The weight of wings: Swan Lake returns to the stage

For nearly 150 years, Swan Lake has stood as a jewel in the crown of classical ballet: a work of beauty and technical mastery that continues to challenge and enchant dancers and audiences alike.

From July 4 to 13 at the Joburg Theatre, and later from July 25 to 27 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the iconic ballet will return to SA’s stages.

This staging of Swan Lake, choreographed by the venerable Veronica Paeper, marks a significant collaboration between Joburg Ballet and Cape Town City Ballet, the two most prominent ballet companies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Though both institutions have flourished in their respective cities, this is their first shared stage in over three decades.

Paeper’s version is based on French dancer Attilio Labis’s 1971 production, originally performed in Cape Town, which left a lasting impression.

“I’ve watched many productions of Swan Lake, of which there are hundreds, if not thousands,” she said. “[But] I thought Atillio Labis’s one that year was one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

Having danced the lead role of Odette early in her career, Paeper’s relationship to the work is personal and enduring. In every ballet she has choreographed, she says, “I try to follow the rules that Swan Lake has set; that the music and the story are paramount, then the steps come with it.”

Set to Tchaikovsky’s spellbinding score, performed live by the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the production features over 60 dancers, more than either company could have staged alone. Swan Lake is ballet at its most sweeping and exacting. Muscles contort and conform to the dancer’s will in ways that are both punishing and poetic.

Rehearsals began several months ago, with each company working independently under the guidance of Tracy Li, Kim Vieira, Nicole Ferreira-Dill and international guest coach Fernanda Oliveira. Only last week did the two companies converge in Johannesburg to begin rehearsing together.

“We could see that there were subtle differences in [each company's] interpretation of musicality, body shape,” said Joburg Ballet artistic director Dane Hurst. It took about a week for everyone to arrive at a shared understanding of the artistic vision behind the production. “It really is beautiful to see how [the companies] merged and how there’s a level of respect between the artists.”

Audiences who attend multiple performances, a prospect Paeper encourages, will pick up on the distinct ways the dancers from Joburg Ballet and Cape Town City Ballet interpret the story, the steps and the score.

“The extraordinary thing about ballet [is that] you can do the same steps, but they look completely different on different bodies,” says Paeper.

Opening night will see principal dancer Monike Cristina take on the dual roles of Odette and Odile on opening night. “You have to give the audience the swan feel,” she explains. Her body has to become the bird; arms, back and breath, all while telling the story.

Her transformation from Odette’s soft fragility to Odile’s bold seduction takes place in a matter of minutes, making it one of ballet’s most psychologically and physically demanding performances.

Cristina is joined by longtime stage partner and close friend, senior soloist Bruno Miranda, as Prince Siegfried. Their shared history makes the emotional gravity of the performance feel effortless, even when the choreography is anything but.

He describes the notorious Black Swan pas de deux in Act III as “the best and worst part of the ballet,” a sequence that demands stamina, partnering, solos and a string of pirouettes at a moment when exhaustion peaks. “It’s very challenging but also so rewarding,” Miranda says. Their shared history imbues the performance with chemistry and impenetrable trust.

As Von Rothbart, the sinister sorcerer who casts the fateful curse, soloist Gabriel Fernandes brings an eerie magnetism to the stage. Paeper encouraged him to think of the character as a “witch-bird,” a hybrid creature whose menace lies in his mystery. “You have to be vulnerable and open your mind to another kind of character that isn't really yours,” he says.

But the emotional weight of Swan Lake doesn’t rest solely with its principal dancers. The corps de ballet, those spectral women in white, carry just as much resonance.

This production of Swan Lake came at what “felt like the right time,” says Joburg Ballet CEO, Elroy Fillis-Bell. “We've been dealing with a lot of conversations around 30 years of democracy and what does progress look like within the ballet frame.” His vision for the collaboration was as much institutional as artistic.

“Being protectionist around ourselves and the work we’re doing doesn’t speak to arts and creativity; this industry must be collaborative”, he says.

Since his appointment, Fillis-Bell has remained steadfast in his commitment to steering South African ballet towards a more inclusive, imaginative, socially conscious and profitable art form.

The project shows that if you’re willing to shift the framework, you can create space for something much larger and much more necessary. What this production proves is that tradition need not mean stagnation.

With enough vision, collaboration, and courage, even the most canonical of works can still surprise us, move us and feel brand new again when given the chance.