Tyler Angle (center) angles for his princess, Tiler Peck, in this majestic NYCB production of the Peter Martins work. (Paul Kolnik)
‘Typecasting is not acting,” a director once joked. Yet it’s the reason New York City Ballet’s 22-year-old production of “The Sleeping Beauty” looked so fresh Friday: All the leads in Peter Martins’ version of the Tchaikovsky classic seemed destined for their roles.
The role of Princess Aurora can test any ballerina, but Tiler Peck lives up to the character’s name — she’s as radiantly sunny as a cloudless day. The infamous balances of the Rose Adagio give her no trouble. She can turn any which way, including luxuriously arcing off her axis.
As her prince, Tyler Angle’s strengths are his elegant demeanor and intelligent characterization. The way he imperiously dismisses a potential suitor shows that the young royal’s blood is cold and blue. Yet his heart soon melts. When the Lilac Fairy leads him to Aurora, it’s both true love and a date with destiny.
A wicked fairy is rarely so glamorous as Georgina Pazcoguin. In all black as Carabosse, sparkling with rhinestones and feathers, she stomps her feet and her eyes flash. She laughs maniacally in an over-the-top mix of Norma Desmond and Cruella de Vil, but a supervillainess is allowed to chew the scenery.
Towering over Pazcoguin like good over evil, Teresa Reichlen’s Lilac Fairy is her perfect foil. Reichlen is even tempered and mild: Her gentle rebuff to Carabosse’s curse contrasts beautifully.
The couple dancing the Bluebird pas de deux is also at its best in roles that maximize both dancers’ small, quicksilver nature. Erica Pereira snaps her head into little avian wiggles, Anthony Huxley’s legs beat quickly like wings as he jumps.
There are several good casts, including Ana Sophia Scheller’s debut tomorrow night, and you can see this team again Friday. The 1991 production holds up well. It feels lavish, yet the scene changes are accomplished quickly with richly colored projections. In NYCB style, the ensemble is a Corps of One — every woman dances her own way, with angles instead of soft curves.
Granted, it’s also classics for commuters — with brisk tempos as if you had a train to catch. But when the speed finally slows, Peck expands into a solo as rich as cream. With dancing like that, we could have stayed all night.