'Swan Lake' ballet coming to Southeast Missouri State University River Campus

A touring production of the Tchaikovsky ballet, "Swan Lake", will be performed Oct. 22 at the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus.

There will be two performances -- 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. -- in Bedell Performance Hall. The production, from World Ballet Series, is touring across the United States with a multinational cast of 50 professional ballet dancers, hand-painted sets and 150 hand-sewn costumes.

"Swan Lake", originally composed in 1875, tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a curse from Rothbart, an evil sorcerer. Prince Siegfried meets Odette, who can only regain human form at night near a lake. Siegfried falls in love with Odette and vows to defeat Rothbart to break the curse.

The choreography of the World Ballet Series production is based on the Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov version from 1895 and has been "retouched" by Nadezhda Kalinina. The ballet boasts a dancer performing fouettes en tournant, a series of turns performed on pointe, 32 times in a row, and the Dance of the Little Swans, a movement unique to "Swan Lake", where four dancers must coordinate their leg movements while holding hands.

Gulya Hartwick, a co-creator of the World Ballet Series, said the iconic ballet is a "family-friendly experience accompanied by a timeless score with the most talented dancers." She said they work with more than 200 theaters across the nation, bringing top-notch ballet productions to stages of different scale.

"And we won't stop there," Hartwick said. "We are on a mission. Our country needs more cultural centers. Our kids need more inspiration and exposure to the arts."

Now living in Venice, California, Hartwick and her partner, Sasha Gorskaya, born in the Baltic region of northern Europe, are happy to call the United States home. Neither came from an arts background, Hartwick studied psychology, and Gorskaya majored in journalism, but both had a love for ballet from a young age. Hartwick said she became enchanted when she first saw the Nutcracker ballet at the age of 6.

"Mice were scary, and Clara was the most beautiful girl I have seen," Hartwick said. "I immediately tried to stand on my toes, as I see many little audience members still do at our shows during intermission. I still remember the clarity of the story; ballet is special this way -- it speaks to anyone. Even a child can understand what the dancers say without words."

World Series Ballet also has touring productions of other classics. Gorskaya said they chose the most beloved ballets of all times when creating their company.

"We both are very passionate about creating Broadway-worthy ballet productions and making fun doing it," Gorskaya said. "We build a 'family-style' business. Where everyone is involved and cares. We grow together, supporting each other and it is a beautiful thing to see and feel."

Hartwick said the cast members come from 10 countries across the world, from Poland and Belarus to Japan and Italy. She said audiences will be amazed at the dancers' execution of the most difficult choreography that is only achievable with talent and discipline. She said even if people don't know anything about ballet, and maybe think they won't like it, they've probably heard of "Swan Lake".

"Ballet is not boring," Hartwick said. "However, some people might think so before coming to our show. It is a wonderful art form, and we are here to prove it with the vivid scenery, amazing costumes, and the classic choreography, adapted to the modern world. 'Swan Lake' is the most celebrated ballet of all times. Aren't you curious to see why?"