Angelin Preljocaj recasts this Grimm fairytale as a visually daring contemporary ballet, where innocence gives way to desire, grief, and transformation.

Performed by 26 dancers to Gustav Mahler's symphonic score, the production unfolds across Thierry Leproust's stark bronze sets, anchored by a colossal golden mirror that shifts between reflection and video screen. Jean Paul Gaultier's provocative costumes dress the Wicked Stepmother as a dominatrix and conjure surreal forest spirits, while the Seven Dwarfs rappel from cliffside mines in breathtaking aerial sequences. Highlights include a mist-shrouded birth, pixelated deer, and a pas de deux echoing with bare feet.

Preljocaj's choreography reveals moments of aching beauty: a limp body lifted in mourning, a kiss suspended in slow motion, and a love duet tilting between playfulness and pain. This is a fairytale stripped to its haunting core.