DMM Partner Feature | Ballet
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts Presents The Sleeping Beauty: A Celebration of Classical Ballet and Community Access
How one of Brooklyn's most beloved cultural institutions brought the Russian National Ballet Theatre to the Walt Whitman Theatre — and why affordable access to world-class dance matters more than ever.
By Dance Mogul Magazine | Originally Published February 24, 2014 | Updated May 2026
A World-Class Ballet Comes to Brooklyn
On Sunday, March 23, 2014, the internationally acclaimed Russian National Ballet Theatre performed Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty at the Walt Whitman Theatre on the campus of Brooklyn College. The performance was the culmination of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' 2013–14 World of Dance series — a season-long commitment to bringing diverse, globally significant dance to one of New York City's most culturally rich boroughs at prices families could actually afford.
For Dance Mogul Magazine, this event represented something larger than a single performance. It was proof that when institutions invest in making classical dance accessible, entire communities benefit. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts — a longtime DMM partner in the mission to bring world-class dance culture to everyday audiences — built its reputation on exactly this principle: outstanding performing arts, reflective of Brooklyn's diverse communities, at affordable prices.
The Sleeping Beauty: A Ballet That Defined an Era
The Sleeping Beauty is not just a fairy tale set to music. It is one of the most important works in the entire history of classical ballet, and understanding its significance enriches the experience of watching it performed.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed the score between 1888 and 1889, commissioned by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, head of the Russian Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg. This commission came at a critical moment in Tchaikovsky's career — his previous ballet, Swan Lake, had met with limited initial success. Rather than retreat, the composer poured his full genius into The Sleeping Beauty, creating a score that many musicologists consider the finest ballet music ever written.
The ballet is based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale La Belle au bois dormant, adapted through the Brothers Grimm. Legendary Imperial Ballet Master Marius Petipa choreographed the work, and on January 15, 1890, The Sleeping Beauty premiered at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Within thirteen years, it had been performed over 200 times and had become the second most popular ballet in the Imperial repertory.
"The Sleeping Beauty was the first of Petipa's classics to reach Western Europe — and performance of the leading role remains a kind of initiation rite for aspiring ballerinas worldwide."
Dance Mogul Magazine
Serge Diaghilev brought the work to London in 1921 under the title The Sleeping Princess, and by 1939 it had become the foundation of the classical ballet repertory across Great Britain. Today, the ballet is performed by every major company in the world, and the role of Princess Aurora stands as one of the ultimate tests of a ballerina's artistry, technique, and endurance.
The Russian National Ballet Theatre: Preserving Tradition, Inspiring the World
The Russian National Ballet Theatre was founded in Moscow during the transitional period of Perestroika in the late 1980s, when many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union's ballet institutions exercised their newfound creative freedom by launching independent companies. The goal was twofold: preserve the timeless tradition of classical Russian ballet while invigorating that tradition with new developments in dance from around the world.
Originally titled the Soviet National Ballet, the company drew its dancers from the most prestigious choreographic schools in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Perm. Principal dancers came from the upper ranks of Russia's greatest companies, as well as from the academies of Riga, Kiev, and Warsaw.
In 1994, the legendary Bolshoi principal dancer Elena Radchenko was selected by Presidential decree to assume the company's first permanent artistic directorship — a position she has held for over three decades. Under Radchenko's leadership, the company has maintained a repertory of virtually all of the great full-length Petipa works: Don Quixote, La Bayadère, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Paquita, Coppélia, and La Sylphide, along with productions of The Nutcracker, Sylvia, Carmen, Giselle, and La Fille Mal Gardée.
Today, the Russian National Ballet Theatre maintains a roster of over 50 dancers and continues to tour extensively across Europe, Asia, and the Americas — a testament to the enduring global appetite for classical ballet performed at the highest level.
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts: A Legacy of Access and Excellence
Founded in 1954, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College was one of Brooklyn's most important cultural institutions for over six decades. Operating out of the 2,400-seat Walt Whitman Theatre, the organization welcomed over 65,000 people each season and presented programming that reflected the extraordinary diversity of the borough it served.
What made Brooklyn Center exceptional — and why Dance Mogul Magazine considers it a model partner in the dance community — was its unwavering commitment to accessibility. Ticket prices were kept deliberately affordable. The World of Dance series, the World Stages Music series, and the Target Family Fun programming introduced thousands of families to art forms they might never have encountered otherwise.
