I'm Trapped in a Ballet! Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Sleeping Beauty

Now I remember! I'm the Lilac Fairy, and I'm transporting Prince Desire Florimund to the hidden castle where Princess Aurora waits to be awakened. I changed the evil fairy Carabosse's spell of death to sleep, and now it's time for everyone to wake up. This Tchaikovsky ballet is a favorite of mine.

Answer: Cinderella

In this version of the story, Cinderella shows kindness to an old beggar woman by giving her something, like food, a place by the fire, or her only pair of shoes (it changes depending on the production). The woman is taken with the kindness and reveals herself as the Fairy Godmother, who rewards Cinderella by sending her to the ball, where she meets her prince.

The stepsisters, who are sometimes played by men, act as comic relief. Near the end of the show, the stepmother tries on the slipper, too! Of course, it doesn't fit.

Answer: Le Corsaire

Lead pirate Conrad falls in love with slave girl Medora and tries to get her away from a sultan who buys her...in just one of the plotlines from this ballet. One DVD shows that even the cast and crew are confused about the action as they attempt to explain the convoluted plot to the audience. A pas de trois features Medora, Conrad, and his slave.

Answer: La Bayadere

I've been put in the part of Nikiya, the title role of "La Bayadere", or "The Temple Dancer". Act III is called "Kingdom of the Shades" and is often performed on its own. In the ballet, Solor takes opium after his love Nikiya dies. He then dreams of a spirit world where he can dance with Nikiya's "shade".

Sometimes Act IV is not staged because it calls for the temple to collapse, which not every company can enact. However, without it, Nikiya and Solor do not get their ending together.

Answer: The Firebird

The Firebird is caught by Prince Ivan (ballet is full of princes!), but he releases her when she gives him a feather and tells him he can use it to call on her if he's in danger. When he and the villagers are attacked by the infernal King Koschei, he does just that. Stravinsky composed the music for this ballet and "The Rite of Spring".

Answer: Jewels

"Jewels" is an abstract ballet, meaning that there is no story, just pure choreography. Choreographer Balanchine was inspired by seeing a display of gemstones and used a different style of ballet to represent each gem. The music used is taken from existing sources by Faure for "Emeralds", Stravinsky for "Rubies", and Tchaikovsky for "Diamonds".

Answer: La Fille Mal Gardee

I'm Lise, the "poorly guarded daughter" of the title. I want to marry Colas, but my mother is trying to keep us apart so I can marry a rich man who loves his umbrella more than he loves me. The part of Lise's mother is usually played by a man.

Answer: Mayerling

This ballet, based on the deaths of Crown Prince Rudolf and Mary Vetsera in 1889, premiered in 1978. After much courtly scheming by all parties, Rudolf, married to Princess Stephanie, kills his mistress Mary at Mayerling before killing himself. Kenneth MacMillan choreographed this ballet, which contains many solos for Rudolf and several violent pas de deux.

Answer: The Pharaoh's Daughter

This ballet is one of many choreographed by Marius Petipa, whose other works include "The Sleeping Beauty", "La Bayadere", "The Nutcracker", "Don Quixote", and "Le Talisman". The story of Aspicia, the title character, is all a dream had by an English nobleman who imagines himself as her beloved. He awakens at the end of the story.

Answer: Le Spectre de la Rose

The ballet, containing only two characters, lasts about ten minutes. A girl dances with the anthropomorphized rose from her first ball. Vaslav Nijinsky, who originated the role of the Rose, made the dance famous by the incredible leap out the window he performs at the end.