Cocktail Party Fact: Composer Tchaikovsky lived to see only the first production Swan Lake, which was generally considered to be a bomb. When he died in 1893, he missed by just two years the revival that carved a permanent place for the ballet in dance history.

Here’s the plot: Act I: It is Prince Siegfried’s coming of age. He attends a festival and his mother demands he marry. A flock of swans fly overhead and a hunt is proposed. Act II: a lake. A magician named Von Rotbart tends swan who at night become enchanted maidens. Siegfried and his friends go to shoot the swans when Odette, the Swan Queen now in human form, pleads for her flock. Siegfried falls in love with her and swears undying fidelity. At dawn, she undergoes a metamorphosis back into a swan. Act III: the espousal ball. Guests arrive while Siegfried and his mother inspect possible wives. Von Rotbart enters with fanfare, escorting his daughter Odile, whom he has transformed into the image of Odette. Sigfried dances with her and declares his love, thus unknowingly breaking his vow to the true swan. Act IV: the lake at night. Siegfried seeks his betrayed Swan Queen. She forgives him. Von Rotbart swoops in and Siegfried carries Odette off. They defy Rotbart and throw themselves into the water and to th eir death. The spell is finally broken, and the lovers are united in eternity.

Memorable Moments: The famous second act of Swan Lake has been performed by almost every ballet company in the world.

Vital Statistics: First choreographed by Julius Reisinger in 1877 and presented at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. The version that is generally danced today was a second try and was first danced at the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1895. Marius Petipa choreographed Acts I and III, Lev Ivanov choreographed Acts II and IV, score by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, scenery by Mikhail Bocharov and Heinrich Levogt and book by V.P. Begitchev and Vasily Geltzer.

Why See It?: Swan Lake is considered one of the most popular ballets, both among audiences and dancers. It is said that a ballerina need only star successfully in a production to pave her path to fame in the dance world. The ballet depicts the ultimate romantic story — a love that is all the more passionate because it is doomed from the start.