Swan Lake is a classic, treasured ballet which tells the story of a prince who encounters a beautiful swan transformed from a human princess by a wicked sorcerer’s curse. Throughout the story, the ballet powerfully conveys to the audience through the mutual pursuit of love between the prince and the swan queen, the theme of the soul’s struggle towards idealized love and sacrifice against its imprisonment in the body of a “swan creature”. A well-known and beloved ballet, Swan Lake is found in the repertory of ballet companies around the world. Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky from 1875-1876, the original production “The Lake of the Swans” premiered in March of 1877 by the Bolshoi Ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

timeless love story that mixes magic, tragedy, and romance

APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIMES
120 minutes, one intermission

Fokine's Les Sylphides is a tribute to the Romantic era, celebrating the ethereal 'white ballet' with flowing arabesques, light, airy dances of sylphs, and a timeless longing for the ideal. Inspired by old engravings of Maria Taglioni and her contemporaries, Fokine wanted to revive ballet’s poetic essence, where dancers rose on pointe not to show strength but to create an impression of lightness and fantasy. 'I aimed not to impress with novelty, but to bring ballet back to its highest artistic form,' he wrote. 'How our ballet ancestors truly danced, no one knows, but in my dreams, they danced just like this.'

i act: Les sylphides

APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIMES
80 minutes, one intermission

The ballet Paquita debuted in Paris in 1846, choreographed by Joseph Mazilier with music by Édouard Deldevez, inspired by Cervantes’ novella The Little Gypsy Girl. Lucien Petipa, brother of famed choreographer Marius Petipa, danced a leading role in the premiere. Just a year later, Marius Petipa staged Paquita in St. Petersburg, and by 1881, he added a new section for Ekaterina Vazem’s benefit performance—the celebrated "Grand Pas," with additional music by Ludwig Minkus. This 30-minute masterpiece became an instant success and continues to captivate audiences around the world, serving as a highlight of ballet galas and showcasing the elegance of classical ballet

ii act: Paquita