There is both a black swan and a white swan, juxtaposed inside us. The dark, grey feathers epitomise the evil side of a human character. While the hoary plumes reflect the goodness of soul. Aren’t we aware that our mind is a constitution profane vices and holy virtues? Hypothetically, weigh them on different pans and just see them hanging in equal balance. This continuous tussle between good and evil is an age-old dilemma, which every man has to cope up with till his last breath.

Humans fighting out their internal demons of doubts and hallucinations often confront a clash between what is right and wrong on their way to reach the light of truth at the end of a long, winding tunnel. Dwelling on this emotional turmoil in love and hatred, a spectacular Indo-French choreographic project called Swan Lake — Revisited was recently staged with back-to-back shows in Kolkata and Delhi.
A cultural exchange of classical as well as contemporary movements in the performing arts realm was enabled via this collaborative union between France and India. Originally composed by the renowned 19th century musician Pyotr Tchaikovsky in 1875–1876, the Swan Lake ballet depicts a scenic mythical tale, woven into four aesthetic acts. Fashioned from Russian folklores, the dance-drama narrates the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse. The unique design and presentation of this international musical saga prompted the Indian audiences to lap it up amidst a rousing applause and a standing ovation. Boasting of a pure blend of classical Kathak, classical jazz and western contemporary dances, Swan Lake has already scripted a success story with its first foray on the Indian stage.
The production is jointly choreographed by globally acclaimed Gianin Loringett, the legendary father of classical jazz dance from France and the Indian dancer-duo of Dr. Mitul Sengupta — a specialist in Kathak and Ronnie Shambik Ghose — a skilled contemporary performer, having graduated from the reputed Hong Kong Academy For Performing Arts. “This collaboration we hope will open up many more cultural avenues and other seething possibilities of different important ventures with India and other countries in the world, where exchanges of different thought processes can be practised and implemented in the field of performing arts. The idea was to melt two national cultures and the result is now out for the audience to judge and pass the verdict,” observes Loringett.
Swan Lake has evoked a menagerie of thoughts and myriad images over generations. Like a true, great epic, it has never failed to stoke human sentiments with joy, passion, love and serenity. Yet Swan Lake is also about the darkest of deadly human sins such as the lust for power, obsession and greed. The classic Swan Lake story goes as this: Prince Siegfried falls in love with the beautiful Odette, who alongwith her bunch of mates is unfortunately turned into a white swan cast under the black spell of the vile sorcerer Von Rothbart, when she rejects his advances. To avenge this humiliation on the prince, Rothbart transforms his daughter Odile into an Odette clone, thus causing Siegfried to fall prey to a mistaken identity and erroneously propose his love to her. The real Odette feels distraught, as is Siegfried, when he discovers the deception. Now Odette forgives him when the latter explains how he has been tricked, seduced and led astray; but the lovers die due to the wicked machinations of Von Rothbart, only to unite for eternity in death. Von Rothbart and Odile on the other hand pay a punishing price with their lives and the other swans are released from Rothbart’s evil hex.
The moral of the story of course imparts the message of good triumphing over evil forces. But its significant implications still remain existent in today’s times as well. Today’s Swan Lake talks about the princes and princesses of our contemporary world, which is also plagued with similar kind of jealousy, pride, hostility, animosity, laxity of morals and the utterly depraving carnal desires. Even the present-day Odettes and Odiles bring forth the same conflict between the light and shadow, just and unjust, fair and unfair means to an end — in a nutshell, the two different facets of the same coin. We have today’s royal scions as examples of modern-day drama. They too embrace amorous emotions, experience love and make sacrifices like an Odette or a Siegfried. Hence, the everlasting epic of Swan Lake symbolises the eternal love story which is doomed and blighted with a nemesis of unfulfillment. Metaphorically, all Swan Lake sagas of the current era echo the angst-ridden feud not only for survival’s sake but also for love, dignity and satisfaction. Straddling along two time-zones, the storyline moves back and forth in flash-backs and forwards to flow with the plot-tide.
While Mitul and Ronnie alongwith their diligent students from the Rhythmosaic Dance Company rendered a classic combo of Kathak steps alongwith swaying jazz movements, Yorma Loringett, the adroit French tap dancer and son of eminent jazz artiste Gianin Loringett conjured up some superlative tap beats with a consummate ease on the stage at a recently held performance in Kolkata’s ICCR. The credits for script and narration with an excellent voice-over go to Oindrilla Dutt. Whereas, the music is deftly scored by a talented young musician, Dishari. Last but not the least, the costume design is well facilitated by Gitanjali Jolly with her exquisite sartorial imagination of merging the western sensibilities with eastern ethos. “Though the apparels have been made on a shoestring budget. Yet, I had to always keep in mind the beauty of a Kathak performance in tandem with the fluid essence of western acrobatics. It was a challenging task, no doubt. And the dance has a charming vitality added with little modern touches,” admits Jolly. The event is supported by the Ministry of Culture’s Indian Council For Cultural Relations (ICCR), Alliance Françoise Du Bengale, Weavers Studio Centre for the Arts, et al.
“This particular production of Swan Lake amalgamates diverse mediums, yet keeping the traditions alive. It’s not simple to mix Tchaikovsky’s lilting notes from his classical ballet with the contrasting contemporary tunes. But Dishari has pulled it off with enough élan and deserves some praise for his musical piece as a fresher composer. You see, classics don’t date. They only enrich with time. And this magnum opus is certainly a work of wonder which cuts across ages and a definite space,” shares Dutt.
Thriving on an immense visual appeal, Swan Lake follows the traditional norms and patterns of a yesteryear courtyard performance.
“Interestingly, the dancers clad in costumes escorted the spectators right into the auditorium from the foyer area of the entrance. The objective behind including pupils from our very own school was to provide them with the much-needed exposure on a world-class level. This would automatically boost their confidence level,” explains Ronnie. Adding further, he informs: “We aim to travel with the show to Europe. Talks are on to showcase our hour-long performances at the prestigious film fests of Monte Carlo as well as Cannes.”