American Ballet Theatre's Swan Lake

There was a good crowd at Wolf Trap that night! Everyone was very enthusiastic!

Last week, I went to Wolf Trap to see the American Ballet Theatre perform Swan Lake. I hadn't been to Wolf Trap this summer yet, and I was very much looking forward to watching Misty Copeland perform the role of Odette-Odile (I saw her dance in early 2018; read that blog post here.). I had seen Swan Lake previously (read that blog post here): like The Nutcracker, it is a classic ballet with music written by Tchaikovsky.

I normally get lawn seats, but this time I bought loge tickets. Seats F7 and F9 looking at stage right are really good! We had a wonderful view of everything. I especially loved the set and the costumes for this show. Everything was so detailed! From the sparkles that create the illusion of rippling water to the chandeliers inside the castle, the set truly complemented the story. And the costumes were varied in the larger scenes like the Prince's birthday party, so each dancer truly looked like an individual. Everything was just so beautiful that the set almost (almost) upstaged the dancers themselves!

The costume for von Rothbart (i.e. the bad guy) was so intricate and effective! Image found here

 The choreography was the classic Petipa/Ivanov version, but Kevin McKenzie added some modern (and I thought humorous) bits. For example, as the prince moved closer to the swans, they slightly backed away from him out of fear, scorn, or both. Another funny part was when von Rothbart, the evil sorcerer, was disguised as a good looking, young man, who was flirting with the Queen Mother.

And just like Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, there are mini-dances within the ballet representing multiple cultures, like the Spanish Dance and the Mazurka. 

Image found here

Misty Copeland looked amazing in her "Black Swan" tutu! Image found here

Misty Copeland was wonderful, and her movements truly mimicked those of a swan. Her arms really were like wings!

Near the end, Odette dramatically jumps off the ledge. Image found here

These dancers look like swans resting on a foggy pond. Image found here (credit: Gene Schiavone).

The sunrise alludes to a happy ending. Image found here

I found this video (nearly two hours long) of the entire performance (granted from 2005) in case you want to watch it: