Famous Ballets

When I was a little girl, my mother bought me a book of some of the most famous ballets ever performed. Along with descriptions of said performances, there were also photos and watercolor illustrations in the book. I would spend hour after hour reading each and every little picture caption and footnote, absolutely enthralled with these famous ballets. Sadly, the book has long since vanished, but I can still remember at least bits and pieces of the text. One of the most visually appealing ballets that I can remember was Giselle. Giselle was a young peasant girl who becomes engaged to a nobleman who (unknown to her) already has a fiancee. When she learns this, she dies of a broken heart. The second act of the ballet depicts her as a ghost along with the other women who have been buried in the forest where her body lies, and is known as the "white act", because all the dancers are dressed in white.

Tchaikovsky's first ballet, Swan Lake, is also considered a classic in the world of dance. A young woman named Odette, who has been cursed by an evil sorcerer (she must become a swan during daylight hours and can only transform back into a human at night), becomes distraught when after learning that the prince she loved (who was supposed to help her break the spell) has proposed to another woman. She throws herself into a lake and dies. The prince, realizing his grave error, also throws himself into the lake and drowns. Swan Lake is traditionally performed in four acts. This is perhaps one of the most tragic and beautiful ballets of all time in the world of dance.