Performed At The Royal ALbert Hall By The English National Ballet
My thoughts on Swan Lake were very mixed. I had never been to the ballet before and I was expecting a three-hour nap to be scheduled. I watched the ballet in the royal Albert Hall, with my mother. The exterior is a very old, red building with faded gold swirls on the edges, a truly wonderful sight. The inside of the grand Hall was really huge. We were sitting right next door to the orchestra, who were dressed in black head to toe. It was performed in the round and our seats were great. We could see everything that was taking place.
While
we were waiting for the performance to start, we could see all sort
s of lights
flickering, cameras flashing and a constant low level chatter. The stage was
set with two chairs and by the looks of them they were supposed to be thrones. Also
the stage was lit with a blue light, suggesting that it was meant to be a lake.
When
the ballet started, I have to admit that I nearly fell asleep. I was not that
excited about going to the ballet so I was just expecting there to be silly men
in tights, lifting up women in swan costumes. One thing that was really funny
was the fact that one of the jugglers dropped his baton!!!
In
the first third, my expectations were correct. I was so bored I had to keep one
eye open to give a signal to my mum that I wasn’t bored out of my wits. The
orchestra, however were fantastic though. Even though I don’t appreciate
classical music Tchaikovsky is the one thing that kept me awake. Thanks Dude
for composing that stimulating music. No, seriously, thanks!
In
the second of the three sections, the beginning was very much the same as
before. Then the story really built up and it started to get more enjoyable.
One of my favorite parts of the performance was when the evil dancers vanished
while there was an eruption of smoke, which filled the stage. The dancers were
really getting into it and so was I. I was starting to appreciate that even if
I could see the outline of a parade of men’s bottoms, the ballet was something
magnificent and I couldn’t wait for the last third.
The
last third was the best of the three. The reason being that it was just so
exhilarating and fiery. At the end
Odile,
the Queen Swan, was ‘karate kicking’ the evil dancer. Maybe she got lessons
from Jackie Chan?
My
conclusion to my title is that no, the ballet is not just girls in tutus. The
ballet is an extraordinary thing that all people should experience once in
their life. So yes, I do recommend this.
