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A Grand Swan Lake

Like most new adaptations of existing story ballet classics, the world premiere of artistic director James Sofranko’s “Swan Lake” for Grand Rapids Ballet retained the bones of the original it was based on. Sofranko’s redux stayed faithful to the storyline of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s 1895 production, based on Russian and German folk tales, which told of Prince Siegfried, who fell in love with Princess Odette, a woman cursed to be a swan by day and to take human form only at night. It also retained a good measure of their original choreography. Into that, Sofranko seamlessly created and integrated his own choreography for portions of acts one, three, and four of the four-act production, which ran a tidy two hours.

Performance

Grand Rapids Ballet: “Swan Lake”

Place

DeVos Performance Hall, Grand Rapids, Michigan, February 27, 2026

Words

Steve Sucato

Misa Kuranaga and Josue Justiz in James Sofranko's “Swan Lake.” Photograph by Ray Nard Imagemaker

The result was an entertaining “Swan Lake” production for twenty-first-century audiences, with captivating performances by Grand Rapids Ballet’s dancers and principal guest artist Misa Kuranaga of San Francisco Ballet, who danced the pivotal dual role of Odette/Odile. 

Set to a modified version of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s original score for the ballet, performed capably by the Grand Rapids Symphony, led by conductor John Varineau, the production had a traditional look and feel, owing to medieval-period sets and costumes by designer Peter Farmer, rented from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. 

The ballet began with a brief prologue showing how cursed swan maidens, like Princess Odette, came to be. Act One then opened on a gathering of peasants and nobles outside the royal castle in celebration of Prince Siegfried’s (Josué Justiz) birthday. Accompanied by his endearingly clownish tutor, Wolfgang (Seyong Kim), and his best friend Benno (Julian Gan), Siegfried received a new hunting bow from the Queen, who reminded him of his coming-of-age ball the next day. The scene was festive, with several lively noble and peasant dances performed in Siegfried’s honor, highlighting the company’s depth of talent. Most notable of those was a buoyant, enthusiastically danced pas de trois by Benno and female nobles Rowan Allegra and Rena Takahashi. 

James Cunningham in James Sofranko's “Swan Lake.” Photograph by Ray Nard Imagemaker

James Cunningham in James Sofranko's “Swan Lake.” Photograph by Ray Nard Imagemaker

Continuing the ballet’s familiar storyline, Act Two found Siegfried at a moonlit lake, having sent his hunting party companions ahead without him to track a flock of swans. Alone with his thoughts about marriage and his future, he saw the beautiful princess Odette, who had just transformed from a swan back to human form, and was instantly smitten. After preventing Siegfried from shooting a properly menacing James Cunningham as the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart with his hunting bow, Odette told Siegfried of her curse and that only a pledge of true love could break Von Rothbart’s spell over her and her compatriots.  

The pair then engaged in the first of several exquisite pas de deux in the production. In it, Justiz proved an elegant and steady partner to the petite Kuranaga. Costumed in a feather-adorned tutu and headpiece, Kuranaga performed as if being the very embodiment of the delicacy and softness contained in her costume’s feathers. Her graceful dancing mesmerized the audience with every delicate unfolding of her arms, tilt of her head, and rise of her leg.  

Sofranko’s choreographic additions to the act and the rest of the ballet added texture and spark to the production complementing Petipa and Ivanov’s beloved choreography nicely. Act three’s Royal Ball in Siegfried’s honor found four princesses vying for his attentions, along with courtiers, crimson-clad czardas dancers, and others who provided entertainment. Chief amongst them was the vivacious and charming Ahna Lipchick, along with partner Anderson Da Silva, who delighted in a Spanish dance.

Grand Rapids Ballet in James Sofranko's “Swan Lake.” Photograph by Ray Nard Imagemaker

Grand Rapids Ballet in James Sofranko's “Swan Lake.” Photograph by Ray Nard Imagemaker

Crashing the ball with Von Rothbart, Kuranaga as Odile, the Black Swan, showed her dancing could also be sharp, powerful, and seductive. Posing as a temptress version of Odette to fool Siegfried into pledging his eternal love to her, Kuranaga was once again brilliant.

Sofranko’s new “Swan Lake” then reached its heights in Act Four with a contrite Siegfried returning to the moonlit lake and a heartbroken Odette. Here, GRB’s well-rehearsed Swan corps shone brightest in spellbinding unison dancing and in their formations of breathtakingly beautiful tableaus. Those ushered in Odette and Siegfried’s final melancholy pas de deux, full of heartfelt embraces, lifts, and holds. It ended with Odette resigned to her fate, forever under Von Rothbart’s spell, and choosing to end her life by throwing herself off a cliff, with Siegfried following after her. 

The pair’s sacrifice for love weakened Von Rothbart’s powers and emboldened the corps of Swan maidens to dispatch of him. The ballet ended on a final image of Odette and Siegfried’s eternally bound spirits ascending into the heavens. 

Steve Sucato


Steve Sucato is a former dancer turned arts writer/critic living in Cleveland, Ohio. His writing credits include articles and reviews on dance and the arts for The Plain Dealer, Buffalo News, Erie Times-News, Dance Magazine, Pointe, Dance International, and web publications Critical Dance, DanceTabs (London), and Fjord Review. Steve is chairman emeritus of the Dance Critics Association and the creator of the arts website artsair.art

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