''Danse des petits cygnes'' is a dance from

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's '' Swan Lake'', from the ballet's second act, the fourth movement of No. 13. Translated from French, it means "Dance of the Little Swans", also known as "Dance of the cygnets". It is very challenging because the dancers must coordinate their leg movements while holding hands.

Lev Ivanov Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (russian: link=no, Лев Ива́нович Ива́нов; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. ...

's choreography—created for the 1895 revival of ''Swan Lake''—was meant to imitate the way cygnets huddle and move together for protection. Four dancers enter the stage in a line and move across with their arms crossed in front of one another, grasping the next dancers' hands. They move sideways, doing sixteen '' pas de chat''. Ideally the dancers move in exact unison. At the very end, they break their chain and try to "fly", only to drop to the ground. According to ballet writer Jean Battey Lewis in a 1997 NPR commentary4 Little Swans
National Public Radio's ''All Things Considered'', May 13, 1997. "The dancers who perform that famous chorus line in Swan Lake always strive to look as though they're dancing as one unit. Jean Battey Lewis reports on the amusing ways dancers keep it all together, remember all the steps, and look just alike while visions of stardom dance in their heads. The American Ballet Theater is starting its season with several performances of Swan Lake this week." Audio unavailable. the Little Swans are usually portrayed by unknown, up-and-coming dancers. Ironically, in view of the conformity required of the quartet, being cast as a Little Swan may be seen as a chance to be singled out, noticed and given more important roles. An example of the comedic potential of this dance can be seen in the

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...

film ''

The Intelligence Men ''The Intelligence Men'' is a 1965 comedy film starring the British comic duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. In the US, it was retitled ''Spylarks''. It is subtitled " M.I.5 plus 2 equals 0". The film was successful enough to enable Morecambe ...

'' (1965). The dance is also known as a ''

pas de quatre ''Grand Pas de Quatre'' is a ''ballet divertissement'' choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at Her Majesty's Theatre, to music composed by Cesare Pugni. On the night it premiered in London (12 Ju ...

''.

In popular culture

The segment is widely referenced and parodied in popular culture. A few instances: * The first episode of '' Dexter's Laboratory'' has a parody involving Dexter and two DeeDees. * In a scene in Episode 26 ("Guilty or Not Guilty") of the British television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

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References

Compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Ballets by Lev Ivanov 1895 ballet premieres Swan Lake {{ballet-stub