Valentine’s Day was fruitful for Ballet Arizona and it’s presentation of “Sleeping Beauty.”

Ballet Arizona sold 10,359 tickets to the Valentine’s weekend production, selling out three of five performances. That exceeded the group’s sales goal by $64,000 and put the company on track for a banner year, despite the sputtering economy, officials said.

Executives had been concerned about presenting the ballet for the first time. The troup’s signature holiday performance of “The Nutcracker” sold well, but the 35,000 people who attended – 1,000 more than the previous season – spent less overall on tickets, officials said. That put the company about $50,000 behind its revenue goals.

But “Sleeping Beauty” set a Ballet Arizona record for best-selling show, executives said. It was also the largest production in the company’s history and featured more than 80 dancers.

“The story of the Sleeping Beauty is one that clearly awoke new ballet fans to the beauty of performing art,” said Harold Dorenbecher, chairman of Ballet Arizona’s board of directors. “We are thrilled that so many new fans found true love of dance at one of our performances.”

The ballet isn’t sitting on its laurels, however. “Classic Innovations” will be presented on March 26-28 and includes a world premiere by Artistic Director Ib Anderson and a presentation of “In the Night,” featuring a Chopin score and choreography by Jerome Robbins.