New York City Ballet’s sumptuous production of The Sleeping Beauty, which returns this Winter Season February 11–22, boasts a cast of more than 100 dancers. But at the heart of the ballet is Aurora, the fairy-tale princess who famously pricks her finger, falls into an enchanted sleep, and awakens to a princely kiss a century later.

In one of classical ballet’s most celebrated, multifaceted, and difficult roles, Aurora matures over the course of the ballet, growing froman effervescent teenager sizing up suitors at her 16th birthday party, to an ethereal vision conjured to draw the prince to her bedside, and finally, to a bride, regal and self-assured. It’s a fiercely demanding role set to Tschaikovsky’s soaring score that requires persuasive acting skills and formidable technique.

How does a ballerina approach this iconic role? Two NYCB Principal Dancers who will perform Aurora this season—Indiana Woodward, who returns to the part for her third season, and Emma Von Enck, who will make her Aurora debut—took a break between rehearsals to discuss what it means to be Aurora.

As a young ballet student, Indiana Woodward performed the Garland Dance with the Kirov Ballet when the company brought The Sleeping Beauty to Los Angeles; she recalls watching in awe as Diana Vishneva danced Aurora. Calling the role “one of the biggest dreams of my life,” she observes, “It’s probably one of the biggest accomplishments you’ll get to do in your ballet career because it’s so hard and so long. You do everything—adagio work, pas de deux, quick jumps, turns, iconic balances, character portrayal. You get to live a full spectrum of emotions—it’s so much fun.”

Woodward has reshaped her preparation each season as she’s grown in the part. Eager for historic as well as contemporary inspiration for her 2019 debut, she watched Sleeping Beauty footage performed by world-renowned dancers including the legendary Margot Fonteyn. When she returned to the role four years later, “I really dove into the music and found my character in the notes. And that helped me stay the most present I’ve ever been onstage in my life,” she says. And this time? “I’m going to use my life experiences and what I’ve learned from doing this role, and just enjoy being present and grateful for the opportunity.”

She observes that the ballet’s vaunted technique is indeed challenging. “The Rose Adagio is a feat. But the balances are one of my favorite parts. I grew up with Russian ballet training, and the balances take me back to my childhood of trying to defy my own boundaries and gravity."

For Woodward, a far bigger challenge is to be comfortable with the ballet’s moments of stillness, as at the start of Aurora’s solo in the Rose Adagio. “I have to quiet my excitement, come into the role, and be confident in myself,” she says. “Your heart is racing like crazy, but I’ve found that you can use your nervous energy, that excitement, angst, and fear, in the performance. I realized, this is probably what a 16-year-old would feel, entering a really exciting party for the first time. It’s your first jump into the character."

Three years ago, Emma Von Enck had a preview of what it’s like tobe Aurora when she danced excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty at a NYCB Family Saturdays presentation. “I got to put on all three costumes,” she recalls. “I did part of the Rose Adagio, a variation from the Vision Scene, and the coda of the Wedding pas de deux with Roman Mejia.” To her surprise, the steps all came back at her first rehearsal for her Aurora debut this season. “The music really tells you what to do," she says. "All you have to do is listen."

Von Enck plans to utilize Tschaikovsky’s radiant score to help impart the story. “In Act 1, there’s this peppy music we call Jaws,”she says, snapping her fingers. “It’s like your countdown to come on stage, and you’re young and excited. The Vision is somber.The music is heart-wrenching, full of longing, so that informs the quality of how you’ll move. And the Wedding pas de deux is set to regal, iconic music. So you can think about the acting, but you’re just responding to what the music is putting down."

Having danced a number of other soloist roles in the ballet, including the Emerald variation and Princess Florine, Von Enck knows NYCB’s Sleeping Beauty well. “I enjoy its classical roots,” she says. “The ballet steps are universal. And the Rose Adagio is almost like the 32 fouettés in Swan Lake. It’s what the audience is waiting for.”

What challenges does she foresee when she takes the stage as Aurora? “The Rose Adagio, because there’s no jumping, and that’s usually my go-to move where I’m most comfortable,” she says.“Thank goodness it’s at the beginning!” She’s also preparing for how to embody Aurora while executing some of ballet’s most exacting choreography. “You have to handle all that entails onstage in realtime, while trying not to think about how much is riding on it,” she says. “But I think the reason I love this ballet so much is that it’s so challenging, and I love a challenge. I’m excited to rehearse it, to perform it--I'm excited for the whole experience."

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