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Camille Saint-Saëns

The Dying Swan

The Dying Swan (originally The Swan) is a solo dance choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to Camille Saint-Saëns's Le Cygne from Le Carnaval des animaux as a pièce d'occasion for the ballerina Anna

Legacy#

Some ballerinas, including Ashley Bouder of New York City Ballet and Nina Ananiashvili, formerly of American Ballet Theatre and The Bolshoi Ballet, have used Dying Swan arms in Swan Lake when making Odette’s exit at the end of Act II (the first lakeside scene). In response to impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts, Carlos Acosta, artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, adapted Fokine’s choreography with the ballerina raising her head at the end instead, and with Céline Gittens, principal dancer of the company, and the musicians performing in their respective homes. Misty Copeland, principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, invited 31 other dancers to dance The Swan to raise fund for the relief fund of the participating dancers’ companies and other related funds.

See also#

  • Alicia Markova “The Dying Swan” (painting)

References#

Notes References * * * * * * * * Lyubimov D. “The Swan” by С. Saint-Saëns in the choreographic interpretations by M. Fokine and A.Miroshnichenko.In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2025. No. 1. Pp. 141–152. DOI: 10.52469/20764766_2025_01_141. URL: https://musalm.ru/assets/almanac/2025-1/6-1.pdf Further reading * * * * *

    • “The Dying Swan” by Tennyson (complete text)
Composer
Camille Saint-Saëns