1939 – The Vic-Wells Ballet dances The Sleeping Princess for the first time

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Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpmann in Petipa's The Sleeping Princess, by the Vic-Wells Ballet, Tchaikovsky. © Gordon Anthony / Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

First performance of The Sleeping Princess by the Vic-Wells Ballet, with choreography by Marius Petipa staged by Nicholas Sergeyev, music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and designs by Nadia Benois. The first-night cast included Margot Fonteyn, Robert Helpmann, June Brae, Mary Honer and Harold Turner.

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