George Balanchine now and then talked about choreographing The Sleeping Beauty for the New York City Ballet. The subject came up whenever he had a young dancer who struck him as the perfect Aurora: Gelsey Kirkland, Darci Kistler. But logistics were a problem; the theater didn’t have the traps and machinery that he remembered from his days at the Mariinsky, where he came of age, and so he never choreographed the full-length four-hour ballet. But in 1991, Peter Martins did a streamlined version—two parts, two hours with one intermission. The set designs by David Mitchell and costumes by Patricia Zipprodt are full of color and fantasy, and the ballet is a great way to catch up on the company’s women in roles large and small. Important debuts include Isabella LaFreniere as Aurora and Emily Kitka as Lilac Fairy (February 23 and 26 matinee). By the way, the production does include a gem that Balanchine choreographed in 1981—the “Garland Dance.” It is among the last of his ballets. —Laura Jacobs