Hong Kong Ballet (HKB) has long needed a new production of The Sleeping Beauty. Featuring Marius Petipa’s sublime choreography and Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, the work is the pinnacle of pure 19th century classical ballet and an essential part of any ballet troupe’s repertoire – as well as a supreme test of its female dancers.

HKB’s 2010 staging by Cynthia Harvey (last revived in 2021) was hampered by eccentric costume designs, including floppy travesties of tutus, and a sub-par version of Act 2. Its predecessor, by then artistic director Stephen Jefferies, was a straightforward reading with a strong narrative and attractive if simpler designs, reflecting the company’s more limited resources at that time.

This new production, HKB’s third in the past three decades, was choreographed by ballet legend Vladimir Malakhov with designs by the internationally renowned Jordi Roig, who were both also responsible for HKB’s La Bayadère in 2023.

Hopes that Malakhov’s staging would finally put all the pieces together were raised by an excellent first half, then let down by a disappointing second. However, The Sleeping Beauty is all about the dancing and this was consistently strong. Led by a splendidly assured Princess Aurora from prima ballerina Ye Feifei with charismatic guest artist Davi Ramos as her Prince, the whole company danced with impressive sharpness, precision and attack.

The problem with presenting The Sleeping Beauty is that the complete version of the ballet is so long: four and a half hours in Petipa’s time, while current productions in Russia, as well as Rudolf Nureyev’s version at the Paris Opera, still last three hours or more. That is why nowadays many stagings are shorter; likewise, Malakhov cut his down to two and a half hours with only one intermission.

It makes sense to do this in Hong Kong, where most audience members are not ballet purists – especially for a story that will bring many children to the theatre. The dilemma is what to cut when both the choreography and the music are so magnificent.