Perhaps most significantly, Brooklyn Center's SchoolTime series brought 45,000 schoolchildren from over 300 schools to the theatre each year, filling the gap created by decades of cuts to public school arts programs — particularly in under-resourced neighborhoods. This was arts education as community infrastructure, not charity.
"Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts didn't just present performances — it built a pipeline between world-class art and the communities that deserve to experience it most."
Dance Mogul Magazine
Over the years, the Walt Whitman Theatre hosted some of the most celebrated performers in the world, including Luciano Pavarotti, Gregory Hines, Beverly Sills, Ray Charles, Les Ballets Africains, the Moiseyev Dance Company, Tony Bennett, Suzanne Farrell, and Itzhak Perlman. Brooklyn Center presented more than 150 New York, U.S., and world premieres across its history.
In July 2018, the organization transitioned from independent nonprofit status to become a unit of Brooklyn College's School of Visual, Media, and Performing Arts. Shortly thereafter, the college closed the organization, citing budgetary reasons. The performing arts programming at Brooklyn College now operates through the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts, a state-of-the-art facility that opened on campus to continue the tradition of cultural excellence that Brooklyn Center established.
Event Details: The Sleeping Beauty at Brooklyn College
Performance: The Sleeping Beauty
Company: Russian National Ballet Theatre
Artistic Director: Elena Radchenko
Date: Sunday, March 23, 2014 at 3:00 PM
Venue: Walt Whitman Theatre, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College
Series: 2013–14 World of Dance
Ticket Prices: $36 – $45
Access: 2 Train to Brooklyn College / Flatbush Avenue
Community Partners and Supporters
Events like The Sleeping Beauty were made possible by a network of community partners who understood the value of arts access. Major support for Brooklyn Center's World of Dance series was provided by the Macy's Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and The Harkness Foundation for Dance.
The 2013–14 season received additional support from Brooklyn College, Target, Con Edison, TD Bank, National Grid, the TD Charitable Foundation, the Henry and Lucy Moses Foundation, the Herman Goldman Foundation, the Alice Lawrence Foundation, and The Harkness Foundation for Dance.
Brooklyn Center's programs were also supported by public funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, along with support from New York State Assembly members and city officials committed to cultural investment in Brooklyn.
Dance Mogul Magazine recognizes these partners for their investment in making world-class dance accessible to communities that need it most. This kind of institutional support is the foundation on which dance culture thrives — and it is a model we encourage communities everywhere to replicate.
Why This Matters: Dance Access as Community Empowerment
When a child in Flatbush sees a Russian prima ballerina perform a role that has been passed down through 130 years of artistic tradition — for a ticket price their family can afford — something shifts. Boundaries dissolve. Possibility expands. A young person who may never have considered ballet as something "for them" suddenly sees a world that includes them.
This is what Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts represented for six decades. It was not just a venue. It was a bridge between the world's highest artistic traditions and the people of Brooklyn.
At Dance Mogul Magazine, we believe that access to dance is not a luxury — it is a right. Our mission of inspiring self-empowerment through dance culture is shared by every institution, partner, and supporter that works to remove barriers between audiences and art. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts embodied that mission, and its legacy continues to inspire the work we do today.
"Access to dance is not a luxury — it is a right. Every child deserves to see what's possible on a stage."
Dance Mogul Magazine
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts — Legacy Timeline
Key Milestones
1954 — Founded as Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College
1954–2018 — Operated the 2,400-seat Walt Whitman Theatre, presenting world-class music, dance, and theatre
Annual Impact — Welcomed 65,000+ attendees per season, including 45,000 schoolchildren from 300+ schools
150+ Premieres — Presented New York, U.S., and world premieres across six decades
Notable Performers — Luciano Pavarotti, Gregory Hines, Ray Charles, Les Ballets Africains, Suzanne Farrell, Tony Bennett, Itzhak Perlman, and many more
2009 — Named Best Theatre or Theatre Group for Kids in Brooklyn (Nickelodeon ParentsConnect Awards)
March 2014 — Russian National Ballet Theatre performs The Sleeping Beauty as part of the World of Dance series
July 2018 — Transitioned to Brooklyn College administration
2018–Present — Programming continues through the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College
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About Dance Mogul Magazine
Dance Mogul Magazine is a digital dance culture media platform inspiring self-empowerment through exclusive interviews, industry news, and comprehensive coverage across hip-hop, street dance, ballet, contemporary, and urban dance styles. We believe that dance is a universal language of empowerment — and that every community deserves access to the art forms that move the world.