LESSON TWO: SWAN LAKE
Hello dancers! Welcome to your second lesson in HOL’s Dance Academy. Today we are going to learn some ballet moves to start improving your technique, and then we are going to move to the Black Lake because a surprise is waiting for us there! Are you ready? Then please take your place in the barre and let’s start!
UNIQUE TECHNIQUE - PART 1
As defined by the Ballet Dictionary of the American Ballet Theatre, we can find the following important terms:
FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS:
When attending class, pay attention to the following terms, which will allow you to understand how to move or what to move:
Now onto the technique!
Perfect students! Enough of ballet practice for today! Please let’s move to the Black Lake and get ready to listen to a wonderful and magical story, in which ballet is the main protagonist!
FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS:
When attending class, pay attention to the following terms, which will allow you to understand how to move or what to move:
- BRAS: Arms
- CORPS: Body
- JAMBE: Means leg. In ballet we need to differentiate between two kinds of legs: supporting leg and working leg. The SUPPORTING LEG refers to the leg which supports the body so that the working leg is free to execute a given movement, while the WORKING LEG refers to the leg that is executing a given movement while the weight of the body is on the supporting leg.
- DEDANS, EN: Inward. In steps and exercises the term indicates that the leg moves in a circular direction, counterclockwise from back to front.
- DEHORS, EN: Outward. In steps and exercises the term indicates that the leg moves in a circular direction, clockwise.
- DEVANT: In front. This term may refer to a step, movement or the placing of a limb in front of the body.
- DERRIèRE: Behind, back. This term may refer to a movement, step or placing of a limb in back of the body.
- CLOCHE, EN: Like a bell. Refers to grands battements executed continuously devant and derrière through the first position.
- Côté, de: Sideways. Used to indicate that a step is to be made to the side, either to the right or to the left.
- CROIX, EN: In the shape of a cross. Indicates that an exercise is to be executed to the fourth position front, to the second position and to the fourth position back, or vice versa.
- DIAGONALE, EN: In a diagonal. Indicates that a step is to be done traveling in a diagonal direction.
- Manèges: Circular. A term applied to steps or enchaînements executed in a circle.
Now onto the technique!
- ADAGIO: French word that means at ease or leisure. It consists of the opening section of the classical pas de deux (partner dance), in which the ballerina assisted by her male partner, performs the slow movements while being supported or carried by the dancer. The ballerina thus supported exhibits her grace, line and perfect balance, and achieves combinations of steps and poses which would be impossible without the aid of her partner.
- ALLÉGRO: Brisk, lively. A term applied to all bright and brisk movements. All steps of elevation come under this classification. The majority of dances, both solo and group, are built on allegro. The most important qualities to aim at in allégro are lightness and smoothness. If you watch an allegro you can think of a “happy” dance.
- ARABESQUE: One of the basic poses in ballet. It is a position of the body, in profile, supported on one leg, which can be straight or demi-plié, with the other leg extended behind and at right angles to it, and the arms held in various harmonious positions creating the longest possible line from the fingertips to the toes. The forms of arabesque are varied to infinity.
- ASSEMBLÉ: Assembled or joined together. A step in which the working foot slides well along the ground before being swept into the air. As the foot goes into the air the dancer pushes off the floor with the supporting leg, extending the toes. Both legs come to the ground simultaneously in the fifth position.
- ATTITUDE: It is a position on one leg with the other lifted in back, the knee bent at an angle of 90 degrees and well turned out so that the knee is higher than the foot. The arm on the side of the raised leg is held over the head in a curved position while the other arm is extended to the side.
- BALANCÉ: Rocking step. This step is an alternation of balance, shifting the weight from one foot to the other. Balancé may be done crossing the foot either front or back.
- BATTEMENT: Beating. A beating action of the extended or bent leg. There are two types of battements: grands battements (big) and petits battements (small)
- CABRIOLE: Caper. An allegro step in which the extended legs are beaten in the air. Cabrioles are divided into two categories: petite, which are executed at 45 degrees, and grande, which are executed at 90 degrees. The working leg is thrust into the air, the underneath leg follows and beats against the first leg, sending it higher. The landing is then made on the underneath leg.
- CHAINÉS: Chains, links. Consists of a series of rapid turns on the points or demi-pointes done in a straight line or in a circle.
- CHASSÉ: Chased. A step in which one foot literally chases the other foot out of its position; done in a series.
Perfect students! Enough of ballet practice for today! Please let’s move to the Black Lake and get ready to listen to a wonderful and magical story, in which ballet is the main protagonist!
