Swan Lake 2004

Five years since we first presented Swan Lake, we embarked once more on a mammoth production of this popular ballet. The cast was huge. A few of the dancers, now taking soloist roles, had been junior corps in the first production. For the majority, however, this was a new experience and a journey into the magical world of Tchaikovsky’s music. There were twenty-six swans who displayed a well-drilled procession resulting from the ballet mistress’s excellent coaching.

The costumes were sumptuous. Parents spent hours creating swans’ headdresses of white feathers for the “adult” swans and black feathers for the delightful little black cygnets who appeared in Act IV. Our wardrobe team and dressmakers stitched until their fingers were sore and helped to achieve a stunning visual spectacle

Our guest artists danced the roles of Odette and Siegfried with precision and a well-honed technique. Mary Beth Arringrton and Eric Bourman came from Houston and Los Angeles. Chikka Temma and Zhanat Atymatyev dance with Ballets Russes from Swansea. We were fortunate, indeed, to have such stellar quality. Our cast rose to the occasion and distinguished themselves with the precision and élan with which they danced the various roles assigned to them. The orchestra also excelled themselves with their application to such a long and difficult score and their performance added a special polish to the whole production .

A large and enthusiastic audience of over four thousand people attended the performances. We also raised £3000 for Macmillan Cancer Relief, which included contributions from ticket sales on the Gala Evening. .

The success of this production was a tribute to all those who worked so hard for so many months.