No dance company can make a stronger claim of ownership to a ballet than the Mariinsky does to "Swan Lake."
Russia's celebrated ensemble, known from its founding in the 1740s until the country's 1917 revolution as the Imperial Russian Ballet and during the Soviet period as the Kirov, is bringing its spectacular signature work to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts for seven performances beginning Tuesday.
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?Swan Lake?
Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
When: Oct. 2-7. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
How much: $30-$150
Tickets: 714-556-2787
Online: scfta.org
The Bolshoi, Russia's other legendary dance company, debuted the first incarnation of "Swan Lake," set to Tchaikovsky's beloved score. But its 1877 retelling of a Russian folk tale about a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse never took flight.
It wasn't until 1895 that choreographers Marius Petipas and Lev Ivanov put together a version for St. Petersburg's Imperial Russian Ballet that connected with audiences and critics.
Since then it has never been out of the company's repertoire. Young women who enter the Vaganova Academy, the Mariinsky's prestigious ballet school, practice the devilishly tricky corps de ballet parts from the very beginning of their training. It's one of the reasons that the Mariinsky's "Swan Lake" is famous for is ethereal beauty, sublime athleticism and uncanny accuracy.
"We have 32 swans in the corps de ballet, and one who is the queen. That's 33 in all," said the company's director, Yuri Fateev. "They all must be perfect."
One of the reasons the company obsesses about "Swan Lake," of course, is because everyone wants to see it. During the Cold War, it served as the Soviet Union's cultural calling card. Now when the 200-member group tours the world, presenters demand it.
"All the producers, they are asking for it," Fateev said. "That means we must always be ready."
Constant ensemble rehearsal is crucial to the production's success, Fateev said.
"It is very important for the same people to do it together and develop a feeling for each other, so they can do exactly the same timing and the same steps. That is why the Vaganova Academy is so important to us. They are learning those steps from a very early age, and they come and watch ('Swan Lake') being performed many times during their educational years."
The dancers' size and proportions are also vitally important to "Swan Lake's" success, Fateev said. "We try to cast people who are the same size: same long legs, long arms, long neck."
Fateev's company is precise about height, too: corps de ballet members must be between 1.65 and 1.72 meters (roughly 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-7).
YEARS OF REVERENCE AND CARE
Judy Morr, who programs the dance season at the Segerstrom Center, is one of the Mariinsky's many avid fans.
"I think the (Mariinsky version) is the essence of 'Swan Lake' and it has absolutely everything that I never grow tired of seeing in ballet. It's got a great story. It's got that incredible score by Tchaikovsky. It's got romance. And it's got the exquisitely trained dancers that frankly only the Mariinsky can deliver."
The company has brought "Swan Lake" to Orange County before. It was presented along with "Romeo and Juliet" during the 17-day Mariinsky Festival in 2006, part of the Segerstrom Center's 20th anniversary celebration. But Morr never tires of the work, and she knows the Segerstrom Center's many dance aficionados don't either.
"There's a feeling that hits me every time I see one of the great classics like this one being performed by a company of this caliber. You realize all the historical background that goes with it. You can see all the years of reverence and care. You know that what you're seeing isn't much different than what audiences saw over 100 years ago."
Morr also loves hosting the Russians, a larger-than-life group that electrifies the Segerstrom Center every time they roll into town.
"They're so full of life. And they love to eat. Everyone says that dancers don't eat. With them it's quite the contrary."
Morr, who has been working at the Segerstrom Center since it opened in 1986, remembers when the presence of Russians caused a great deal more tension.
"During the (Soviet era) we always had visiting security that would come with the company. I'm sure they were KGB. They were obvious to those of us on the inside; they were omnipresent. They would make the rounds from backstage to the front of the house.
"Thank goodness those days are gone."
It's more than just aesthetic appreciation that prompts Morr to bring the Mariinsky to her performing arts center. A big-name company can spur ticket sales, not just to its performances but to the entire subscription season.
"I've been encouraged by the public response," Morr said. "I was counting on it to be substantial with 'Swan Lake' as the opening of the season. But it's been more successful than we hoped."
Fateev said that level of enthusiasm for "Swan Lake" is echoed wherever his company performs. He has some theories about why "Swan Lake" is such an enduring draw.
"It has genius music. I know a lot of conductors who like to perform 'Swan Lake' in concert. Petipas did his best work. He was French but he stayed much of his life in Russia and understood the Russian character. And the story ? people love it. They cry over it.
"These three things make 'Swan Lake' great. It is hard to find that combination in any other ballet."
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/swan-373021-lake-company.html
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