Boishoi Ballet: Swan Lake

I am a massive fan of Boishoi after seeing their productions on TV and being able to see their Copelia last year at the Royal Opera House my expectations of one of the best loved ballets and one of the best ballet companies in the world were high.

I wished, hoped to be transported; the music and the dancing all coming together in seamless joy! However this did not happen. Don’t get me wrong the Boishoi dance seamlessly (besides a few exceptions) and the technique is unparalleled. It is a beautiful thing to witness the precision of 20 to 30 dancers moving as one but the duff note was, I’m afraid to say main couple. Olga Smirnova (who was our big star that night) is great and effortless performs the emotions of the Odette with the technique of Odile (her 32 fouettés en tournant were performed so casually you could have missed them!) but I’m sorry to say Artemy Belyakov gives a wooden perform. He is fine as a dancer but his part demanded some characterisation and he didn’t do anything except be a prop for Odette. His performance especially jarred because the supporting cast were so good with excellent performances from the evil wizard, the fool and the princesses. I was also unhappy with the ending (is it so wrong to want a leap to her death? They taunted us with a rock at the back of the set for the whole ballet!) and the whole thing just sort of petered out at the most dramatic moment in the music. If I didn’t know the ballet or score I would have been surprised to discover it was over. The set was dull but the costumes, while old fashioned seemed to sparkle.

I really wanted to love this and I’m very sad that I did not. Jane Eyre is looking good in comparison and I really want to go and see Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake again. Maybe I am just spoilt for good dance productions in London but this is the Boishoi and what should have been a highlight of the year has turned out to be a forgettable experience.