SWAN LAKE
ORIGINS
Swan Lake is a ballet composed by Tchaikovsky in the year 1875. He composed it under the orders of Vladimir Petrovich Begichev, the intendant of the Russian Imperial Theatres in Moscow. Despite being a really popular ballet right now, subject of many revivals, and many, many adaptations in different media, at first Swan Lake was unsuccessful because dancers and audiences thought that Tchaikovksy’s music was way too complicated to dance to. The original choreography by Julius Reisinger was deemed as unispiring, contributing to Swan Lake’s lack of success. It was after Tchaikovsky’s death that the ballet was revived, and the new revision was in charge of choreographers Petipa and Ivanov, who structured the ballet we know and love so much today!
THE STORY
Swan Lake was originally planned as a two acts ballet, but later it was changed to 4 acts, and right now that is the structure that most productions follow, however depending on the production you will find different endings, varying from romantic to tragic. So the story is the following:
ACT 1:
We meet Prince Siegfried, who is celebrating his coming of age. The Queen (the Prince’s mother), announces that her son should marry and choose from the girls that are going to be presented to him at the ball the following evening. When a flock of swans appears, Prince Siegfried decides to shoot one of them, and armed with a crossbow, leaves the castle with his friends to chase the birds.
ACT 2:
The Prince and his friends arrive to a lake chasing the swans. When Prince Siegfried is left alone, the Swan Queen comes to him in human form and presents herself as Odette. Odette tells Prince Siegfried her story: she is under a spell, casted by an evil magician called Von Rothbart, which causes her and all her friends to transform into swans during day time, and the only way to break the spell is through marriage. The rest of the swan girls, seeing that Prince Siegfried has a crossbow and believing that he wanted to kill their Queen, want to attack him, but Odette intercedes and they dance together professing their love, while the flock of swans joins in as well.
ACT 3:
This Act happens during Prince Siegfried’s ball. After dismissing many girls, much to his mother’s dismay, the Prince finally cheers up when someone that looked like Odette appears. In reality, that girl was Odile, Von Rothbart’s daughter, who resembles quite a lot to Odette, confusing the Prince. Odile and Prince Siegfried dance and bow to marry, however, in that instant a window flies open noisily, revealing a beautiful white swan, who was no other than Odette. The Prince realizes the mistake he had committed, pushes Odile away, and runs after Odette.
ACT 4:
Odette is heartbroken and returns to the lake. Prince Siegfried arrives and explains her trickery of Von Rothbart, and Odette forgives him. In that moment, Von Rothbart appears and tells the Prince to honor his word and marry his daughter, but Prince Siegfried refuses to do so. A fight between them starts causing a fatal ending: Odette and Prince Siegfried die in each other’s arms. The spell is broken by the power of Odette and Siegfried’s love, and Von Rothbart is chased and destroyed by the swans, who also are released from their enslavement.
Now, before wrapping up with this lesson, please take the time to watch the following videos. In them you will find important and famous parts from the Swan Lake ballet, including: 1. The Dance of the Swans, 2. Odile's entrance and pas de deux, and 3. The Finale. Enjoy!!
Swan Lake is a ballet composed by Tchaikovsky in the year 1875. He composed it under the orders of Vladimir Petrovich Begichev, the intendant of the Russian Imperial Theatres in Moscow. Despite being a really popular ballet right now, subject of many revivals, and many, many adaptations in different media, at first Swan Lake was unsuccessful because dancers and audiences thought that Tchaikovksy’s music was way too complicated to dance to. The original choreography by Julius Reisinger was deemed as unispiring, contributing to Swan Lake’s lack of success. It was after Tchaikovsky’s death that the ballet was revived, and the new revision was in charge of choreographers Petipa and Ivanov, who structured the ballet we know and love so much today!
THE STORY
Swan Lake was originally planned as a two acts ballet, but later it was changed to 4 acts, and right now that is the structure that most productions follow, however depending on the production you will find different endings, varying from romantic to tragic. So the story is the following:
ACT 1:
We meet Prince Siegfried, who is celebrating his coming of age. The Queen (the Prince’s mother), announces that her son should marry and choose from the girls that are going to be presented to him at the ball the following evening. When a flock of swans appears, Prince Siegfried decides to shoot one of them, and armed with a crossbow, leaves the castle with his friends to chase the birds.
