Rooted in Elegance, Shanghai Ballet’s Grand Swan Lake

Shanghai Ballet’s Grand Swan Lake; Rooted in Elegance & Emotion

By Sharon M. Chin

Credit: Shanghai Ballet

Last night at Lincoln Center, a corps of 48 dancing swans rose from the fog to mesmerizing effect. Grand Swan Lake is the Shanghai Ballet’s staging of the timeless tale of thwarted love between a princess, a prince, and an evil spell. And while Swan Lake has been restaged in countless productions and new imaginings since 1877, the Shanghai Ballet moves towards an elegantly lush classical telling with choreographic choices emphasizing emotion. Under the direction of Derek Deane, a former Royal Ballet principal and choreographer, a Grand Swan Lake movingly tells the story of Odette and Prince Siegfried.

Deane notes “I’ve always leaned on the emotion of ballet stories rather than focusing on the technique. People are often so focused on the technical elements- how many turns one can do, how high the legs go, how many hours one can stand on one shoe- and I enjoy that too. But the story is even more important than the steps.” A Grand Swan Lake was choreographed to heighten emotions and the massive vision of 48 swans, instead of the traditional 24, does result in feelings of grandeur and awe. The Lincoln Center audience was increasingly transfixed in Act II during the Waltz of the Swans, when an infinitely long line of swans is first introduced, beautifully filling the stage.

The idea of the 48 swans began as an experiment. Deane recollects “I wanted to make Swan Lake more interesting- and I felt that a bigger wealth of swans would result in a larger visual and emotional impact. And when I used 60 swans in the round of Albert Hall, I saw not just the visual impact, but also felt the real emotional effect.” Deane, who chooses to hew closely to the traditions of Marius Petipa, continued this “experiment on the proscenium” with the Shanghai Ballet,  staging it initially in 2015 and then touring worldwide. Qi Bingxue, the principal dancer who plays Princess Odette, said that with more "swans" on the stage, dancers needed to train harder, “almost semi-militantly” with respect to precision, so that "48 swans move like one."

Credit: Shanghai Ballet

The Shanghai Ballet’s production is elegantly and ethereally beautiful, with the second, third, and fourth act masterfully building upon the emotion. We feel for Odette, as Qi contorts her arms and moves off stage on pointe, as she is forced back into the body of a swan under the spell of the evil wizard Rothbart. As the black swan, Qi is cruelly confident, transformed from the more controlled and delicate emotions of Odette.  We feel for Odette again, as she weeps in Act IV, surrounded by her sympathizing swans.  Deane notes “In Act IV, I’ve taken the most poetic license because I want to tell the battle between good and evil” and, as the swan maidens dance imposingly to stop Rothbart amid a storm of music and lightning on stage, it seemed as if the swan maiden dancers were truly vested in protecting their friend.

It’s incredibly difficult for a classical telling of Swan Lake to feel original, but the Shanghai Ballet does succeed in a choreographic crispness and sweeping lush displays of skill. And with a standing ovation, the audience seemed to both enjoy and be moved by the technical and emotional artistry of the Shanghai Ballet.

Credit: Shanghai Ballet

Accompanied by the New York City Ballet Orchestra, and playing through Sunday January 19th. The Shanghai Ballet was founded in 1966 and embraces a mix of traditional and Western dance styles.

Published on 1/18/2020. Based on 1/17 Performance and interviews with Derek Deane and Shanghai Ballet cast. Additional Photos by: North American Photography Association