Swan Lake:I can't understand....

[Mel Johnson]

A good many scenarios are possible in Act II. One viable tack is to have Siegfried interested, but not yet emotionally engaged in his first mime with Odette. She is a Queen, yet under a spell. Under the premises of Courtly Love, that gives her some unattainability. Siegfried is duty-bound to assist damsels in distress, and at the same time equally duty-bound to betroth himself. He might be taking the "Listen, I'll help you. I'll love you, I'll marry you, I sw...(cut off by von Rothbart's entrance)" course.

It is well to remember that the pas de deux, whether à deux or à trois, is marked in the score, "Pas d'action". It should, in at least my opinion, be a passage of character development, where Siegfried starts to realize, "My God! I'm actually falling in love with this woman, even though I was just trying to be polite!"

[nysusan]

Bart, I don’t know how historically accurate it is but I think I recall that the version of the 2nd act of Swan Lake in the Czinner Royal Ballet film (The Royal Ballet video distributed by Bel Canto) was danced as a pas de deux a trois with Benno & hunters. It’s no longer available commercially but is shown occasionally on pbs, so there might be some youtube clips around. I’ll try to take a look at it again in the next week or so.

Regarding the pdd itself, and Siegfreid’s reactions in it I think that part of the Petipa/Ivanov genius is that so much subtle variety in characterization is possible without losing the impact of the story. I don’t think Siegfreid should react to Odette with a look of doom, but for me a look of unmitigated joy would be at least as bad. Whether he’s in love from the moment he sees her, or whether it develops during the pdd, it’s not an uncomplicated or “happy” love. He’s a prince torn between his duty and his personal feelings, she’s a queen imprisoned by a horrible spell. Falling in love with Odette may provide him with that “something missing” in his life but it also complicates his life immeasurably and for the story to work he needs to be aware of that. Or, if he's not aware that has to be a conscious choice that's part of his interpretation. The love story is one aspect of Swan Lake but what makes it such a great work is that there are also so many other layers of meaning to it. Both main characters have an arc of emotional development, and part of his is the arduous test that loving and freeing Odette entails (and of course, in most versions he fails).

Also, in most interpretations it is not love at first sight for Odette (or at the very least it’s love colored by fear, apprehension or mistrust) and the pdd is generally when Siegfried wins her over. A great big smile & gung ho attitude would likely scare her off more than win her over.

I agree that some acting in the form of facial expression is necessary, but I dislike it when that’s the major form of communicating feelings in classical ballet. The character and emotion is in the choreography and my preference is when the acting is done through the dance. Usually I see it in the use of the upper body - the tilt of the head, the dynamics in the use of shoulders, arms, torso & back. This applies more to Odette than to Siegfried (see Fonteyn, Makarova, Annanishvili, Pavlenko), but it also applies to male dancing. The arc of an arabesque, use of line, details of partnering and spatial relation to one's partner etc can be very expressive.

Over one weekend several years ago I saw 4 performances of the Kirov’s Swan lake with 3 different Siegfrieds and was struck by how different their interpretations were. Danila Korsuntsev was a happy, regular guy prince who was gobbsmacked by Odette at first sight, Zelensky had something of hamlet in him, philosophical & questing and Sarafanov was a princeling who grew up and proved himself through saving Odette. This was several years ago and I have no specific memory of their facial expressions at the moment they first saw Odette or during the pdd but each presented a completely different and unique interpretation of Siegfried within the classical framework and I thought that each worked wonderfully.

[Mel Johnson]

To give you an idea of what the pas de deux à trois was like, the emploi of the danseur noble was a dying practice by the 1890s, but Siegfried's role as First Gentleman is not a bad example of late use of the noble. Benno promenades Odette and Siegfried stands off admiringly, suggesting delicately to the audience, "Isn't she beautiful?" When it comes to the lifting part, it's all him and Odette. The Corsaire pas de deux à trois is a similar type of partnering plan. Besides, it allows the choreographer more possibilities for arrangement of persons in the stage picture.

[bart]

I am persuded to side with Drew when she writes:

I agree that some acting in the form of facial expression is necessary, but I dislike it when that’s the major form of communicating feelings in classical ballet. The character and emotion is in the choreography and my preference is when the acting is done through the dance. Usually I see it in the use of the upper body - the tilt of the head, the dynamics in the use of shoulders, arms, torso & back. This applies more to Odette than to Siegfried (see Fonteyn, Makarova, Annanishvili, Pavlenko), but it also applies to male dancing. The arc of an arabesque, use of line, details of partnering and spatial relation to one's partner etc can be very expressive.

Sometimes, however, the attempt to use the face -- in videotaping, especially -- can tell us more about the dancer's acting skills than he or she might want.

Recently I've looked at a number of videos, focusing on the part of Swan Lake where Siegfried first meets Odette, and comparing how different dancers and productions handle it. Here are two brief examples of "acting with the face" that actually are rather funny if you look at them out of context.

1) NYCB's version. Damian Woetzel as Siegfried. I believe that Woetzel was trying to convey that his first meeting with Odette was completely and powerfully disorienting. He raises his index finger to the side of his forehead ... Looks painfully puzzled (one of his many uses of the wide open mouth in this part of the ballet) ... and seem to be thinking: "Am I going crazy?" It would look something like this -- or even this -- performed with a wide-open mouth. "Huh?!?!?"

2) ABT's version. Gillian Murphy as Odette. She enters with a very introspective solo and does not notice that Siegfried is watching. Suddenly, she notices that he is there. Her reaction? She jerks her head back, forms her mouth into a large oval, and commicates "I'm shocked." It looks something like this: or even "Ooo!"

This kind of facial acting is over-literal and over-obvious. It works against the spirit of the music and the choreography. It is probably not what someone more experienced with Swan Lake would have done.

[canbelto]

I really think close-ups sometimes hurt the White Swan pdd. In the recent POB video Jose Martinez was shown grinning widely during the pdd, and it ruined the whole thing for me.

The White Swan pdd is one of those pieces where honestly I'd like there to be as little overt facial expression as possible. The choreography speaks for itself. I especially love the final penchee that's standard nowadays. The best ballerinas can give that final movement such stillness and tranquility, as if to say, "I've told my story."