Swan Lake at Ballet West draws large crowds

Swan Lake at Salt Lake City’s Ballet West has drawn unprecedented audiences this season.

Artistic Director Adam Sklute considers Ballet West’s current production of Swan Lake to be a tremendous success.

“Right now is a time people really want to be able to get out with their families, with their friends, their loved ones and go to the theatre to experience something magical and this production of Swan Lake is truly magical,” Sklute said. 

Audiences seem to be ecstatic about the production, Sklute said. He attributed the popularity in part to Swan Lake’s status as one of the most famous ballets. 

“Standing ovations at the end of every performance, people cheering. I think the audiences have really been enjoying it,” Sklute said. 

But what audiences may not know is that nestled in the lobby is one of the iconic costumes Taylor Swift and her dancers wore in Swift’s “Shake It Off” music video.

Costume Director Jason Hadley said the ballet was contacted by a production company in 2015 for the swan costumes. All they heard was that actual ballet dancers would use the costumes, he said.

“We didn’t really know it was for Taylor Swift until it had already happened,” Hadley said. 

Ballet West remains one of Utah’s primary arts ambassadors, as it brings classic productions such as Swan Lake to life. 

The Swan Lake production employs more than 50 dancers, nearly 50 musicians and 25 stagehands from across the Intermountain West.