SWAN LAKE

Review by Celia Ipiotis

True love is tested in the time – honored classical ballet Swan Lake. Based on the great Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s 1895 choreography, former ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie reset the ballet in 2000 while retaining its classic bones.

Festivities reign in the cavernous palace, and the regal queen (a convincing Nancy Raffa) bestows a crossbow to her son, Prince Siegfried (Herman Cornejo) and urges him to consider a wife at the next evening’s grand ball. Delighted by his new crossbow and bored by his eligible female options, he and his friend Benno (Jake Roxander) slip out to hunt in the woods. That’s where Siegfried glimpses the magnificent Princess Odette (Skylar Brandt). 

Startled to see a man, Odette rushes back. Unable to restrain himself, he approaches her and  ignites the glorious pas de deux that  introduces the star-crossed lovers. Their passion anchors the heart of the ballet. She explains that  years earlier, a fierce sorcerer, von Rothbart, trapped and transformed her into a swan during the day and a woman at night. Her only release from the spell: true love and marriage to a virginal youth.

One of Amerrican Ballet Theater’s finest actor dancers, Herman Cornejo, never ceases to deliver emotionally convincing performances that speak eloquently through each gesture and motion. From her initial entrance, Brandt commands the stage in ethereal arabesques, grand in scale and suspended in never-ending balances. A seasoned performer, Cornejo retains his ballon and expressive technique, spinning at various speeds and sticking a perfect landing. His beloved Odette seals herself in his embrace, her supple, languorous back arching and releasing one long sigh.

A surge of white tutus announces the grand corps de ballet in a wave of unison choreography. Protective of Odette, they surround her until they break formation to reveal her presence to Siegfried. Swan Lake is known for its choreographic purity, particularly in the mesmerizing swan corps passages, however, McKenzie’s alterations in these scenes get over-embellished . His handiwork is at its best in the opening scene during the palace festivities, and maypole dance.  

In the highly anticipated Pas de Trois during Act I, Jake Roxander immediately gains the audience’s attention with his sparkling technique and youthful openness. 

When Act III opens in the Great Hall, trumpeters announce the royal guests and various folk dances like the lively Czardas and Spanish Dance. These bright, gay dances lead to the penultimate scene — the arrival of the sorcerer von Rothbart (in human form) with the mysterious femme-fatale, Odile. Few ballerinas can transform from the purity and lyricism of the white swan to the fierce, and seductive Odile. However, Brandt’s fervently dives into the nearly horizontal arabesques, and effortlessly negotiates intensely streamlined, yet difficult choreography. At one point, she releases Siegfried’s hands while en pointe in arabesque, arms overhead. This becomes a marathon arabesque balance to the point where she has time to pull out a compact, powdered her nose, brightened her lipstick, and check her Instagram posts. Th crowd raors only to see her return and spike the demanding 32 fouettes with multiple triple turns. 

Cornejo and Brandt crown American Ballet Theater’s production of Swan Lake, levitating the audience at the Metropolitan Opera House.

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis