Alberta Ballet takes on Swan Lake

In the past decade, Albert Ballet has become a respected player on the national scene, the third largest company with an extraordinary, vibrant repertoire.

But the full measure of its artistry comes to life with Kirk Peterson’s world premiere of Swan Lake at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on March 23 and 24.

In its 45th year, Alberta Ballet celebrates the season with Tchaikovsky’s powerful score underlining the story of an impossible love.

And the timing is perfect. Not only has the company enjoyed repeated success with classical works such as Othello and Romeo and Juliet, but the company has also grown into a nimble, athletic core of 32 professional dancers.

“We’ve heard that the National Ballet will no longer be touring large shows. It’s not possible with 60 dancers. The times are changing and it was right for us to try something new. These dancers want to try new things. They want to try it all,” said artistic director Jean Grand-MaĂ®tre.

Next to Giselle and Sleeping Beauty, the dual role of Swan Lake’s Odette/Odile is the most difficult in the ballet lexicon. However, it’s a role Alberta Ballet stars Hayna Guitierrez and Mariko Kondo have dreamt of dancing since childhood. It is a universal bar to attain.

Swan Lake demands a bravura performance from its principal ballerinas and they have been rehearsing, maturing and digesting the ballet since July 2011.

“She has more time on stage dancing two roles and she has two famous pas de deux. Then there are the 32 fouettes.” (In a fouette, a dancer rises en pointe with one leg and whips her other leg around to create a spin.)

Not only is the dance a test of stamina and technique, but theatrically and expressively, a ballerina must shift from the role of Odette — the white swan representing purity, innocence and goodness — to Odile, the black swan, signifying a Machiavellian cruelty.

Peterson, who has danced with American Ballet Theatre and National Ballet of Washington, has witnessed numerous 20th century alterations on the original that threatened the heart of Swan Lake.

“Balanchine started a movement on the evolution of ballet and ballet technique to be more relevant to contemporary audiences. But that’s like asking Picasso to repaint the Sistine Chapel. How do you take possession of someone else’s work?” asked Peterson.

“To me it became a damaged icon,” he added. His respect for Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s original text motivated him for decades to research the original technical, choreographic and stylistic elements.

But only acts 2 and 4 have passed down through history. Acts 1 and 3 are lost. And Peterson’s biggest challenge was choreographing the lost acts in the original style.

“But with one of the most beautiful scores ever written,” he presents a ballet not seen in this form anywhere in the world.

“This version will be unique and it will be interesting to see how it how it works, how a heritage ballet comes to life.”