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Dance Review: PBT explores new possibilities for the 'Swan'
Sunday, October 25, 1998 By Jane Vranish, Post-Gazette Dance Critic
Amid the bustle of everyday life, political scandals and the ebb and flow of Wall Street, it would be nice simply to fly away. Just to take a moment to soar above the ever-present problems before they pull you back to earth.
'Swan Lake'
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. next Sunday.10/29-31 and 11/1
Tickets: $13 to $58; 456-6666
Is there a more perfect vehicle than "Swan Lake," with its images of flight, a beautiful swan/woman, a handsome prince? It's the stuff of which fantasies are made.
But, when Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre presents "Swan Lake" for the 10th time, all concerned know that this fantasy and its illusions will be rooted in reality.
Artistic director Terrence Orr has come up with a new choreographic twist for Pittsburgh patrons. Performers like principal dancer Laura Desiree will not only be concerned with the steps, but with hairpins and toe shoes.
The power of illusion comes through dogged work and meticulous attention to detail. Ask any magician. Some days, in fact, Orr probably wishes he could simply wave a wand.
Still, he maintains an air of confidence. "This isn't the first time for me," he says. "I've set a lot of 'Swan Lake' productions. So I didn't find this one difficult, as if I had been to a college to prepare."
When Orr viewed PBT's production, he knew what he wanted to do. "The old 'Swan Lake' would go off on tangents. For example, in the third act, everyone made an entrance, including the Black Swan. Prince Siegfried would just run off with her and the nationality dances would just happen. It was like an abstract ballet."
Orr reworked the story, mostly the first and third acts, so that it was told in the proper order. "We won't have peasants and aristocrats like American Ballet Theatre," he says. "This production is not set up in a particular era, so we're able to have a much more 'dancey' production. The jester will have a lot more fun and there will be a new variation for the prince."
The third-act ball, he adds, will present dances from each country and princesses who are not clad in identical dresses. When the Queen tells Siegfried to pick a bride from among the princesses, the Black Swan will make her entrance. "That gives the story clarity and a nice sense of dramatic timing."
The second act, traditionally acknowledged as a choreographic jewel, will remain with the original patterns. But the ending will bear Orr's own personal stamp, where he has decided to have Siegfried and Odette commit suicide. "I see it as a romantic ending," Orr says. "The only way to go on is by dying, not by living in the pain of the spell. It shows a much deeper love, similar in moral fiber to 'Romeo and Juliet,' in that it releases the other swans."
Orr hopes that his Odette will be able to convey more pathos in her final pas de deux, knowing what is about to happen. He sees his principal dancers transformed by a more supple and romantic approach to the double role, one of the most coveted in the ballerina repertoire. "I think we'll see some world-class performances, and I hope the audiences recognize that."
Principal dancer Laura Desiree, one of several Odette/Odiles in this production, has been working since July to perfect the roles that she finds "always challenging, always." Desiree performed her first "Swan" in 1990. Now, eight years later, she still finds "the entire ballet a technical hurdle. But it gets more familiar. So you know when it feels right and know when it looks right."
Desiree has had the opportunity to tackle all of the time-tested ballerina roles here at PBT. Of "Sleeping Beauty" she says, "The Rose Adagio, with its long balances, can really trip you up." Kitri in "Don Quixote" keeps her "jumping all night long." As for "Giselle," she notes that you can't make a sound, even in the jumps."
As for her favorite section in "Swan," Desiree remains politically correct, citing parts of both swan roles. She also neatly sidesteps which swan is more natural: "It's in the eye of the beholder."
In order to make a lasting impact on the audience, Desiree isn't just worrying about the steps or the new, "softer" style that Orr and wife Marianna Tcherkassky, PBT's ballet mistress, have been encouraging. There's the nuts and bolts of ballet, and she also has to consider hairstyles (bun up for Odette, bun down for Odile and "sticking pins in my hair until they call 'places' ") and make-up (paler for Odette, more lipstick and blush for Odile).
But, on opening night, Desiree will step on stage. And, magically, her neck will elongate, the arms will become wings, and the hairpins will disappear into feathers.
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