Holiday Ballet Watchlist: Swan Lake

Next on our Holiday Ballet Watchlist is Swan Lake; this production is from the Kirov Ballet.

Swan Lake is one of the most iconic ballets of all time, set to a sweeping score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was first performed in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, with choreography by Julius Reisinger. That original production was not well received, but the ballet was later reimagined in 1895 by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov for the Mariinsky Theatre. Their revision, particularly Ivanov’s poetic lakeside scenes, established the version that is danced most often today.

Over time, Swan Lake has become a touchstone for classical ballet technique and dramatic expression, especially for the ballerina dancing the dual roles of Odette and Odile.

Prince Siegfried encounters Odette, a princess cursed to live as a swan by day and human only at night. Only true love can break the spell. When Siegfried is deceived into declaring love for Odile, the sorcerer’s daughter disguised as Odette, tragedy follows. The ballet’s ending varies by production, but it remains a powerful meditation on love, betrayal, and redemption.