Alice the swan

Alice Topp, corps de ballet member with The Australian Ballet, has been performing as one of Graeme Murphy’s swans for three years to sell-out crowds across Australia and the globe. She has danced in cities as far flung as Paris and London, and this week she graces the stage in the riverside city of Perth.

Swan Lake is incredibly special to me as a corps dancer: the movements lend themselves to artistic interpretation and expression for every individual on the stage. While we appear as a collective in corps swans, we are still dancing as if we are experiencing the love and pain of the lead swan.

There are these incredible, choreographed moments where we are very protective of Odette – we swoop in to support her and, as the music is so dramatic, it’s hard not to get completely involved in the story and swept up in the emotion of the tragedy.

No matter how many times I perform swans, I never grow sick of it. It’s always a challenge to move as a synchronised flock and I always feel that even though I am but one of many swans, we are all equal contributors to the production – when you realise the beauty of the shapes and patterns we are creating, there’s a real sense of team spirit and unity between us onstage.

Every time I do Swan Lake, and this is my third year performing as a swan, it’s so exciting to see the production grow as dancers take on new challenges in principal roles and new company members share their first Swan Lake experience. It’s definitely one of my favourite productions!

Artists of The Australian Ballet. Photography Jeff Busby