Swan Lake Dance of the Little Swans

Swan Lake, Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (18401893) in 187576. The scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian and German folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer s curse. Danse des petits cygnes is a famous dance from the ballet s second act, the fourth movement of No. 13. Translated from French, it means Dance of the Little Swans or Dance of the cygnets. The dance is also known as a pas de quatre.