Smart & From the Heart

“Little Swan Lake”
Hungarian National Ballet Institute / Hungarian National Ballet
Eiffel Art Studios
Budapest, Hungary
February 11, 2023 (matinee)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

Excitement buzzed through Budapest’s Eiffel Art Studios as the curtain rose on “Little Swan Lake” – an adaption of one of the most classic of classical ballets. This past Saturday at noon, little ones – accompanied by parents and relatives – flocked into the Miklós Bánffy auditorium in great numbers to see Swan Lake for tots.
The Hungarian National Ballet puts a great deal of effort into reaching out to young audiences. “Little Swan Lake” is in its third season and tickets are still in high demand. The production not only nurtures a future generation of theater-lovers, but also has the potential to encourage hesitant children to take the leap into dance lessons themselves. Most of the dancers were as old as their audience, and it’s easy to find one’s passion for the art form stoked after watching them perform. This is all the more so true because “Little Swan Lake” traces the steady growth of a little swan to a mature one (the latter role was – as with the other leading roles – danced by a member of the main company).
The main message of the work is: though no one is born a professional, talent combined with persistence and hard work will lead to great success. “Little Swan Lake” is a smart move on the part of the ballet because it offers regular performance opportunities for students. Ballet schools usually prepare only two performances per year, but Budapest’s dance students danced three “Little Swan Lakes” last autumn, and will have performed in five more by March. During Christmastime they participated in an extensive “Nutcracker” series. The stage experience that they’ll have acquired over these years is invaluable.

In creating “Little Swan Lake”, librettist Borbála Szabó slimmed the original’s three acts down to two for a total run time of about two hours. Narrator Bori Keszei reads large sections of the fairy tale from a leather-bound book, spinning tales of the sweet-natured Odette, her vicious counterpart Odile, and Prince Siegfried. She tells us about the music of Tchaikovsky (recorded excerpts from the score accompany the performance), the history of the “Swan Lake” ballet, and the missing pieces of the narrative that provide context between each danced section. Projected illustrations from the book (including a castle yard and a columned hall) frame the story.

Prince Siegfried (Raffaello Barbieri) is not celebrating his birthday with friends and peasants, only his mother (Katalin Kőszegi) gives him a crossbow as a present. At the palace yard, the pair welcomes an array of guests: a spick-and-span guard, a noble junior prince (Lukács Márton Kiss, winner of the 3rd prize in the classical ballet section /children’s division at the Cantu’ che Danza Dance Competition / Italy this February) accompanied by two young ladies (Dorottya Tóth and Laura Berki; Berki was awarded the 1st prize in the same section). Two older students – Réka Gyöngyösi and Lili Boróka Pásztor – dance solos (Boróka Pásztor won two awards in Italy: the 1st prize in the classical ballet section / junior division and the 3rd prize in the modern dance section / junior division).
Shortly afterwards, we’re transported to a secluded forest lake, where dense fog is whirled about by four little swans (Lili Csenge Koltay-Szabó, Léna Petrovics, Blanka Rácz-Fazakas, and Dóra Nóra Varga), turning their pas de quattre in a show-stopping tap-shoe gag. The prince later encounters Odette (Elena Sharipova) at the lake, gaining her trust in a (very adagio) pas de deux. For those unacquainted with classical dance, this moment helped provide a deeper understanding of its beauty. Rothbart (Nyikolaj Ragyus) would have been scarier if his solo had been properly lit, but I assume that the Eiffel Art Studios is still working to solve these technical issues.

Act II assembles noble guests at the opulent hall of the royal palace for a ball. Though it’s time for the prince to marry, the four young ladies trying to attract him fail to win his heart. Nevertheless, the entertainment continues. Léna Petrovics and Molnár Gergely Apor dash through a vibrant Neapolitan Dance; nine-year-old Petra Hanna Varga pools the forces of the Spanish dancers, and Örs Domonkos Molnár leads a group of Hungarians. The turning point looms as Rothbart returns with Odile (Elena Sharipova) in tow. Though Odile’s sexual allure was watered down to meet the level appropriate for children, everyone in the audience understood her evilness and duplicity from the moment she pushed the prince to the floor.

Since Keszei spoke in Hungarian, I don’t know what kind of ending she told the audience (there are several options) – but the final encounter between the prince and Odette at the lake didn’t seem to be terribly dramatic. No one died (I think), and the pair left together. Only a line of swans remained, cowering on the ground.

In May this year, the Hungarian National Opera will launch “Little Sleeping Beauty”, a second introductory performance for young audiences that again will feature students of the Ballet Institute. I’m guessing that it’ll be a hit too.

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