Tonight, on this stage, the ballet event of the year,
if not the decade. That's right.
The Royal Ballet's new production of Swan Lake is the first here
in 30 years, breathing a new life into a great classic.
What Tchaikovsky has given us is genius
and nothing short of a masterpiece.
To dance Swan Lake always feels incredible.
It's definitely the music,
the choreography, of course, and then the story -
it's perfectly combined, all these three things together.
It's just wonderful. It touches your soul.
It's just a treasure, you know.
Swan Lake is one of the great cornerstones
of the classical ballet repertoire,
with its perfect fusion of tragic fairy-tale,
unforgettable music and sublime choreography.
Any new production is a huge undertaking for a company,
and this is particularly the case with the grand classics.
At the centre of the ballet is the dual role of Odette/Odile.
It's one of the great challenges of a ballerina's career.
It's a test of stamina, but also requires huge dramatic diversity,
from the sorrow of Odette,
the princess trapped in the body of a swan,
to the seductive, wicked Odile, who steals the show in Act 3.
In Act 2, you appear obviously as Odette/Odile.
The steps are extremely difficult.
You should almost feel boneless, like, you know,
everything is just... You know, it should run like water.
It's a character, very pure, full of sorrow.
She's hoping to find that person who will rescue her.
I'm a young prince, a bit inexperienced with life,
but you fall in love and suddenly you forget about everything.
Like in the real life, when you fall in love, your brain is switched
and suddenly no-one else exists, it's just you and your partner.
And then you get to play the opposite,
which is Odile, a dark character full of energy, and manipulative.
The steps in both acts are pretty much the same.
But the attack, the dynamic, is totally different.
And that's why it's one of the most-challenging roles
you will ever come across.
We've been rehearsing with Liam. He's very clear.
He really tells us what he wants.
In rehearsals, it's making sure that
all the dancers completely understand
what every single step means,
what every look means, what the raise of an eyebrow can do.
As well as, you know,
the phenomenal technique that these dancers put in on top of it as well.
So you've just gone...
When I started thinking about
creating a new production for The Royal Ballet,
my first two thoughts were,
"Who's going to produce this?" and "Who's going to design this?"
You want to go in, but you need to go out just as much as you come in
because what you're doing is coming in, mini-step.
One of the first things that I said to Kevin was,
as long as John Macfarlane does it, then I'll be onboard, too.
I've done a lot of productions here.
And, of course, that means I know the costume-makers,
the scene-painters, so it felt that everything was in place
to be able to make a Swan Lake the way that I wanted to.
Is this still white? No, we haven't changed anything.
No, we haven't changed...
I felt very secure about Liam doing it.
The only sort of hint of what they would like was that Kevin
said he really would like it
to return to the world of tutus for the corps-de-ballet.
I think the tutus are beautiful... cos they are so clean and crisp,
so that really the only thing
you're looking at and concentrating on are these white forms.
We've been three years in the making of this,
from commission, then pen to paper, then designs.
And now we're here onstage, and it's terrifying!
The shear immense amount of pride that I feel,
to be given this responsibility and this complete honour
to do a new production for The Royal Ballet is incomparable.
APPLAUSE
CHEERING
APPLAUSE
CHEERING
APPLAUSE
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
CHEERING
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
CHEERING
APPLAUSE
CHEERING
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
CHEERING