tangofiction

Just wondering if anyone else saw the POB "Swan Lake" in Sydney last week. If so - any thoughts?

I never used to count, but after seeing the ENB disaster, I've started doing it as a sort of nervous tick. I do like the fouettes, but as others said above, Maya Plisetskaya didn't do them in "Swan Lake" (on principle, I think) and she's my favourite Odette/Odile of all time. Then again, Plisetskaya is just in a class of her own.

Ancient topic, but I hope nobody minds if I add my two cents... I've seen a spectacular one, unfortunately. It happened during the English National Ballet's tour in 1999, at the Sydney Entertainment Centre (which admittedly does have a notoriously slippery stage). They were doing a fairly standard Swan Lake, but doubled in size to make it an "Arena Production" -- a terrible concept that turns ballet into a circus. I can't remember who danced Odette/Odile on the night, but after a handful of fouettes, she lost her centre and fell over. She stayed on the floor for a while, then struggled back up and finished the remaining couple of fouettes, switching to her working leg. It might have been the arena setup, or just the size of the place, but it made for a pretty dsimal experience overall (not just the fall, the entire performance). I admit I've been prejudiced against the ENB ever since...