The production of Swan Lake by Navrasa Duende and Royal Russian Ballet, one of the most anticipated events of the year, saw a grand opening night in Mumbai on March 13, 2018 at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre in NCPA. The ballet promises to be a powerhouse of music, dance, and drama and is sure to leave the audiences demanding for another exceptional round mesmerising performance. As a part of the month-long tour, which concludes on April 14, 2018, there are 25 shows of the ballet scheduled to be performed in Mumbai, followed by five shows each in New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata.

Navrasa Duende’s maiden co-production of Swan Lake with Royal Russian Ballet, held in New Delhi in September 2017,received a remarkable response, drawing over 10,000 people to the shows. With Mumbai being one of the major centres for cultural activities and events in India, it has a sizeable audience with a keen interest in various art forms from around the world. The troupes will perform 25 shows in Mumbai over 15 days, from March 13 to March 25, so that the maximum number of people in the city have a chance to experience the show. In addition, with a lot of enthusiasm from Kids between the brackets of 6-10 years, Navrasa have also kept shows dedicated to these kids on 14^th, 15 and 21^stMarch in Mumbai.

The current production of Swan Lake has been choreographed by Vladmir Troschenko, and directed by Anatoliy Kazatskiy. As part of this production, there are two prima ballerinas, Olga Kafiak and Tetiana Holiakova, who will switch places as the female lead, playing the role of both the White Swan and Black Swan during the tour. Accompanying them will be two ballerinos, Mikhail Tkachuk and Anatoliy Khandazhevskiy, who will each play the role of Prince Siegfried in various performances of the ballet during the tour. For the opening show Tetiana Holiakova played the role of Odette and Odile, Mikhail Tkachuk played the role of Prince and Tymchuk Artem played the role of Von Rothbart.

Commenting on the event, Dinesh Singh, Founder and CEO, Navrasa Duende said, “The response to the event has been phenomenal and we are excited about the rest of the tour, which we are sure, will be extremely successful. Anatoly Kazatsky’s marvellous direction and Vladimir Troschenko’s brilliant choreography, not to mention the mesmerising performance by the dancers, have once again created magic with this production. What’s even more remarkable is that quite a few people from the city who attended the show in New Delhi last year, are watching the ballet once again, most of whom are youngsters.Moreover, I’m quite certain that both lovers of this dance form, as well as, new audiences curious about ballet will enjoy this production.”

Swan Lake is a ballet which is more than a century old and is performed on the classical compositions written by Russian composer, PyotrIlyich Tchaikovsky. The ballet’s central plot, which originates from various Russian stories, is about Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse and how she breaks the curse on her with the power of love. Swan Lake is scored by PyotrIlyich Tchaikovsky’s inimitable and timeless compositions, which play a significant role in the complex and dramatic narrative. With its primary themes such as love, and the battle between good and evil, the story holds a special place, even today, in the hearts of viewers from around the world.