Wild Swans (ballet)
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Wild Swans is a 2003 ballet by Meryl Tankard with score by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin.
The story is based on the fairy tale "The Wild Swans" by Hans Christian Andersen and tells the tale of Eliza, a princess whose wicked-witch stepmother has changed Eliza's eleven brothers into swans. Eliza must knit magic shirts from stinging nettles in order to break the spell and transform her brothers back into human form. With its basis in a fairy tale, the 90-minute ballet follows in the tradition of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, with ballet scores by Russian-born composers Prokofiev and Stravinsky also acknowledged influences.[1]
The ballet was commissioned by the Australian Ballet and the Sydney Opera House. The score was completed in 2002 in collaboration with choreographer Meryl Tankard, who had also worked with Kats-Chernin on part of the opening ceremony for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.[1] It was given its premiere by the Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House on 29 April 2003.
