When Houston Ballet takes the stage with Ben Stevenson’s choreography for The Sleeping Beauty, later this month, Soloist Aoi Fujiwara will be making her debut in the role of Princess Aurora.
A coveted role — Fujiwara has danced in this ballet before but never as Aurora — she has been practicing for it since January.
“This ballet is one of the most popular classical ballets. Technically it’s hard, especially for girls,” says Fujiwara, quickly adding that she likes the challenge. Her partner will be Principal Angelo Greco who joined Houston Ballet in July 2024. The music, of course, is by Tchaikovsky.
As the ballet begins, the court is celebrating as Princess Aurora, now an infant, is christened, with a number of fairies bringing gifts. The wicked Fairy Carabosse, upset that she didn’t get an invite, puts a spell on Aurora saying that some day she will prick her finger and die. The Lilac Fairy, though unable to remove the curse completely , says that instead Aurora will go into a deep sleep, only able to waken when a prince kisses her.
The Rose Adagio in the second act is one of those extra special challenges. That’s when Princess Aurora dances with one would-be suitor after another. As she moves from one partner to the next, she balances on one leg en pointe bending her other leg backwards at the knee. Oh and she holds the roses each applicant hands to her in her other hand. “It is very hard staying on one leg,” she says, adding that the word “stamina” is very important in this portion of the choreography.
Fujiwara began taking dance lessons when she was 3 years old in Japan. She was also heavily into swimming but at a certain point had to choose between them and opted for ballet. “I like to listen to music and move my body.” The other reason was there were always tests in swimming, she says, In ballet, there was a recital once a year, although she adds that her mother always quizzed her after a dance session, asking what she had learned and pushing her to improve.
One confidence booster: the day she finally wore point shoes and was able to negotiate a single turn without stopping on her first try. She continued her dance studies in Japan until she was offered a scholarship to the Houston Ballet Academy in 2014. From there, she was promoted to Demi Soloist and then to Soloist in 2022.
One of the other things that first drew Fujiwara to ballet as a child were the story ballets She expects that a lot of girls will be at the Houston Ballet performances, dressed like princesses.
“A lot of kids like to be princesses,” she notes. She also likes the narrative arc of the story: in the first act she’s a baby, in the second she’s a sheltered 16 then goes into a 100-year sleep unti a prince’s kiss awakens her and then in the third act there’s a celebration of her marriage to Prince Florimund.”In the same ballet we can see her growing and her life change.”
When we talked with Fujiwara she was still experimenting with different toe shoes. The usual hard ones she wears weren’t working well for some of the dancing she has to do in The Sleeping Beauty. She needed to find a better balance. Her conclusion at that point? ” I think I need at least ten pairs,” she happily concluded.
Performances are scheduled for March 13-23 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays and 1:30 p.m. Saturdays at Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. For more information, call 713-227-2787 or visit houstonballet.org. $25-$167.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
