Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) returns to the Birmingham Hippodrome stage this month with one of the company’s most popular works: Sir Peter Wright and Galina Samsova’s Swan Lake.

Set to a dramatic score by Tchaikovsky, the ballet tells the tale of Princess Odette, who has been turned into a white swan by the evil sorcerer Baron Von Rothbart. Her only chance of freedom is true love, and when Prince Siegfried meets her and pledges his heart, it seems the spell will be broken. But Rothbart has a trick up his sleeve: the black swan Odile. So can Odile tempt Siegfried, or will the prince remain true?

BRB principal Céline Gittens has played Odette/Odile many times and says the two swans need to have very different characters: “Audiences want a form of escapism, to be taken away from their everyday life into this magical world of ballet, and I think the way to succeed with that is to really understand the character fully so that I can portray the story and the character properly.

“So when I first approached the role in 2012, I did a lot of background research on other ballet dancers and different productions, which provided inspiration for how I interpreted the role. In 2012, I also became the first mixed-race female ballet dancer to perform the role of Odette/Odile in the UK.”

Born in Trinidad, Céline grew up in Vancouver, where she trained with her mother, Janet Gittens, and at the Goh Ballet Academy. It was from watching Canadian principal Evelyn Hart that she found the key to creating Odette/Odile.

“Evelyn was just stunning in the way she made both roles so different, and that really inspired me. That is where I’ve drawn a lot of my interpretation from.

“I feel that Odette is maybe a little bit naïve and very tender. What’s driving her is to find love. And then along comes Odile, who is quite different. There are a variety of possible interpretations, whether Odile is a transformation of Odette or a completely different character, and I feel like Rothbart has transformed her and given her a new persona to lure Siegfried.”

A gold medallist and audience choice award recipient at the prestigious Margot Fonteyn international ballet competition, Céline joined BRB in 2006, becoming a principal in 2016. She has danced many of the lead roles with the company, including Juliet in Sir Kenneth Macmillan’s Romeo And Juliet, the Sugar Plum Fairy in Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker, Aurora in Sir Peter’s Sleeping Beauty, Kitri in Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote and Fortuna in Sir David Bintley’s Carmina Burana. And it is getting to the heart of a character that matters for her: “Sir Peter Wright says this - you have to act to be a classical ballet dancer, you have to act to be in love or in hatred or remorse, but also you have to feel it. When you feel it, that’s when it carries through to the audience. And that is when you get the audience on your side.”

Taking the role of Prince Siegfried in the full-length ballet for the first time, Mason King joined BRB2, a two-year initiative for young dancers, in 2022, becoming a member of the main company in 2024.

“This is my first big character ballet,” he says, “but I actually played Siegfried in the White Swan pas de deux from Act II the year I joined BRB2, and then the next year as well. In fact, I’ve done it every year but one in my professional career.

“BRB2 set us up really nicely because I was able to do these big solo roles and these big pas de deux; not in a full ballet context, of course, but a snippet - and I think that did help me.

“Any young dancer would hope that eventually they would get to do the role of Prince Siegfried, and I was the same. I didn’t think it was going to come around so fast, but I always had the drive for it.”

Born in the UK, Mason grew up in New Zealand, training at New Zealand School of Dance. He then attended The Royal Ballet School in London, after which he joined BRB2, where he’s performed pieces including Carlos Acosta’s Dying Swan pas de deux, Agrippina Vaganova’s Diana & Actaeon pas de deux, and Ben Stevenson’s End Of Time.

But Siegfried is one of ballet’s most demanding male roles.

“From watching other principals do it when I first joined, I’d say the challenge is partly the length. This is probably the longest ballet for a male dancer. In Swan Lake, you’re in all four acts, so you’re doing quite a lot of work.

“You really have to carry the story throughout all four acts. and you need to be able to show the emotion at the end of the ballet. So you need the technique but also the stamina - that will be the biggest challenge.”

Mason’s approach is to focus on the constituent parts of the work: “It’s almost broken down into acts for me. So in Act I, Siegfried is very sorrowful; you’re by yourself, you’re surrounded by all these other people dancing for you, but you’re very internal. And then you progress, and in Act II you meet Odette and you slowly fall for her and you have to show the progression through that.

“Then Act III is with Odile. For me, that’s almost a completely different role because of how Céline will portray that part, and I will respond to that. And then there’s all the emotion of Act IV. That emotion is essential - if you don’t feel it and show it to the audience, then it’s just steps on stage.”
Mason is also benefiting from partnering with Céline.

“Because Céline has performed this role so many times, she knows what she wants, so then I just have to find my way of doing it.”

BRB founding director laureate Sir Peter Wright is due to turn 100 later this year, but he has always made a point of attending rehearsals for his ballets, to help the dancers fine-tune the roles. And Céline says his input is appreciated: “Sir Peter will tell you when you’ve done a good job. Even in a principal position, principals still need to hear that. I’m open to corrections because that’s what ballet dancers do - we live off being corrected and receiving constructive criticism. But don’t forget to also praise the dancers! The fact that Sir Peter is almost 100 and still praising the dancers, that means a lot.”

Former ballet mistress Marion Tait, who now holds the role of guest répétiteur, will also be in the rehearsal room.

“Marion often comes to set Sir Peter’s ballets,” says Céline. “She’s been a huge influence in my career, because coming from Vancouver, she helped me switch into the British style of dancing.

“She’s very understanding of the dancers. For example, Mason and myself are tall, and she understands what works to bring out the best in ourselves as tall dancers, using the space on the stage and making the most of our aesthetic.”

So why does Céline believe Swan Lake has remained central to the world of ballet?

“It’s a classic which has stood the test of time. I think what makes it stand out is the fact that it’s so technically demanding; it has every classical step, thrown into one ballet. And then there’s the music. Tchaikovsky’s score elevates this ballet to another level entirely."

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Wednesday 23 September to Saturday 3 October 

By Diane Parkes