To keep ballet fresh and exciting for each generation, choreographers and designers may choose to use a classical ballet story and update it with some modern flair. For instance, Discovery Theater in Anchorage, Alaska is hosting a performance of Swan Lake by Alaska Dance Theater. The troupe has renamed Swan Lake "Qug'yuq," which is the Inuit word for "swan," and has moved the setting to a village in Alaska. Instead of an evil sorceror, the antagonist is now a Raven, a traditional symbol for trickster in Inuit culture.
The Alaska Dance Theater is not the only dance troupe to do this. Many companies choose to add their own perspective on ballet's like the Nutcracker, which is done so often every year, that companies need their performance to stand out. Many will incorporate different types of dance into the production, such as the New Jersey Foundation for Theater and the Arts. Potomac High School in Fairfax County, VA, chose to add a little hip-hop and tap to their 2006 production of the Nutcracker.
What are some classic ballet stories you use in class? How do you think you would update them if you gave a special performance?
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