Composer: P. I. Tchaikovsky
Choreographer: Derek Deane (after Marius Petipa)
Set & Costume Designer: Peter Farmer
Lighting Designer: Howard Harrison
Performed by Shanghai Ballet

What makes this production of the Swan Lake unique, is that instead of regular ensemble of 16 swans, there are 48 swans in Deane’s production. The choice of ballet maestro Derek Deane was also the most obvious. Derek Deane, renowned for his work with English National Ballet, has a tremendous reputation in the field of big arena productions. His Swan Lake production was among others to see at the Royal Albert Hall.

The performance was so moving and really gave me goose bumps. The 48 swans graciously and in sync fluttered around the stage as being lightweight and moving like real swans. It was a spectacle I have never witnessed before on a stage, with beautiful lighting adding an enchanting atmosphere to it.

The Shanghai Ballet company consists of 100 dancers, and it is an enchanting, magical performance. Without compromising the authenticity of the Swan Lake, the beautiful Chinese ballerinas form a glamorous, homogeneous whole, which in appearance and perfection is not inferior to the Mariinsky or Bolshoi Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London.