Volume 1 Chapter 137 The Semifinal (2/2)
Han Luo saw his performance from the backstage and was stunned to her very core; she understood why Jared was the best among the best. He was not only a good dancer but also had confidence when presenting himself. He believed in his heart that he was a good dancer and that gave him enough guts to be confident.
Han Luo clenched her fists. 'I can do it. I can do it.' She closed her eyes and kept reciting the same sentence again and again till she gathered courage. When she opened her eyes again, she was determined to give her best for her dream.
The last performance was hers. When the music started, Alice patted her back from behind. ”You can do this. Go girl!” She tried to provide her with the much needed assurance.
Han Luo stepped onto the stage. She was going to perform 'Swan Lake'.
Swan Lake, Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 187576. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular ballets of all time. The scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian and German folk tales.
In the drama, it has four acts. Prince Siegfried is celebrating his birthday with his tutor, friends and peasants when his mother, Queen, comes and tells him to marry. Prince Siegfried becomes upset that he cannot marry for love and to cheer him up, his teacher and friend takes him out for hunting.
That's when the dancing starts.
On the stage, young, beautiful white swans were dancing along with Odette, aka Han Luo.
Odette is a beautiful young maiden who is almost killed by Prince Siegfried in her swan form. However, after seeing her transforming into a breathtakingly beautiful maiden, Prince Siegfried freezes on the spot. Odette gets to know Prince Siegfried and tells him about her curse that has been cast by the evil owl-like sorcerer Rothbart. The spell can only be broken if one who has never loved before swears to love Odette forever. However, if Rothbart dies before the spell is broken, it can never be undone.
In the morning, Odette turns into a swan and Prince Siegfried returns to the palace. The Queen holds a costume ball and Rothbart comes with his daughter, Odile, who is transformed to look like Odette. Prince Siegfried sees Odile who looks like Odette and falls for her. They dance together.
Odile, the black swan's dancing style was fiercer than Odette, the white swan. Han Luo performed both as the white swan and the black swan. While white swan's movements were graceful and elegant, the black swan's movements were wild and aggressive. The judges and the audiences were once more amazed by Han Luo's arabesques. She played around and tipped herself backward off of balance without really losing her balance at all.
While Odile and Prince Siegfried were dancing, Odette appears at the castle window and attempts to warn Siegfried, but he does not see her. He then proclaims to the court that he will marry Odile before Rothbart shows him a magical vision of Odette. Grief-stricken and realizing his mistake (he vowed only to love Odette), Siegfried hurries back to the lake. He asks for forgiveness and aggrieved Odette forgives him. However, his betrayal cannot be undone. Rather than remain a swan forever, Odette chooses to die. Siegfried chooses to die with her and they leap into the lake, where they will stay together forever. This breaks Rothbart's spell over the swan maidens, causing him to lose his power over them and he dies. In the end, the swan maidens, who transform to maidens, watch as Siegfried and Odette ascend into the Heavens together, forever united in love.
When Han Luo jumped from the higher stage, her male partner who acted as Prince Siegfried followed her and jumped from the high stage and disappeared from the sights of the judges and the audiences. Their hearts broke when the scene came to this. When Han Luo and her male partner were seen in the end of the act as they were ascending into heaven, the onlookers started to clap and whistle.