the iconic bALLET

American Ballet Theatre's Swan Lake is one of the world's best-loved ballets, making a rare touring visit outside its Metropolitan Opera House home. Telling the timeless story of good and evil, and love and tragedy that has enchanted audiences since 1877.

WHAT IS SWAN LAKE ABOUT?

Set against Tchaikovsky's haunting score, the ballet tells the story of a beautiful princess - Odette- who is turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's spell, only to return to her human form at night. One evening she encounters Prince Siegfried, the heir to the kingdom, and the two fall madly in love. But after dancing together, she mysteriously disappears into the night, leaving him desperate to find her.

Meanwhile, his parents are keen for him to marry into another royal family and hold a ball for him. The Prince is despondent, until the arrival of a mysterious black-clad woman who looks exactly like his beloved Odette - however, this woman is called Odile, and is dressed like a Black Swan. This stranger dances flirtatiously and wildly, and Seigfried is overjoyed until he notices a mysterious figure in white desperately gesturing to him from a mirror; Odette. Will he be able to break the sorcerer's spell and be with the princess that he loves?