According to the dictionary, ballet is an artistic dance form performed to music using precise and highly formalized set steps and gestures. It is storytelling set to music!
Just like our folktales of Paul Bunyon and Johnny Appleseed, other countries have
their own folktales. In Russia there is a story called “The White Duck” that may very well be the inspiration for the ballet “Swan Lake.” This famous ballet was composed by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875. Tchaikovsky is also known for his compostion of
“Sleeping Beauty” and the Christmas favorite “The Nutcracker.”
“Swan Lake” tells the story of Prince Siegfried who falls in love with Odette. Odette is under the spell of the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. The spell turns Odette into a swan during the day. At night, Odette and the other enchanted swans turn back in to humans. The only way to break the spell is for someone who has never loved before to swear to love Odette forever.
Now a very popular and well-loved ballet, “Swan Lake” was not well-received
when it was first released at the Bolshoi Ballet in 1877. The music was considered difficult to dance to and the original choreography by German ballet master,
Julius Reisinger, was uninspiring and unoriginal.
A lot has changed since “Swan Lake” was first premiered.
Now it is a ballet that is performed and loved around the world.
