{"id":158438,"date":"2026-05-24T08:50:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T12:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/interviews-panm360\/le-lac-des-cygnes-aux-grands-ballets-remplacer-tchaikovski-par-tchaikovski-ivan-cavallari-tchaikovsky-montreal\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T14:25:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:25:35","slug":"le-lac-des-cygnes-aux-grands-ballets-remplacer-tchaikovski-par-tchaikovski-ivan-cavallari-tchaikovsky-montreal","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/interviews-panm360\/le-lac-des-cygnes-aux-grands-ballets-remplacer-tchaikovski-par-tchaikovski-ivan-cavallari-tchaikovsky-montreal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lake at Grands Ballets : Replacing Tcha\u00efkovski\u2026 by Tcha\u00efkovski"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The choreographer and artistic director of the Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montr\u00e9al, Ivan Cavallari, is about to commit an act of l\u00e8se-majest\u00e9. The Lake<\/em>, the title of his next creation, presented from May 28 to June 7, 2026, in the grand Wilfrid-Pelletier Hall at Place des Arts, is indeed a rather bold transformation of the classic among the Classics in ballet: Tcha\u00efkovski’s Swan Lake<\/em>. What is, in truth, more emblematic of the romantic, fairy-tale, and magical ballet with tutus, pointe shoes, curses, princes, talking animals, and wicked sorcerers than this 19th-century Russian masterpiece?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magical realism to replace Fairy magic<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this new reading, Cavallari transposes the story of a typical fairy tale kingdom into the contemporary world, but one still inhabited by the spirit of magical realism. This artistic movement, which appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, first in visual arts, then extended into literature and produced masterpieces such as One Hundred Years of Solitude<\/em> by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The idea is simple: in a realistic narrative framework, fantastic elements appear. Is it a dream, an illusion, a true permeability of reality with the supernatural world? One never really answers the question, because the essence of the approach is rather to serve the psychological exploration of the characters, as well as a reflection on contemporary society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the “magic” becomes a very useful symbolic tool, but ultimately almost secondary compared to the fundamental objective of the work, which is rather to delve into certain current issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is here, then, that Cavallari’s approach will make complete sense, at least that’s the intention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fairy-tale kingdom from the original story becomes a film set for a perfume commercial here. Odette, the original White swan, is here a young dancer fresh out of school, who comes to shake up the already present team and especially Odile, the current face of the Vertige Noir<\/em> perfume, the “Black swan.” Odette will have to fight to become the face of the future new best-seller named\u2026 the White Swan<\/em>. The world of fashion and luxury thus serves as a pretext for a critique of the rigid codes imposing a vision of the body, beauty, etc., but also the unhealthy relationships that come with them, jealousy, envy, and ultimately, the erasure of one’s identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guiding principle identified by Cavallari is Odette’s strength, who must rediscover her humanity (read: her own identity, beyond the clich\u00e9s and norms imposed on her).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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