Swan Lake- Is It Really Just Girls In Tutus?

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.