“Therefore, this is what I will do: I will block her way with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so that she cannot find her paths.  She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them.  Then she will think, ‘I will go back to my former husband, for then it was better for me than now.’” ~ Hosea 2:6, 7

Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty ballet debuted in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1890.  The story line follows the Brothers’ Grimm version of the tale (although Tchaikovsky gives a nod to Perrault by including characters from Perrault’s other stories).[1]  There are only two “significant” contributions the ballet adds to the Sleeping Beloved saga: the music and the name of the heroine, both of which are used in Disney’s 1959 animated feature.

By and large, the ballet is not considered a “major” rendition.  It is, however, of major importance to me. 

I went to see it as a senior in college with my mom.  That past year had been rough – really rough.  I was broken and hurting.  I wanted to return to my innocent childhood loves, which included Sleeping Beauty. 

You see, I’d lost touch with my childhood longing to be just like Sleeping Beauty.  I wrote her off at some point during my college years.  I still loved her out of nostalgic loyalty…but she wasn’t a “modern” woman.  I judged her as just another typical damsel in distress.  I judged her as weak.

As we’ve seen, I was entirely wrong in my judgement – but that’s where my heart was when I saw Tchaikovsky’s ballet. 

The costumes were dazzling, the music was exhilarating, and the dancing was lovely.  The beauty of it brought tears to my eyes (I know, it’s weird…art does that to me).

But the part that truly stuck with me is not in any other version: the part where Aurora dances with four suitors at her birthday party, just before she pricks her finger on the spindle.  As I watched her flit from one suitor to the next, the verses from Hosea 2 came to my mind. 

If you read the rest of Hosea, you see that the “thorns” aren’t exactly happy…they symbolize trials and suffering.  But they end up leading the woman back to her first love – an allegory for Israel returning to God.  The thorns end up protecting and saving the Beloved from the dangerous path she’s on.

Now, Aurora was probably just being playful – it really is an innocent dance.  But when I saw Aurora – so full of life and naivety – go from one suitor to the next, I was painfully reminded of my rough year.  I had been full of life, and very naïve.  I had gone from one man to the next.  And it had nearly killed me, just as it would Aurora.

But like Aurora, the trials and suffering I endured ended up saving me from continuing down the path I was on.  They ended up leading me back to my first love, Jesus.

As I watched Aurora’s tale unfold in dance, a piece of my little-girl heart was restored.  I realized I had more in common with my beloved Sleeping Beauty than I knew.

 

Sources

[1] http://www.classicfm.com/composers/tchaikovsky/music/sleeping-beauty/#bJBmYLacy9SZvUR7.97


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