One night to witness, a lifetime to remember: Swan Lake

By Anna-Maria Kulykova, April 25 2026—

The Swan Lake ballet has made its newly choreographed Canadian premiere in the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary from March 13 to 21, and continued in the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton from March 27 to 28. 

The story of Swan Lake that had premiered 149 years ago was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Julius Reisinger. The classical ballet shows a devastating love story between Prince Siegfried and the cursed Princess Odette who were betrayed by magic and manipulation. 

This is a timeless story in which the audience is captivated by its beauty and brilliance. In fact, it is not the sole endowment of one’s nation, but it is able to connect different cultures around the world and give the world of ballet a priceless inheritance. 

In it, the audience immerses itself in the lessons of costly desires and the dangerous trickery they bring. 

Benjamin Pech, an étoile in the Paris Opera Ballet, took on the choreography of this magnificent piece and offered a new take on the story, as many Swan Lake choreographers have done.  

From the original debut in 1877, Benjamin Pech kept the story’s authenticity, however, he chose to portray the villain of the story as Benno, who is Prince Siegfried’s best friend — and not, the wicked sorcerer Von Rothbart. The villain in this story places a curse upon Princess Odette to turn into a swan during the day and return to her human form only at night. The curse can be broken only by a pledge of eternal love from someone who has never loved before. This turns the story into a personal betrayal, invoking feelings of sorrow and grief because the betrayal comes from someone he trusts. 

This decision created a more personal storyline and made me feel more emotionally invested in the performance when the actions and expressions of kindness from a dear friend shifted into lies and deceit. The dancer portraying Benno, emanated subtle hints of past treacherous deeds and the future betrayal, which was seen to stir the inner conflict within him 

In order to better understand this change and its deeper impact on the story, I viewed Swan Lake on video from the Russian Bolshoi Theatre and the Paris Opera Ballet. Each choreographer from each production chose to end the story differently and this provided a new look for every piece. 

After comparing these productions, in full honesty, the Russian production showed perfect technique and the production from France showed absolute detail in the choreography. Yet, only one was able to show true passion and the longing for more — that was, the Canadian production. Namely, Alberta Ballet’s production. 

I still remember the night when I watched this ballet in amazement, where every dancer was fully immersed in their character and it was clearly seen how they themselves were enjoying the performance. 

The music composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was performed by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra led by the conductor Marcelo Spaccarotella. The music, for me, was one of the highlights of this performance because it enchanted the audience, making us believe we were in the story itself. 

Considering the technical parts of this ballet, I have read many reviews about the technical execution of this performance for more perspective. The one that described it in most detail was the Calgary Herald’s review — there, I was able to agree on the level of this production. This version of Swan Lake took on a meticulous choreographic performance and the story was presented in a fluid motion. Each move was made deliberately with attentiveness and detail. 

However, as the black swan, Luna Sasaki delivered two distinct impeccable performances as Odette and Odile. In Act III, the Pas de deux excerpt deserves its own recognition because Luna Sasaki performed 32 fouettés and continued the performance with full grace and without a misstep. 

The only bleak remarks I have about this specific production is the set design for the play, done by Italo Grassi. In my view, the set was too bland and lost the opportunity to connect with the dancers and enhance the story. The set designs presented simple projections of where the story took place and did not become a highlighted element of this performance. 

Nevertheless, Gianluca Falaschi, the costume designer and Alejandro Fajardo, the lighting designer for me worked hand in hand. The costumes created for this production were magnificent as they captured the true essence of each dancer and the lighting in each act was done magically, where it reflected the costumes’ shine towards the audience. In Act IV, the scène finale of Odile was intensified by the blue lighting on her lustrous white costume where she moved the audience to another emotional level and provided a meaningful impact on the performance. 

Sitting in the audience and hearing gasps around the room made it clear that this production deserves more recognition, as it shows true mastery of ballet.

For more information about Alberta Ballet’s upcoming productions, visit their website.