Swan Lake

Still, names aside, people seemed to enjoy themselves on Sunday night. Many even gave the company a standing ovation.

And though the dancers appeared to stumble every once in a while — perhaps due to fatigue, rather than a lack of technical ability — the performance had some splendid moments. I especially liked the last act when Rotbart’s goons swoosh around the stage flapping their ominous black wings as the delicate Odette and the lanky Siegfried fight against their cruel fate and finally prevail.

If it’s any consolation, a friend of my wife who recently moved to the area from St. Petersburg, Russia, told us during the intermission that she thoroughly enjoyed the performance. She looked perfectly ecstatic after the first three acts. Perhaps nostalgia partially clouded her senses, but she said it was just like being at home. Her only complaints were that the stage was too small and that the canned music did a disservice to Tchaikovsky’s score.

I had hoped to be blown away by really serious Russian ballet, but Swan Lake is notorious for its different endings, and I went home having learned an important lesson, that not every Siegfried gets his Odette.

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