Swan Lake is a ballet set to the music of P. I. Tchaikovsky and choreographed by two of the most influential choreographers of the nineteenth century. II premiered in 1877 with choreography by Julius Reisinger at the Bolshoi Theatre and although the piece remained for three to four seasons on its repertoire, the premiere was a bust. Later, when, it was time for the Tchaikovsky's memorial concert, Lev Ivanov rechoreographed the whole white act. And because the restaging was such a success it received a revival in the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Peterburg in 1895, done by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Now, onto the four swans.
Danse des Petits Cygnets (or Pas de quatre as it is sometimes called) is a piece, choreographed for the 1895 revival of the ballet by Lev Ivanov. It features four (usually small (hence little swans)) dancer, connected by holding hands, who must move in complete synchronicity with each other. It is supposed to imitate how little swans move and huddle together for protection. Through the entire piece, they move from one side to another, (almost) ending with a last diagonal, with a series of sixteen pas de chat. In the end they finally break their chain, with a pique arabesque, as if they were trying to fly, only to then fall to the ground.
It is normally very hard piece, not just because the dancers have to move in unison, but also because it contains a lot of quick pointe work, which has to be executed in a very precise manner, otherwise... well, the piece loses its point. That is why it is also usually given to either extremely skilled members of the company or young unknown up-and-comers, who a lot of the time, go on to do bigger roles.
The comedic potential of the piece was also used to its maximum in Matthew Bourne's version of Swan Lake, where it was danced, not by women in white tutus, but by men with bare chest and feet in, I guess what could be called, fur trousers (or whatever that fabric can be called).
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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov
Swan Lake
Four Little Swans
Evgenia Obraztsova
Svetlana Ivanova
Irina Golub
Olesya Novikova
Mariinsky Ballet
Mariinsky Theatre
Saint Petersburg, Russia
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24 май 2018
