Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet, has been enchantingly interpreted by several ballet companies, all of which incomparably capture the passion, desire, and tragedy of the two stars crossed lovers. The ballet follows two principals, Romeo and Juliet, who were never destined to connect because of their family feuds of the Capulet’s and Montague’s. However, with different intentions in mind, Romeo pursues Juliet after being bewitched by her beauty and intellect. They both fight for the love and lust that was never meant to be theirs, only to be rejoined in the light of tragedy and misfortune. ABT and The Royal Ballet have created such incredible productions of the story, with masterful dancers such as Isabella Boylston, Aran Bell, Yasmine Naghidi, and other passionate principals playing the leading roles of, Romeo and Juliet.
Swan Lake
Swan Lake is a seductive and craving take on pure love, as it showcases both innocence and malice, virtue and rancor. Swan Lake tells the tale of a beautiful princess, Odette, who is cursed with the body of a swan, however, only true love can break her spell. Siegfried, a prince who is to be turned king, must marry a woman in order to complete his royal duties. One evening, he stumbles upon a beautiful moonlight, only to find an even more enchanting Odette. She confesses her curse to the prince, who understands that both of their lives must be interlaced, and is set on the thought of making Odette betrothed to him.
However, before he can make his promise come true, he is lured to the prospect of the seductive Odile, daughter of Von Rothbartthe, the sorcerer who cursed Odette. Von Rothbartthe enchants a spell on Siegfried to fall in love with Odile instead of Odette. Such an enchantment tears apart Odette with grief, as she understands that the only way to be free from her curse is to kill herself. Following Odette Siegfried chooses the same fate, knowing he would rather die with true love then be tormented with his own curse. Similar to Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake is a tragic but phenomenal ballet, illustrating temptation and grace, true passion and mystifying attraction.
Dying Swan
Dying Swan was a solo first created for, Anna Pavlova, a magnificent ballerina who changed the course of ballet as it is know. She modernized pointe shoes and inspired so many others to pursue ballet. Pavlovas performance of Dying Swan even inspired Odette’s swan like movements from Balanchine’s Swan Lake. Although Dying Swan is not centered on love but instead a swan whose taking its last breath and leap before passing, Pavlova transformed Dying Swan to be a piece on her love story and last grace to ballet. I believe Dying Swan to be one of the greatest and most romantic pieces alive, as it shows dancers love for ballet to be never ending. Anna Pavlovas last words were, “Get my swan costume ready”, as she wanted to embrace her tutu one last time before her passing. Pavlovas life and eternal faith to ballet cannot be pursued or expressed in words, only the love story she showed in her final dance of Dying Swan.
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