience to see a classic Ballet performed to this standard.