I have discovered that swans use a lot of glitter. And a very particular sort of glitter at that: very, very fine bright white glitter that sticks to everything and can be found in all sorts of interesting places at the end of the day.
We refurbished Swan Lake recently for the Perth season and although the show is in quite good condition, there’s no getting away from the fact that it has been on tour every year since it was made in 2002. The headdresses are very stylised, with two pieces of thermoplastic shaped to represent a wing and a tail. The girls pin them into their hair either side of their French rolls and originally they were painted with white opalescent paint and finished off with glitter at the base of each piece. It was only when we resprayed one did we realise how brown they were! I guess it’s down to the stage lighting that we had no idea; during the performances they looked beautiful. Close up however the poor swans were looking a little worse for wear, not quite as sparkly as they had been and rather like they had been swimming in a murky pond.
Kate my fearless and trusty assistant had no idea what l was letting her in for when we talked about bringing them up to scratch. For days we were lost in a haze of glitter, spray paint and PVA glue like drag queens at the Mardi Gras. But finally they were done, resprayed, reglittered and packed into their boxes for their journey to Perth.
Ready, as Betty Pounder used to say on opening nights, to “Sparkle, Darlings”.
Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake is available to purchase on DVD from The Australian Ballet Shop
Incidentally, the cover image of the Swan Lake DVD doesn’t look very much like the cast dancing in the recorded performance…could someone explain why that decision was made? Was it because the programme cover image used this image and so it was already beautifully available? Because I would have expected the cover image, if of the leads, to be of those actually dancing on the DVD.
I love finding glitter everywhere, especially in the oddest places… it’s like a pleasant reminder of a wonderful experience. That does sound like quite a job, though!
Hi Anna,
Thanks for your comment regarding our Swan Lake DVD. You’re correct, Amber Scott and Adam Bull are featured on the cover, even though Madeleine Eastoe, Robert Curran and Danielle Rowe are the principals who perform on the DVD. The cover image is a photo from our marketing campaign which was shot well in advance of the performances and casting is not decided until much closer to the night. So, in the case of this recording, Madeleine, Robert and Danielle have not been photographed together in the roles they perform on the DVD. Thanks again for your feedback, and we hope you enjoy the wonderful performances on the Swan Lake DVD!
Thank you for replying Isabel – I had eventually guessed it must be something like that
I have to admit that I recorded the performance off ABC2 and have been able to enjoy it numerous times while waiting for the official DVD to come out!
I would so love to see the Australian performance of Swan lake live, I really loved seeing the Australian Ballet perform in Cairns in August last year and loved the choreography for poems. We went along for my son’s 9th birthday – he loves to dance and really enjoyed the opportunity to see male dancers perform. Living in regional Australia experiences like this are rare.
Peace Mitchell
Innisfail.
I was advised that Swan Lake is the ballet to see, however being in a regional location makes it difficult to travel to have this pleasure. My daughter loves to dance and enjoys watching the specials which appear on TV at times, perhaps if I can find the time to travel to Sydney then we can watch it together
Hi Darren,
Swan Lake isn’t actually being performed in Australia this year, but if you visit our website here, you’ll see the full rundown of the 2010 season. I hope you and your daughter enjoy the ballet when you get a chance to see a show.
http://www.australianballet.com.au/main.taf?p=1,1
When was this version of Swan Lake recorded? I was wondering who the other cast members are…
Hi Emily,
This version was recorded live at The Sydney Opera House, 9 April 2008.
Other cast members include Shane Carroll as the Queen, Robert Olup as the Prince Consort and Colin Peasley as the Lord Admiral. Jane Casson and Lana Jones perform as the guardian swans and Reiko Hombo, Leanne Stojmenov and Miwako Kubota as the cygnets.
swan lake is such an amazing production some day hopefully when i’m old enough i wish to get into the royal academy of dance (sorry if it is called something not really the most up to date person) and perform the ugly duckling solo it is so beautiful