Black & White Swan

Marta C. González performing with the New York City Ballet in 1967. © YouTube.

Back to the Lake

Marta C. González, a former New York City Ballet prima ballerina, by now old and suffering with Alzheimer’s, recognises the sound of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake — which she had danced to in her youth.

Swans through the Seasons

South Korean dancer Kimin Kim from the Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Ballet Theatre company performs Swan Lake ahead of the opening night at the London Coliseum in London, United Kingdom. Photo: Andy Rain/EPA.

Under Open Sky

She was caught between her impoverished mother and the ballet mistress who offered her a way out. Aaron Hicklin meets Misty Copeland, the first black principal at the American Ballet Theatre. [Read more].

• Aaron Hicklin, Misty Copeland: dancing into history, The Guardian, March 5, 2017

Misty Copeland as Odette in Swan Lake in 2015 for the Washington Ballet. Photo: Theo Kossenas Photography.

Summer of the Swans

南宁 (Nánníng), China: Dancers from a ballet company in Saint Petersburg perform Swan Lake. Photo: VCG/Getty Images.

Remaking a World

He turned Swan Lake into a homoerotic hit. Can Matthew Bourne work his magic on the best dance film ever? He talks toxic love triangles and knighthoods. [Read more].

• Judith Mackrell, Bourne’s supremacy: the blockbuster choreographer puts on The Red Shoes, The Guardian, November 2, 2016

Tougher than Natalie Portman in Black Swan... Ashley Shaw as Vicky Page. Photo: Hugo Glendinning.

The 1948 film: Grischa Ljubov (Léonide Massine) helps Moira Shearer (Vicky Page) on with the red shoes. Photo: Publicity image.

The Swans’ War

Once a week, as ballet dancers, fifteen soldiers of South Korea, just to relieve stress, take off their uniforms and boots to wear ballet shoes. The classes – which started last year – have already produced results: the group, in fact, danced Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” ballet. Furthermore, as well as relax, ballet requires considerable physical effort and is very useful for strengthening the muscles. Photos: Reuters/la Repubblica.it. Special thanks to Mrs. Francesca Ballerini for providing information on it.

United Audience

Sydney, Australia: Dancers at a rehearsal of the Australian Ballet’s production of Swan Lake at Sydney Opera House. Photo: Don Arnold/WireImage.