The dancers at Columbia Classical Ballet are leaping back into the Koger Center for the Arts on Friday to perform one of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s most well-known ballets, "Swan Lake." Through the production that explores themes of true love and heartbreak, the dancers said they hope to share their love of ballet with the greater Columbia community.
Brooklyn Mack, Columbia Classical Ballet's artistic director and principal dancer in "Swan Lake," said the three full acts of his original choreography makes one of the most common ballets feel unique and individualized to the dancers who call Columbia home.
Due to the size of the company, Mack said he needed to adapt the ballet to fit the number of dancers, leading him to take on the task of re-choreographing almost the entirety of the ballet. Mack said the task helped to challenge him as an artist.
“I’m quite pleased with how it’s taken shape and with what I’ve been able to do,” Mack said. “I’ve never really considered myself a choreographer, but I’m like, 'Hey, that ain’t bad.'"
In addition to choreographing the ballet, Mack said he is working to grow the Columbia Classical Ballet's audience and expand the dance community in Columbia.
“Dance is for everyone,” Mack said. “There’s definitely going to be something that resonates with everyone, and I think it’s really important to experience that.”
For Katharine Irwin, Columbia Classical Ballet’s rehearsal director, this production is especially exciting because she said she gets to work closely with Mack again. The pair grew up taking dance lessons together, and Mack was Irwin’s first ballet partner.
“We’ve known each other for a very long time,” Irwin said. “He understands me in a ballet way, and I understand him. He doesn’t have to say things, but even just the way he shows things, I’m like, 'Okay, I get it.'”
Irwin and Mack have closely worked together at rehearsals for "Swan Lake." As the rehearsal director, Irwin runs classes and takes notes on choreography during rehearsals to review later with Mack. The pair have seen the show come together — from the moment Mack chose to adapt "Swan Lake" to the final week of rehearsals before its debut at the Koger Center.
Brianna Taylor, a principal dancer at Columbia Classical Ballet, plays two main characters in the performance, Odette and Odile. She said she looks forward to the challenge that comes with portraying two of the most famous roles in ballet.
“For a ballerina, this is probably the most iconic role in any of the ballets,” Taylor said. “I think I’m just most excited to share this with other people because doing this role has changed me as an artist and a dancer in so many different ways.”
In the ballet, Prince Siegfried, portrayed by Brooklyn Mack, is pushed toward marriage by his mother. Siegfried meets a woman named Odette who has been cursed to become a swan-woman by a sorcerer, Rothbart. However, Siegfried immediately falls in love with her. Later, Rothbart introduces Odile, a doppelgänger and foil to Odette. Siegfried mistakes Odile for Odette and confesses his love to the wrong woman.
Taylor said getting into character for the roles of Odette and Odile required her to relate the characters' stories to her own life. For the role of Odette especially, Taylor said she needed to put herself in the character's shoes to understand how she would feel if Odette's situation happened to her.
"I always relate myself to that character and become best friends with that character so I can fully understand them," said Taylor. "Just like people, characters are very complex. There's multiple emotions."
For Taylor, the performance is also a chance to show off the months of hard work and dedication the company has put into "Swan Lake." She said she is looking forward to being able to share it with the Columbia community.
The Columbia Classical Ballet will be performing "Swan Lake" at the Koger Center on Friday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on the center's website.