title of music in Swan lake

[whetherwax]

Could anyone tell me the name of the Russian dance piece performed in the ABT Swan lake by Mr Gomez. I would like to try to teach myself to play it.It sounds like troikas pursued by wolves in the most exciting russian folk tradition and is likely to be impossible to learn for a novice.However...

[Mel Johnson]

Easy, it's the "Danse Russe" from - Act III of the 1877 Swan Lake. It was originally a dance for the Odile character.

[Amy Reusch]

It has always made me think of troikas when I heard it too!! (Makes me wonder if it was used in some movie soundtrack that planted the idea in my head)

[4mrdncr]

I actually saw it played on the piano in some movie called "Torrents of Spring" with Timothy Hutton. (I heard the music, rushed into the room, to see if there was any dancing, but no, just Hutton faking it on the piano. The movie appeared to be a period piece set in Eastern Europe, but I have no idea what the plot was, as I didn't stay to watch more.) I play piano by ear, and taught myself to play it and the Act 1 waltz, not too hard. One of the reasons, I think, that variation is seldom performed by companies doing S.L.: it adds another national dance to an already crowded ballroom, or there isn't a good enough violinist to handle it. (IMHO).

[whetherwax]

I've been hunting for sheet music - I have NO ear - suitably easy for a very beginner pianist, without luck. I wish I did know more about music to understand why it is such an exhilerating piece. I guess it works up to a speedy finale. I have seen it danced by a Russian dancer in one of those head framing folk headresses on utube and it is very exciting. I play Marcelo Gomes and the Female russian dancer often and find myself dancing round the house at great speed.

[EAW]

I've been hunting for sheet music - I have NO ear - suitably easy for a very beginner pianist, without luck. I wish I did know more about music to understand why it is such an exhilerating piece. I guess it works up to a speedy finale. I have seen it danced by a Russian dancer in one of those head framing folk headresses on utube and it is very exciting. I play Marcelo Gomes and the Female russian dancer often and find myself dancing round the house at great speed.

You can find the Danse Russe in Dover's single-volume compilation of Tchaikovsky piano music, called "The Seasons and Other Works for Solo Piano" (including more bits from Swan Lake, such as "L'espiegle" - the variation added for Odile in the Black Swan Pas de Deux). The music isn't exactly for beginners, but it's not impossible, and you'll have a lot of fun working on it (as I have), especially as you're able to pick up more and more speed in the second section.