07
Episode
12
Signature
ballet of the Company’s repertoire, Rudolf Noureev’s version of Swan Lake
is back on stage at the Opéra Bastille. The well-known story of Prince Siegfried in love with
Odette, a young woman whom Rothbart has transformed into a swan, never ceases
to please both the young and the old. Even more well-known are the Corps de
Ballet who embody the thirty-two swans accompanying Odette and subjugate the
spectator. With fascinating precision, the dancers draw perfect geometric lines
and adopt long majestic poses in which, perfectly grouped as one, they become
almost immaterial. The utter precision of the choreography is an immense
challenge. Clotilde Vayer, Associate Ballet Mistress, reveals the work done in
rehearsal.
"The Lake" has a very important place in my
career. I danced in Bourmeister's version as soon as I joined the Paris Opera's
Corps de Ballet. When Nureyev proposed his version, the majority of the Corps
de Ballet were ready to go on strike against his decision! He then had the
sense to say he was scheduling both versions in the same season. His
"Lake" soon became the Paris Opera's iconic version. This is the version
in which I first danced the role of Odette/Odile. I later revived the ballet as
Assistant Ballet-Mistress and it was following this production that Hugues Gall
appointed me Ballet Mistress.
The defining feature of the Corps de Ballet in Swan
Lake is its homogeneity. A homogeneity which above all must not be
mechanical. There is poetry to be found in resemblance and harmony. In the way
we use our arms, for example, or catch the light. It is very difficult to be
truly as one, identical to the person in front of you. For this reason it's a
very difficult ballet for the dancers. Not only do they have painful poses but
they also have to pay constant attention to the others in order to be as one,
to breathe as one. They play an essential role, their presence is crucial to
the beauty and magic of the ballet. I try to accompany every gesture with an
intention just as I do when working with the soloists. When they surround
Odette, their round is accompanied by a feeling of tenderness and their poses
must always suggest humility. In my opinion, each swan represents a double of
Odette.
At first, I work on the steps, the geometric lines and
symmetries which form the choreography's skeleton. It is essential to know the
steps to be able to add the "flesh" afterwards. They have to be
learnt very quickly because we have little rehearsal time: places and positions
are agreed upon beforehand. When we arrive in the studio, each dancer already
knows his or her place and his or her
sequences.
During rehearsals, I go over all the versions danced
during Rudolf's lifetime. His first version, performed in Vienna, is
illuminating and shares similarities with the one created for the Paris Opera.
I draw on archives, especially films, and try to find inspiration in direct
sources to reconstruct the choreography and be as close as possible to
Nureyev's style.
The work of transmission is twofold: to remain
faithful to the original version whilst adapting it to the dancers' physiques
and personalities. Every Ballet Master proposes his or her own Swan Lake.
Reviving a ballet is as much a question of fidelity to the original version as
of personal choice.
This article is also available in the folder Swan Lake