Olga Smirnova and Semyon Chudin

Olga Smirnova and Semyon Chudin in La Belle, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo - As in Perrault’s tale, the princess awakens with the Prince’s presence and not with the kiss, which follows their opening “conversation”; but once their lips connect, they remain locked for a large part of the ensuing duet, which, together with Smirnova’s floating arms and the alluring sentiment of Maillot’s flowing choreography, invests the duet with an absorbing tenderness, as the Prince leads La Belle towards the screen that had earlier held the imagery of his dreams.