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Led by former Bolshoi Ballet principal Dancer-turned-artistic director Sergei Radchenko, the Moscow Festival Ballet formed in 1989 and has since gone on to gain worldwide acclaim for their performances of traditional; ballet classics in the celebrated Russian classical school style.
One of the favourites of ballet lovers and newcomers alike, Swan Lake includes some of the most famous scenes in ballet, such as the pas de deux, and has gone on to be staged countless times around the world, no ballet company being complete without it in their repertoire. Tchaikovsky's excellent score is the perfect foil for dancers to display their grace, elegance and energy as they dance the sad story of Odette, the princess trapped as a swan until her true love comes to find her.
As one of the best-trained companies in the world, the Moscow Festival Ballet rare sure to present a version that compliments this masterpiece wonderfully.
Synopsis
Tired of being pressured by his mother to find a wife and settle down to his royal duties, dashing Prince Siegfried escapes the palace on a hunting trip with his pals. After becoming separated whilst stalking a swan, his world is turned upside down when his prey suddenly transforms into a beautiful maiden.
He immediately falls deeply in love and sets out to win her trust, learning her terrible secret: that she and her companions are victims of an evil spell, cast by the sorcerer Von Rothbart, who traps them on the lake as Swans by day and human by night. The only way to break this spell is for one who has never loved to love her, The Swan Queen.
But before setting out to save his newly beloved, he must attend the royal ball thrown by his parents. The Prince is despondent, thinking only of Odette, until the arrival of a mysterious black-clad woman who looks exactly like her! However, this woman is called Odile and is dressed like a Black Swan. This stranger dances flirtatiously and wildly, and Seigfried is overjoyed, until he notices a mysterious figure in white desperately gesturing to him from a mirror; Odette.
Prince Siegfried sets out to break the spell and rescue Odette, pitting him against the nefarious Von Rothbart in this wonderful story of magic and romance. As one of the famous ballets of all time, this is a must see for all ages.