5 Fun Facts About Swan Lake to Share with Your Little Ones

To make the experience even more magical, we’ve gathered some fun facts about this iconic ballet that you can share with your little ones before the show begins.

The story of Swan Lake

Swan Lake is one of the most famous ballets in the world. It features princesses, a prince, an evil wizard, and a timeless love story. Read on to find out more…

Act 1

The story begins when Rothbart, a young wizard, asks the princess Odette to marry him. When she says no, he places an angry spell on her and turns her into a swan.

Meanwhile, Prince Siegfried celebrates his 18th birthday. His mother, the Queen, insists he must grow up now and choose a bride at the upcoming royal ball. Uninterested, he escapes to the forest. There, he spots a swan and attempts to shoot it. To his surprise, Odette appears just where the swan landed.. She explains Rothbart’s spell: she and her friends are swans by day and human only at night. The curse can only be broken by true, eternal love. Siegfried and Odette start to like each other, but Rothbart arrives with a plan to trick the Prince.

Act 2

At the birthday ball, Siegfried must choose a bride from the many invited Princesses. Rothbart arrives with his sister Odile, who is magically disguised as Odette. Not realising, Prince Siegfried declares his love for Odile. She then removes her disguise and  shows everyone that Rothbart has tricked them. Siegfried rushes back to the lake to find Odette.

Odette is heartbroken, but forgives the Prince. Rothbart insists Siegfried must stay with Odile, but Odile stands up to him and begs for Odette to be set free. They start to fight and when Odile is injured, Rothbart realises he has done something terribly wrong. After being helped up by her friend Odette, Odile goes to her brother and forgives him. Odette thanks Odile for saving them all. Odette and Siegfried are now free to love one another forever. Odile takes Rothbart’s wings from him, he gives up his evil powers, and they all live happily ever after.

Listen to a beautiful reading of the story behind Swan Lake:

Can you count count how many turns?

Swan Lake features some of the most famous music and dance sequences of all time. One of these is the fouettés turns, performed by Odile (also known as the Black Swan) in Act II. A fouetté is a turning movement where a dancer spins around on one foot, like a spinning top. Performing many of these turns in a row is one of the hardest techniques in ballet.  Did you know the famous turns weren’t always part of Swan Lake? They were added in 1895 for an Italian ballerina named Pierina Legnani, years after the ballet first premiered. At first, the audience didn’t love them, however, over the years the fouetté turns became more and more popular, and today are seen as the ultimate display of a dancer’s skill.

An entire flock of swans

It takes many dancers, working together, to perform the ballet, Swan Lake. The ‘Corps de Ballet’ is the name given to the group of dancers who move together to create the beautiful patterns and shapes throughout the performance. In Swan Lake, the corps de ballet are an enchanted flock of swans.. Ballerinas of the corps de ballet often perform in pointe shoes, dancing on the tips of their toes.. Most importantly, these dancers must all move the same way, at the same time, which makes their job extra challenging!

The wings of a swan

In Swan Lake, wizard Rothbart uses a powerful spell to create a flock of enchanted swans. In the ballet studio, it takes a lot of practice for our dancers to create this swan-like effect without magic. Ballerinas learn to move their arms like wings, making it look like they could fly away at any minute. Want to give it a try? You too can learn to move like a swan with ENB’s Artist, Chloe Keneally.

Dancing in style

Watching Swan Lake, you can’t miss the beautiful costumes worn by Odette, Odile, and the cast of the production. In ballet, one of the most famous costumes is known as a tutu. It is made up of two parts – a tight-fitting bodice and a skirt. Usually made of tulle – a sheer, stiff material – the skirt can be made two ways. It can be either short and shaped like a pancake, like Odette wears, or longer and fuller – like the Princesses at the royal ball wear

If you are feeling inspired, try designing your own tutu! Use colouring pencils, tissue paper, glue and glitter to create a fabulous outfit with the template available on our website. For inspiration, have a look at our helpful video!

To prepare for your visit to show, visit the Resource Hub, where you will find videos, music, colouring pages and more. Join us at the Peacock Theatre, London from 16^th to 27^th April. Book your tickets for My First Ballet: Swan Lake now.