Taos Dance Academy to perform ‘Swan Lake’
TAOS DANCE ACADEMY (TDA) is performing the ballet “Swan Lake” with an invigorating choreography and a remastered storyline at the Taos Center for the Arts on May 20 and 21 at 6 p.m. TDA director Kathleen Martin said the “message behind our rendition of ‘Swan Lake’ is regardless, of how hard a situation may feel or how tall the mountain is that you have to climb, you must try. Work towards tackling your biggest obstacles and surround yourself with people (or swans) who support and empower you.”
Martin said the storyline for this ballet is filled with human drama and plot twists and turns. “It takes place in a castle deep within a large and magnificent forest. Outside the castle, maidens, peasants and fellow royalty gather to celebrate their beloved princess as she prepares to accept the role of Queen. While the townspeople celebrate their forthcoming Queen, one wicked man named Von Rothbart was unhappy with the choice of Odette as Queen. Out of jealousy and outrage, Von Rothbart curses Princess Odette and all of her maidens into a flock of swans. With their souls trapped inside the bodies of swans, Princess Odette and her maidens fill their time swimming in the lake, longing to return to the castle as humans. With his wicked curse in place, Von Rothbart wastes no time introducing his own choice as Queen, Odile. Although she is the opposite of Princess Odette, he tricks the townspeople to adore and worship his evil counterpart. Quickly, the kingdom is convinced Odile should be the next queen of the land. While swimming in the lake, Odette learns about
the evil plan and decides to act. With the help of her friends, she regains her strength and challenges Von Rothbart and his muse Odile, to claim her right as the next true Queen. Odette flies into the castle with her flock of swans and tries to remind her kingdom that she is the true future queen. Although her spirit is strong, evil and wickedness have already flooded the minds of her townspeople. Von Rothbart crowns Odile as Queen and Princess Odette and her maidens remain swans forever.”
The “Swan Lake” ballet features three main characters: Odette, the cursed white swan; Odile, the vicious black swan; and Von Rothbart, the wicked man who placed the swan curse. Two of the leading dancers will graduate from Taos High School this year.
Adelaide Driver, dancing the role of Odette, plans to attend Bard College in New York on a presidential scholarship, shared she is “incredibly excited to have the opportunity to dance this role.” Driver said, “Growing up, my biggest role model in the studio performed the Odette swan variation and I will never forget it. Ever since, learning this variation has been a personal goal of mine. It is a dream come true to be able to perform as Odette.”
Graduating senior Grace Lerner will play the role of the evil Von Rothbart. She said “after graduation, I plan to go to Montana State University. At MSU I want to major in environmental science and minor in art. I am excited to dance this role because it is a lead and I really enjoy the style in which my dances are set. Von Rothbart will be very memorable to me because I don’t usually get to play the evil characters and because it is my last performance with Taos Dance Academy.”
The third main character is the evil swan, Odile, danced by Emmasofia Hayett, who shared she is “really excited to be able to perform this role but also extremely nervous to do so in front of a live audience. This is an amazing opportunity for me to be able to improve both my technique and expand my character portrayal.”
There are two different ticket categories for the performance. Audience members can go to the TCA for a live theatre experience, or purchase a video ticket which includes a live stream feature and an opportunity to see the performance through a video link. It’s the best of both worlds with an inperson ticket and a second alternative for people who cannot attend the live performance.
For details and to purchase tickets, visit the TDA website taosdance.com.