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EVAN MCKIE |
Here are a few more images of what a Swan Lake reharsal looked like last week as I was waiting to learn my entrance with Odette called the ‘’waterfall.'’ This is where the prince rushes in and lifts the white swan in an arabesque pressage while walking backwards in a diagonal downstage. As the prince walks by each swan, she must immediately fall to the floor and assume ’swan position’…(see the 2nd picture here) This creates a look similar to what might be called a ‘wave’ from a sports-viewing crowd. The prince cannot see where he is going though which means that if even one unlucky swan is out of line then she must face the unfortunate consequence of having foot briefly stepped on. There was a show I can rememeber where, due to a combination of an ill-footed prince and a few swans that may need contact lenses to acheive a more precise diagonal, all one could hear from the wings during this ‘’waterfall’ was ‘’ow-ouch-ow-ouch-ouch-ouch…'’ as the swans’ toes were trampled. The audience hopefully wasn’t aware of it, but I am sure the girls have paid closer attention to this part ever since….:)
I’ll try to put up a video of this part because it is so beautiful when done well….and sadly but secretly sort of entertaining when not. 
Here are the pretty ladies through the course of an afternoon reharsal….
Usually when you see pics of ballet (either onstage or off) everything’s so pristine and perfect, so I couldn’t stop laughing at your TIGHTS WITH THE BIG OLE 6-PRONGED RUN! 
