Details

One of ballet's most famous works with some of its best known music. It is Siegfried's birthday and his mother gives him a crossbow and an ultimatum to get married! After the party and finding himself alone he goes hunting. The evil magician Rothbart (half man half bird) keeps beautiful women as swans on the lake - but by night they resume human form. Siegfried is bewitched by Odette, a Princess and one of the Swans. She explains their plight to Siegfried and says the spell can only be broken by someone who'll love her truly for ever. He swears to do so but Odette returns to being a swan as Rothbart's powers are so strong. Siegfried returns to the palace and his mother presents him with a string of women from whom to chose his bride - Rothbart arrives with his daughter Odile disguised as Odette and Siegfried agrees to marry her - only then realising his mistake as Odile reviles him for breaking his vow to Odette. Siegfried returns to the lake and begs Odette to forgive him - then fights Rothbart whom he kills - and the swans are released from the spell. Opening the festival is the young South African dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo, with her interpretation of Swan Lake. Having trained at the Dance Factory in Johannesburg and the Performing Arts Research and Training Studios (PARTS), Masilo has become one of the most renowned choreographers in South Africa, winning a number of awards. Known for her reworking of classical ballets, she has previously realised new versions of Romeo and Juliet and Carmen, touring them worldwide. In her newest creation Swan Lake, Masilo uses a company of 13 male and female African dancers to revisit this great classic; its themes, Tchaikovsky's music, its tutus and its pointes. Re-imagining this ballet through a South African eye, giving it a new breath and a new life, Masilo tackles the issues of sex, gender and homophobia in a country confronting the impact of AIDS on its people.

Creatives/Company

Music: Tchaikovsky
Choreographer: Dada Masilo