BRITAIN’S largest ballet company will be on show in the Borders next week.

The Royal Ballet is based at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden and is led by Director Kevin O’Hare.

The Company has a wide-ranging repertory showcasing the great classical ballets, heritage works from Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton and Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, as well as new works by the foremost choreographers of today.

Access is a key issue for the Company and its work is seen not just at the Royal Opera House but via televised and cinematic performances, outdoor Big Screen performances, international touring and through the work of the Company’s Education Department.

And, on Wednesday, March 19, its performance of The Sleeping Beauty will be screened at the Eastgate Theatre in Peebles.

The Sleeping Beauty holds a special place in The Royal Ballet’s repertory. It was the ballet with which the Company reopened the Royal Opera House in 1946 after World War Two, announcing its move from Sadler’s Wells to Covent Garden. Margot Fonteyn danced the role of the beautiful princess Aurora in the first performance, with Robert Helpmann as Prince Florimund. Sixty years later, in 2006, the original 1946 staging was revived, returning Oliver Messel’s wonderful designs and glittering costumes to the stage once again.

Marius Petipa’s classic 19th-century choreography is combined with newly created sections by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon. The ballet contains many memorable moments, from the iconic Rose Adagio, when Aurora meets her four royal suitors, to the vigorous hunting dances and the famous waltz for Aurora and her Prince. Throughout, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s score conveys passion and intensity.

Tickets for the show, which starts at 7.30pm, are priced £17 or £10 for schoolchildren and are available from the Eastgate box office by calling: 01721 725777. Alternatively, log on to www.eastgatearts.com