Building a Ballet

UC Journalism students take you behind the scenes of CCM’s production of <i>Swan Lake.</i>
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Photograph By Brevin Couch

For their final performance of the school year, the dance department at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music took on one of the world’s most popular classical ballets, Swan Lake. Through a collaborative effort with CCM’s dance department, UC’s Electronic Media and Journalism students went behind the rehearsal room doors to document the effort and emotion that goes into creating such a show.



Directors Jiang Qi and Deirdre Carberry gave the Electronic Media students special access to rehearsal space, where they spent hours observing, photographing, and filming the dancers at work. Afterwards, students would sneak into a vacant studio to interview the leads, who shared their love of Swan Lake and their biggest struggles with the discipline.

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Madison Holschuh plays the role of the White Swan, Odette.

Photograph By Brevin Couch

To an untrained eye, every lift, jump, and pirouette comes easy, but it’s taken years for these students to perfect their techniques. And every dancer will tell you there’s always more work to be done.



To see more interviews and prepare yourself for the grand finale, visit the class website.

Swan Lake, April 22–24, adults $27–$31, non–UC students $17–$20, UC students $15–$18, Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village, University of Cincinnati, (513) 556–4183, ccm.uc.edu

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