The keystone of the arch that is Sadler’s Wells’s policy is the full-length productions of classical ballets. The prime example is _The Sleeping Beauty_, my own reactions to which, when I first saw it, I have already recounted. In the production of this work, the company was preeminent, with Margot Fonteyn as a bright, particular star; but the “star” system, if one cares to call it that, was utilized to the full, since each night there was a change of cast; and it must be remembered that in London it is possible to present a full-length work every night for a month or more without changing the bill, whereas in this country, almost daily changes are required. This, it should be pointed out, required a good deal of audience training. The magnificent production of _The Sleeping Beauty_ cost more than £10,000, at British costs. What the costs for such a production as that would have been on this side of the Atlantic I dislike to contemplate. The point is that it was a complete financial success. Another point I should like to make is that while _The Sleeping Beauty_ was presented nightly, week after week, there was no slighting of the other classical works such as the full-length _Swan Lake_, _Coppélia_, _Les Sylphides_, and _Giselle_; nor was there any diminution of new works or revivals of works from their own repertoire. It was in 1948 I returned to London further to pursue the matter of their invasion of America. It was my very dear friend, the late Ralph Hawkes of the music publishing firm of Boosey and Hawkes, the leaseholders of Covent Garden, who helped materially in arranging matters and in persuading the Sadler’s Wells direction and the British Arts Council that they were ready for America and that, since Hawkes was closely identified with America’s musical life, that this country was ready for them. Meanwhile, Ninette de Valois grew increasingly dubious about full-length, full-evening ballets, such as _The Sleeping Beauty_ and _Swan Lake_, in the States, and was convinced in her own mind that the United States and Canadian audiences not only would not accept them, much less sit still before a single work lasting three and one-half hours. Much, of course, was at stake for all concerned and it was, indeed, a serious problem about which to make a final, inevitable decision.