The Russian National Ballet Theatre will be bringing the fairytale classics of “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” to the Valley Performing Arts Center, Febuary 9th and 10th. The Russian National Ballet Theatre, formerly called the Soviet National Ballet, was founded in Moscow in the late 1980s during the transitional period of perestroika, which loosened many constraints that were implemented by the Marxist-Leninist regime. This brought about more expressive freedom for the dancers and although their performances include traditional Russian dance, it is also infused with more contemporary styles of dance from around the world. The core group of dancers come from the top-ranked ballet companies and academies in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Latvia. Today, the Russian National Ballet Theatre is its own institution, with over 50 accomplished dancers.Amongst the group, there are 19 gold medal holders, five grand-prize laureate winners, and two grand-prize winners of the Paris Dance Academy.Their performances are largely influenced by one of the great ballet choreographers in history, Marius Pepita. His works include renditions of “Don Quixote,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Nutcracker,” and “Raymonda,” among many others.The Russian National Ballet Theatre will perform their version of “Sleeping Beauty,” which is set to the music of Tchaikovsky, in one of their signature performances on Saturday, February 9th at 8pm in the Great Hall inside the VPAC. Tickets are now available starting at $30.The Russian National Ballet will also be performing “Cinderella” on Sunday, February 10th set to the music of Prokofiev. It is a matinee performance starting at 3pm inside the Great Hall inside the VPAC. Tickets are available starting at $20.