Foreground: Amy Saunder and Mac Hopper in Swan Lake rehearsals.  Photo by Steve Davis

SPRING DANCE

Swan Lake, Act II

Directed by Ethan Stiefel

Music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky

Choreography by Nigel Burley and Ethan Stiefel after Ivanov and Petipa

Staged by Nigel Burley and Fanchon Cordell

The timeless classical ballet

Marimba

Choreography by Lar Lubovitch

Music composed by Steve Reich

Staged by Scott Rink

Assisted by Brenda Daniels

One of Lubovitch's signature pieces

Sinfonia

Choreography by Susan McCullough

Music by Benjamin Britten

A world premiere

8 p.m. May 7-9

2 p.m. May 10

Stevens Center

405 West Fourth St., downtown Winston-Salem

Tickets: $12 adults / $10 seniors and students.

For reservations, call the UNCSA Box Office at 336-721-1945 or click on "Box Office" at the left.

The Evolution of Swan Lake

By Lindsey Hardegree

UNCSA will present three works as a part of its Spring Dance concert. One of these will be Act II from Swan Lake, arguably the most popular of all the classical ballets.

While the origins of the ballet are not clear, some believe that Swan Lake started off as a short piece called The Lake of the Swans that Tchaikovsky wrote 1871. Vladimir Petrovich Begichev, the director of the Russian Imperial Theatres in Moscow and a friend of Tchaikovsky, commissioned him to create a full ballet score in 1875.

Some historians believe the ballet orgininated from Russian folk tales about a princess (Odette) who was turned into a swan by the curse of an evil sorcerer (Von Rothbart).  Whatever the truth, it is highly likely that Tchaikovsky was influenced by tales of swan-maidens that date back to ancient Greece.

While the tradition of the time called for the ballet master to decide on the type and placement of dances, evidence points to Tchaikovsky and Julius Reisinger, the original choreographer, working separately. In fact, it is reported that Reisinger -- ballet master to the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre (today known as the Bolshoi Ballet) -- thought the score too complicated and too difficult to dance to.

Indeed, Swan Lake was the first ballet set to the score of a symphonic composer. At the time, ballets were typically scored by "specialists” who were skilled at the type of music that was in vogue for the art form. Tchaikovsky drew on several of his previous compositions to help him create the score for Swan Lake.

The premiere of Swan Lake in 1876 was a benefit performance, and it was not well received.  While the music, structure and emotion were ahead of their time, the choregraphy was considered uninspired. As Modeste Tchaikovsky, brother of the composer wrote: "The poverty of the production, meaning the décor and costumes, the absence of outstanding performers, the Balletmaster's weakness of imagination, and, finally, the orchestra...all of this together permitted (Tchaikovsky) with good reason to cast the blame for the failure on others." Nevertheless, the ballet was performed 41 times before its final performance in 1883.

About 15 years after the original production, talks began about a possible revival of Swan Lake.  Unfortunately, Tchaikovsky died on Nov. 6, 1893. Lev Ivanov's restaged choreography for Act II of Swan Lake was first seen at a memorial concert for Tchaikovsky. Thanks to its success, Marius Petipa was charged with producing the full-length ballet. And composer Riccardo Drigo revised the score -- with approval from Tchaikovsky’s brother. On Jan. 27, 1895, the Petipa/Ivanov version of Swan Lake premiered; today it is thought of as the standard version of the ballet. One major change in this version was the ending: Instead of the evil sorcerer killing Odette and her Prince, Swan Lake now has a more Romeo-and-Juliet-type ending. This production received more positive reviews from the critics and the general public.

Over time many different versions have been created from this revival choreography, including Matthew Bourne's 1995 version, featuring an all-male corps de ballet, and Graeme Murphy's 2002 version, loosely based on the story of Princess Diana. Swan Lake has also inspired feature films, a Barbie series, an ice show, and a classically revered piece of art.