Swan Lake

Never the Same Way Twice

Dance as an art form is by its very nature ephemeral. As with any performance art, it is not something that can ever really be recreated exactly– even if the same dancer performs the same steps, no two performances are ever the same. This plays a huge part in the appeal of Swan Lake. Imagine if the ballet were a popular song– it would be played on the radio constantly for about a month, and then forgotten as people tired of its intrigue. The whole beauty of the ballet, luckily, is that it cannot possibly become this forgotten song, simply because it is ever changing. This version you are seeing today will be entirely fresh to your eyes. As you enjoy this exhibit, you may learn something new about adaptations, endings, and details that together make up the concept of Swan Lake.

 

‘Your’ Swan Lake

Because of the wide variety of versions and performances of Swan Lake that are available, people may identify with one in particular as ‘theirs’. Perhaps you have one, and it is brought to your mind right now. In any case, this is something that makes the ballet exciting– differences in opinion on something such as this are to be appreciated and respected, but by knowing that these differences are there gives you a better picture of how big a thing Swan Lake is. It most certainly is ‘your’ Swan Lake, but it is also the Swan Lake of the person next to you, and of course the Swan Lake of the performers, artistic director, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minor Details v. Big Picture

When you think of Swan Lake, what do you think of? Most of us jump to specific images that occur throughout the ballet. The black swans, the dance of the cygnets, Odile’s 32 fouette turns are just a few of the ideas that appear in most people’s mind. But what about the big picture and the meanings behind it? The overlooking of the big picture isn’t just a modern day phenomenon. Swan Lake originally premiered in 1877 but was not entirely successful due to “underwhelming choreography by Julius Reisinger.” Most of the modern day renditions are based off of the 1895 staging choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Petipa, himself did not take much time considering the implications of these overarching themes. According to his notes, he focused on the minor details of the ballet in order to “please the tsar and sell tickets.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So What” about Music

The music plays a big part into why Swan Lake is what it is. When Tchaikovsky originally created the score in 1877, it seemed unstageable, its narrative was puzzling, and its dance logic was awkward. This is due to the fact that Tchaikovsky was given no instruction as to how the ballet’s choreography was structured. He composed the music prior to the choreography, unlike Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, which allowed him to create the score without the limitations of movement precision. After completing the work, Reisinger and him soon found conflict with making both aspects of the ballet fit together. Tchaikovsky had to rework the music to make both the dance and music become one in order to complement the other. Some of Tchaikovsky’s pieces were thrown out by Reisinger because of their “undanceable quality” but were later reinstated after much collaboration. The composer’s original idea of the ballet had conflicting musical cues that don’t align with the characters on stage, due to the separate art making. For example, one part of the enchantress Odile’s dances has music that is “poignant, doom-laden and vast” which overlaps with Odette’s storyline. This proves that the ballet was not made together but revised to fit each other. From the art of revising created a collaboration that has lasted throughout time.