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| Edited By: Dyuti Basu |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 18, 2018, 08:22 AM IST
Swan Lake has been a household name for any music lover. The ballet has undergone countless adaptations and has been consumed in formats ranging from classic dances and jazz numbers to psychological thrillers and anime. The connection to Russia, however, remains indelible, through its many transformations.
Though ballet came into the country as an exercise in comportment and etiquette during the 17th century, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and his Swan Lake brought their unique school of dance to the world at large.
"The ballet's music and story were well ahead of its times, which is why it was a failure when it was first staged," says founder and art director of Royal Russian Ballet, Anatoly Kazatsky. "The 1895 revival by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov added one more act, and used more contemporary choreography, thereby reimagining Swan Lake in a new manner."
It is this production that Kazatsky and his troop of 41 artistes from Royal Russian Ballet have brought to the NCPA, Mumbai, where it is being staged till March 25, in association with Indian production house Navrasa Duende.
Unlike the later adaptations of the dance, this version goes back to the original Russian form of ballet developed by Agrippina Vaganova in the early 20th century. The signature Russian ballet style, which Vaganova created, was an amalgam of French Romance, Russian soulfulness and Italian athleticism. It's clean, precise, acrobatic, yet soft movements give the ballet a completely unique grace that one does not find elsewhere.
Tchaikovsky's compositions also demand a certain intensity, thanks to his wide variations of music in a single script. "His compositions had influences from all over Europe, and choreographers have, over the decades, modelled the dance steps to match the intensity and variety of his compositions. This is evident in the various iterations of ballets such as The Nutcracker Suite, Swan Lake, and Romeo Juliet," explains choreographer Vladimir Troschenko.
In Swan Lake, for instance, the widely varied characters of Odette the White Swan, and Odile the Black Swan, require vastly different choreographies. This is apparent from the essential difference between the pas de deux (dance duet) designed for the characters. "The White Swan's pas de deux with Prince Siegfried from Act II is all about the purity and delicateness of Swan Princess Odette, whose dance must reflect that she is falling in love with the Prince. On the other hand, the Black Swan's pas de deux from Act III has the highly sensual Odile tempting the Prince through her dance, to swear his eternal love for her," explains Troschenko. The roles of the White and Black Swan are played by a single ballerina; Olga Kifiak and Tetiana Goliakova take turns on different days for the Mumbai production. This requires them not just to be exceptional dancers, but also accomplished actors.
It's not just through music and dance that Russia's culture finds expression in Swan Lake, but the story itself, since it contains a patchwork of Russian folktales and lore. "When writing the ballet, Tchaikovsky drew on Russian and European lore, along with elements from romantic literature, popular legends and even the lives of contemporary Russian aristocracy," explains Kazatsky.
To give the ballet a further authentic touch, the props and costumes have been brought in from Ukraine where the Royal Russian Ballet has its base. Though there is no live orchestra, the score that plays in the backdrop doesn't change any of Tchaikovsky's original music, which has been kept intact through the centuries.
Despite the adaptations of the ballet, the charm of the original permeates through the generations. "Ballet appeals to people of all ages. So we don't consciously try to cater to a single kind of audience, but open it for all," concludes Kazatsky.
On till March 25, at Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA. For tickets, visit: www.bookmyshow.com
Swan Lake tells the story of Odette, a princess cursed by a sorcerer to take the form of a swan during the day and her human form at night.The plot follows the princess as she meets the prince of the land, Siegfried, and the two fall in love. However, the sorcerer Rothbart, and his daughter, the Black Swan Odile trick Siegfried into thinking that she is Odette. The original ballet ends with the tragic deaths of both Odette and Siegfried.