ACT 2:
The Prince and his friends arrive to a lake chasing the swans. When Prince Siegfried is left alone, the Swan Queen comes to him in human form and presents herself as Odette. Odette tells Prince Siegfried her story: she is under a spell, casted by an evil magician called Von Rothbart, which causes her and all her friends to transform into swans during day time, and the only way to break the spell is through marriage. The rest of the swan girls, seeing that Prince Siegfried has a crossbow and believing that he wanted to kill their Queen, want to attack him, but Odette intercedes and they dance together professing their love, while the flock of swans joins in as well.
ACT 3:
This Act happens during Prince Siegfried’s ball. After dismissing many girls, much to his mother’s dismay, the Prince finally cheers up when someone that looked like Odette appears. In reality, that girl was Odile, Von Rothbart’s daughter, who resembles quite a lot to Odette, confusing the Prince. Odile and Prince Siegfried dance and bow to marry, however, in that instant a window flies open noisily, revealing a beautiful white swan, who was no other than Odette. The Prince realizes the mistake he had committed, pushes Odile away, and runs after Odette.
ACT 4:
Odette is heartbroken and returns to the lake. Prince Siegfried arrives and explains her trickery of Von Rothbart, and Odette forgives him. In that moment, Von Rothbart appears and tells the Prince to honor his word and marry his daughter, but Prince Siegfried refuses to do so. A fight between them starts causing a fatal ending: Odette and Prince Siegfried die in each other’s arms. The spell is broken by the power of Odette and Siegfried’s love, and Von Rothbart is chased and destroyed by the swans, who also are released from their enslavement.
Now, before wrapping up with this lesson, please take the time to watch the following videos. In them you will find important and famous parts from the Swan Lake ballet, including: 1. The Dance of the Swans, 2. Odile's entrance and pas de deux, and 3. The Finale. Enjoy!!
BEHIND THE CURTAINS!
Eager to know more fun facts about Swan Lake? Check them out!
1. Before Tchaikovsky started composing ballet music, in Russia the genre was only background music which was used to display the dancer’s qualities and technique. It was Tchaikovsky the one who gave ballet a sense of symphonic construction with the composing of Swan Lake in 1875.
2. Water Nymphs were on trend in the 1800s, and Swan Lake is considered a derivative product of the water-nymph mania that was occurring at that time. Swan Lake derives from a French short novel by Friedrich de la Motte, that is about a water nymph that wants to belong to the human race.
3. In the first place, Odile was not a black swan and she wasn’t intended to be Odette’s negative double. In the original production the prima ballerina who played Odile didn’t wear black, and instead she used a multicolor costume. It was until the revival of 1941, that Odile started wearing black clothing.
4. There have been many revivals of this ballet, and some of them even have different endings. It is such a popular story that different movies and cartoon adaptations have been made based on this story.
5. It is important to know is that this ballet is also highly recognized for its demanding technical skill. This pretty much has to do with ballerina Pierina Legnani, who managed to perform 32 fuettes (a fast whipping turn on one foot) in a row, which is deemed as a very difficult move.
Because of its technical complexity and its emotional narrative and story, Swan Lake remains a favorite, and the prestige it brings to any dancer who performs in this ballet is unquestionable.
So, that’s it for today! Please let’s move back to the castle and get ready for your assignment!
1. Before Tchaikovsky started composing ballet music, in Russia the genre was only background music which was used to display the dancer’s qualities and technique. It was Tchaikovsky the one who gave ballet a sense of symphonic construction with the composing of Swan Lake in 1875.
2. Water Nymphs were on trend in the 1800s, and Swan Lake is considered a derivative product of the water-nymph mania that was occurring at that time. Swan Lake derives from a French short novel by Friedrich de la Motte, that is about a water nymph that wants to belong to the human race.
3. In the first place, Odile was not a black swan and she wasn’t intended to be Odette’s negative double. In the original production the prima ballerina who played Odile didn’t wear black, and instead she used a multicolor costume. It was until the revival of 1941, that Odile started wearing black clothing.
4. There have been many revivals of this ballet, and some of them even have different endings. It is such a popular story that different movies and cartoon adaptations have been made based on this story.
5. It is important to know is that this ballet is also highly recognized for its demanding technical skill. This pretty much has to do with ballerina Pierina Legnani, who managed to perform 32 fuettes (a fast whipping turn on one foot) in a row, which is deemed as a very difficult move.
Because of its technical complexity and its emotional narrative and story, Swan Lake remains a favorite, and the prestige it brings to any dancer who performs in this ballet is unquestionable.
So, that’s it for today! Please let’s move back to the castle and get ready for your assignment!