Russian music and russian ballet

Russian music and russian ballet! Can it get any greater? The video I posted (hopefully it worked) is a video from the Russian Conservatory Ballet. Pyotr Tchaikovsky was, in my opinion, one of the greatest russian composers and I'd say one of my all around favorite composers. He was born in 1840 in Votkinsk, which is a small town in present day Udmurtia. One of the reasons of why I adore his music so much is because he wrote some of the most famous ballets: Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty. In this blog I will just talk a bit about Swan Lake. The scenario was fashioned from Russian folk tales telling the story of how Princess Odette turns into a swan under the evil sorcerer's curse. The ballet is initially in 4 acts. The Russian ballet patriarch Fyodor Lopukhov has called Swan Lake a "national ballet" because of its swans, who originate from Russian lyrically romantic sources, while many of the movements of the corps de ballet originated from Slavonic ring-dances. I just love how Russia is so involved with the arts. I mean, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, etc were all Russian composers. Even today the Moscow Conservatory is considered one of the greatest schools for the arts. There are also great operas to talk about which I will save for another blog. Check out some Swan Lake! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl1OGWfkErg&feature=related