This ‘Swan Lake’ Keeps the Tutus but Sheds the Tights

At first glance, the 24 swans fluttering across the stage at the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts in Toronto look as traditional as they come. Their tutus form stiff rings of tulle around their hips. Bodices are adorned with bright white plumage, heads wrapped in feathery wreaths that cover both ears. Arms ripple up and down, the line breaking at the wrist to suggest the curved edge of a wing.

Look a little closer, though, and something is different. Each swan has an individuality that’s unusual in “Swan Lake,” a ballet in which the corps de ballet typically strives for absolute uniformity. The dancers seem more muscular and modern — more like real young women than a flock of anthropomorphized birds. A sharp-eyed audience member might have figured out why: These swans aren’t wearing tights.

Bare legs are one of the defining features of the National Ballet of Canada’s production of “Swan Lake,” which had its premiere in 2022 and is returning this month. In an art form built on traditions and rules, it’s hard to overstate the significance of a “Swan Lake” without tights. It’s a bit like playing in a baseball game without a cap or performing in a symphony orchestra in jogging pants.

As ballet grapples with its history of racial homogeneity, many of its longest-standing conventions are coming under the microscope. Some of this involves reconsidering hiring practices, casting choices and access to training. But it also means taking a hard look at aesthetic practices that can make nonwhite dancers feel excluded. Pale pink tights were introduced to match the skin tone of 19th-century European ballerinas, a tradition that has reinforced whiteness as an industry norm. For dark-skinned dancers, wearing blush-colored hosiery can be a daily, tangible reminder that they don’t satisfy an ideal.

{snip}

The decision to forgo tights was the culmination of a conversation about equity and inclusion that began at the National Ballet in 2020. {snip}

{snip}

As the Black Lives Matter movement gained international momentum, many major companies were rethinking their shoes and tights policies, too. In 2021, flesh-toned tights in various shades of brown appeared in classical productions at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Washington Ballet and American Ballet Theater’s Studio Company. This created a spike in demand for tights and pointe shoes in different skin tones that manufacturers had trouble meeting, a problem that was exacerbated by lingering supply-chain issues.

{snip}