The Sleeping Beauty, one of the most enchanting fairyland fantasies of all time, will be brought to San Antonio in July by London's prestigious Royal Ballet, putting the Alamo City at center stage of the performing arts world.

San Antonio is honored to be selected as one of only two cities in the United States in which the Royal Ballet will perform this year and the only city where they will dance the 75th anniversary production of the Tchaikovsky/Petipa classic, The Sleeping Beauty. The Royal Ballet will present The Sleeping Beauty in performances scheduled July 5, 6, and 7, 2007, at the Lila Cockrell Theatre. For ticket information call (210) 226–2891 or go to www.artssanantonio.com.

Housed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Great Britain's most prestigious 95– member troupe boasts a rich heritage, as well as a number of rising stars and is widely acknowledged to be reaching a new artistic and technical peak with talented dancers at all levels in its ranks. To further promote community involvement, the Royal Ballet's production of The Sleeping Beauty will be accompanied by the San Antonio Symphony and will include dancers from the San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet. This landmark production is the "crowning jewel" of ARTS San Antonio's stellar season of performing arts.

ARTS San Antonio was founded in 1992 with the mission of making world–class performing arts accessible to San Antonio and the surrounding community. By merging three distinct programmatic strategies – ticketed public performances, free community outreach activities and arts education – ARTS SA has presented or produced more than 300 different events, entertaining and educating in excess of 750,000 people. The ARtsTEach education program offers in–class activities, after school and community center programs and is available to all schools within a 50 mile radius of Bexar County.

Events of this magnitude would not be possible without the generous support of corporate sponsors, community involvement, and personal philanthropy. A long time supporter of ARTS San Antonio, Humana Inc., is a direct sponsor and the only corporation underwriting the Royal Ballet's appearance in San Antonio, in conjunction with the Elizabeth Huth Coates Foundation, Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts, Tobin Endowment and Robert and Donna Bruni. Ticket sales account for approximately 60% of production expenditures alone, so it is imperative to host fundraising events on a local level to help defray overall costs.

"The many diverse arts and cultural offerings in our community are part of what makes San Antonio such a great place to live and work and raise families,"� said Linda T. Hummel, chief executive officer of Humana of South Texas."Humana is honored to support ARTS San Antonio in helping underwrite the Royal Ballet's appearance in San Antonio. The performance of The Sleeping Beauty will be a thing of beauty itself. We want to see the arts continue to thrive and grow in San Antonio and I urge you to show the community you care by attending one of the performances or through providing financial support to organizations like ARTS San Antonio.

"Having a rich and vibrant arts community helps companies like Humana attract and retain the high caliber of employees that we look for to serve our members and clients here in San Antonio," Hummel said. "The arts and cultural industry also economically strengthens our city by contributing $1.5 billion annually to our economy and providing nearly 2,000 permanent jobs."

On July 5, Humana, H–E–B, Capitol Group, Neiman Marcus, Tom Duckworth and Barbara Wulfe will host the Royal Ballet's opening night gala, which will feature VIP seating, pre–performance cocktails, and post–performance reception with the ballet company.

With the production of The Sleeping Beauty, San Antonio has great opportunity to place herself firmly on the map with distinguished performing arts cities around the country and help open the door to a broader spectrum of high caliber entertainment. ARTS San Antonio is committed to cultivating awareness and enriching the cultural texture of our growing community through the expansive world of the performing arts.