Sleeping Beauty ballet music for kids: a listening guide
Updated 2026-11-12
The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It tells the old fairy tale of Princess Aurora, who pricks her finger on a spindle and sleeps for a hundred years until a prince wakes her. It was first danced in St. Petersburg in January 1890. A full performance lasts close to three hours, so most families start with a few short pieces at home.
The best first piece for a child is the Waltz. It lasts about four and a half minutes.
Quick facts
- Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, from Russia
- First danced: January 1890, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg
- Length: close to three hours on stage, with intermissions
- Based on: the fairy tale as told by the French writer Charles Perrault
- Good to know: this was the second of Tchaikovsky’s three ballets
The story
The christening. A king and queen hold a party for their baby daughter, Aurora. Six good fairies bring gifts. The wicked fairy Carabosse was not invited. She storms in and lays a curse: one day, Aurora will prick her finger on a spindle and die. The Lilac Fairy has not yet given her gift. She cannot undo the curse, but she can soften it. Aurora will not die. She will sleep for a hundred years.
The birthday. Aurora is sixteen. Four princes come to ask for her hand, and she dances with each of them. An old woman hands her a spindle. It is Carabosse in disguise. Aurora pricks her finger and falls. The Lilac Fairy puts the whole castle to sleep, and a forest grows up around it.
The vision. A hundred years pass. A prince is out hunting. The Lilac Fairy shows him a vision of Aurora and leads him to the castle. He wakes her with a kiss.
The wedding. Fairy-tale characters come to the wedding as guests and dance for the couple: Puss in Boots and the White Cat, the Bluebird and a princess, and Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.
Five pieces to play first
The Waltz. From the birthday party. Villagers dance with garlands of flowers. The tune sways in three beats, broad and warm. The 1959 Disney film used this tune for a song.
The Introduction. It begins with loud, jagged music for Carabosse. Then a calm, singing tune takes over. That is the Lilac Fairy. The whole ballet is a contest between these two tunes.
The Rose Adagio. Aurora dances with the four princes, one after another. On stage, she balances on the tip of one foot while each prince takes her hand in turn. The music is slow and grand, with a harp at the start.
Puss in Boots and the White Cat. The oboes and bassoons meow, hiss, and swipe at each other. It lasts about two minutes.
The Bluebird. A flute and a clarinet flutter and trill like a bird in flight.
What to listen for
Two tunes that fight. Play the Introduction. Raise one hand for the angry tune and the other for the gentle one.
Three beats. The Waltz goes “ONE, two, three.” Sway on one.
Animal sounds. Ask your child what the cats are doing in each bar.
The harp. The Rose Adagio opens with a long sweep on the harp.
Things to do together
Waltz. Hold hands and turn around the room to the Waltz. Or sway with a scarf held over your head as a garland.
Balance. Try to stand on one foot for as long as a line of the Rose Adagio lasts.
Cat fight. Act out the two cats. Paw the air, arch, and pounce in time with the oboes.
Tell it in four pictures. Draw the christening, the spindle, the kiss, and the wedding.
Guess the guest. Play the cats, then the Bluebird. Ask which fairy-tale guest is dancing.
Seeing the ballet
The full ballet is long for a young child. Some companies stage a shorter family version. Filmed performances make it easy to watch one act at a time.
Read the fairy tale first, and play the Waltz and the cats at home. The tips in taking kids to The Nutcracker apply here too.
Tchaikovsky’s three ballets
Tchaikovsky wrote Swan Lake first, The Sleeping Beauty second, and The Nutcracker third. See the Swan Lake guide and the Nutcracker Suite guide.
Print and play
Read Tchaikovsky for kids and print the Tchaikovsky fact sheet. A listening journal page gives a child a place to draw the castle in the forest.
More guides are listed in classical music listening guides for kids.
More from this guide
This article is part of Classical music listening guides for kids: famous pieces, one at a time.
1812 Overture for kids: what to listen for
A parent's listening guide to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture: the story of the battle, the two tunes that fight, the cannons and bells, and games to play.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 for kids: a listening guide
A parent's listening guide to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony: the famous four notes, what happens in each of the four movements, and games to play with kids.
Carnival of the Animals for kids: a movement-by-movement listening guide
A listening guide to Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns. Which instruments play the lion, the elephant, the swan, and more, with tips for listening with kids.
Danse macabre by Saint-Saëns: a listening guide for kids
A parent's listening guide to Danse macabre by Saint-Saëns: the midnight story, the mistuned violin, the xylophone bones, and Halloween games to play.
Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart: a listening guide for kids
A parent's listening guide to Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik: what the name means, what happens in each of the four movements, and games to play with kids.
Flight of the Bumblebee for kids: what to listen for
A parent's guide to Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov: the fairy tale behind it, why it sounds like a bee, and games to play in ninety seconds.
Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.