Descriptive Piece: Final Version

As Tchaikovsky’s familiar score fills the auditorium, a solitary figure emerges from the mist onto stage. The scene is lit by a single street lamp and the glare of a full moon, which hovers ominously in the sky. Barely visible are the silhouettes of two trees, which are far greater in stature than the Prince standing alone before them.

Seemingly lost in thought, he places his long black coat over a wooden bench and wanders upstage. The gap between the trees indicates that there is something beyond the audience’s perspective, something to which the Prince is being drawn. As the rich sound of the orchestra builds, the Prince steps closer and closer to what transpires to be the edge of a moonlit lake. Without warning, a white creature darts onto stage, startling both the Prince and the audience. This is the swan that will captivate the attention, and later the heart, of the Prince.

The swan’s movements are entrancing. His arms work fluidly, evoking the grace and beauty of a bird’s wings, but his steps are so assured that we are reminded of the power behind this creature’s elegant demeanour. When the dancer leaps, his use of expansive port de bras enhances the impression of flight, and his controlled landings roll seamlessly into another leap or turn. The overall effect is of the swan gliding effortlessly across the stage, demonstrating his marvellous fusion of strength and grace. Amid these elegant movements comes the occasional abrupt, aggressive gesture, highlighting a fiercer edge to the bird’s temperament. The dancer elongates his fingers and draws them together with his thumb into a pointed, beak-like shape. When he directs his hand towards the Prince, we instantly recognise the threatening intent behind the gesture.

The dancer wears dark, streamlined eye make-up, as well as a thin black head piece that sits almost on his brow. Representative of a swan’s distinctive markings, this also emphasises his authoritative gaze. The trousers that he wears are white, and are compromised of many shreds of material. These ripple with every one of the dancer’s movements, depicting a coat of delicate, light feathers.

Before long, the stage is filled with a flock of swans, swirling nimbly across the stage. Their fluid movements echo the continuous, flowing quality of the music, and their ever changing floor patterns are evocative of swans gliding through water. They ebb on and off stage in groups of three or four, giving the effect of constant movement, with each group performing fleeting, graceful sequences in unison.

The swans create a mesmerising scene. The contrast of their pure white costumes against the haunting, dark stage forces their swirling, hypnotic patterns upon the audience. Together with the Prince, we are transported into their world; overwhelmed by the swans’ sheer elegance and supremacy.