The Dying Swan (originally The Swan) is a ballet choreographed by Mikhail Fokine in 1905 to Camille Saint-Saëns's cello solo Le Cygne from Le Carnaval des Animaux as a pièce d'occasion for the ballerina Anna Pavlova. The short ballet follows the last moments in the life of a swan, and was first presented in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905. Pavlova performed the dance about 4000 times. The ballet has since influenced modern interpretations of Odette in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and has inspired non-traditional interpretations and various adaptations. Inspired by swans that she had seen in public parks and Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "The Dying Swan", [1] Anna Pavlova (who had just become a ballerina at the Mariinsky Theatre) asked Michel Fokine, who had also read the poem, to create a solo ballet for her for a 1905 concert being given by artists from the chorus of the Imperial Mariinsky Opera. Fokine suggested Saint-Saëns's cello solo, Le Cygne (which Fokine had been playing at home on a mandolin to a friend's piano accompaniment) as the work's musical basis and Pavlova agreed. A rehearsal was arranged and the short dance completed very quickly. [2] Fokine remarked in Dance Magazine (August 1931): It was almost an improvisation. I danced in front of her, she directly behind me. Then she danced and I walked alongside her, curving her arms and correcting details of poses. Prior to this composition, I was accused of barefooted tendencies and of rejecting toe dancing in general ...

• published: 29 Jan 2011
• views: 38814
• author: Afrikitty