The National Ballet of Canada - Swan Lake

After more than a 13-year absence, the National Ballet of Canada came back to the Kennedy Center with one of the most controversial productions of one of the most famous and best loved classical ballets of all time - "Swan Lake". The much talked-about premiere of this choreograhpy of Tchaikovsky's ballet took place on May 5, 1999, at Toronto's Hummingbird Center. The creator, then-artistic-director of the company and currently its resident choreographer, James Kudelka, is a well-respected and widely-recognized artist, who created and staged more than 70 ballets.

Growing up in Russia, I was fortunate to see the most lavish performances of "Swan Lake" (Lebedinoe Ozero) on the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters' stages. The 'traditional' or 'standard' production of this ballet (choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in 1895) was widely adopted in Soviet Russia. The happy end, where good forces raise above the evil, true love prevails, and the prince unites with his bride only to live happily ever thereafter, was meant to proclaim "a bright [Soviet] future ahead".

'Traditional' was not what Kudelka had in mind when he staged his version of this classic fairytale. His new production is adapted to modern society. A darker and gloomier version filled with symbols and metaphors, it now features non-traditional costumes and contemporary choreography. Ballets, unlike plays or movies, rarely stir controversy unless they feature rape, homosexuality, nudity, or raise environmental issues or comment on slavery. Kudelka's production, which does all of these things, is different, that's why it's controversial. And why it shouldn't be? We live in a different and controversial society after all.

The first performance of "Swan Lake" by The National Ballet of Canada is tonight at the Kennedy Center Opera House at 7:30 p.m. The following performances are Wednesday through Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and next Sunday at 1:30 p.m.