Fantastic Five: 5 Really Great Classical Male Principal Variations
Fantastic Five: 5 Really Great Classical Male Principal Variations (originally published April 19, 2015)
Updated: December 2023
In the world of professional ballet, the performance of a principal variation can define a dancer’s career. A 2-3 act ballet is carried by the storytelling of the male and female principals, and the apex moment for them are their principal variations within the ballet. Their principal variations are that those brief moments in a career where a dancer’s technique, artistry, and all the daunting years of rehearsals finally meet, and the stage is theirs with all eyes are on them. A successful debut in a principal variation can skyrocket a dancer’s career trajectory. A longtime principal appearing in a beloved principal role can instantly sell out tickets for a show.
It’s no wonder many regard the most challenging role for a principal female to be the dynamic Swan Lake role(s) of Odette/Odile; where she is first pushed emotionally, and technically as Odette; then in a ferocious breath she seductively attacks with stamina in role of Odile; then, she reverts back to the tender Odette, and finally dies. Exhausting. I mean, not only does the prima have to act, change roles/costumes/hair/makeup, and then act some more, she also has to perform two full on pas de deuxs and command an epic 4th act finale. Pretty impressive.
When it comes to male dancers, their principal variations are traditionally kind of predictable, in my opinion. They usually consist of two jumping passes, followed by two pirouette combinations, execution of some double tours or entrechat six, and then a few have a quality menage added in at the end. All conclude in exaggerated displays of masculine bravado, because…ballet. These male principal variations have to be seriously tweaked by the principal dancer in order to transform them into memorable performances.
So who has nailed it? Roberto Bolle for one, cranking out 40 (yes, FORTY) entrechat six in Giselle [click here to watch]…Daniil Simkin’s insane turning combos in Le Corsaire [click here to watch] are jaw droppers… And then there is the superhuman Osiel Gounod in, like, every male principal variation he ever performs. If you don’t know who he is…search him on YouTube and prepare to lose. your. mind.
There are other male principal variations that are actually very musical, and super beautiful, but are commonly overlooked. Granted… most of them are either Balanchine, or specific to a single company’s repertory. Regardless…these are some real gems and deserve further exploration as 5 Really Great Classical Male Principal Variations.
1. “Name of Prince” Variation in ACT II from The Sleeping Beauty… Paris Opera’s Nureyev version of this storybook ballet gives the male principal two super beautiful variations in the second act. The first employs the Tchaikovsky music that George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker uses to bridge the Party and Battle scenes. It is a very long variation (7 minutes!), but super gorgeous, and demonstrates that men can have impressive arabesques, too. It could be that Nureyev really reinvented the male principal role here, and as a male ballet dancer himself, he was able to create notable roles for other men within the confinements of classical ballet. The second variation is from the music sometimes used in ACT III of The Sleeping Beauty for one of the jewels. It is very classical, as well, but has really dreamy enveloppé moments. The Royal Ballet’s version also delivers a super luscious, kind of sensual variation in the second act.
2. Balanchine’s Apollo. This is probably one of the only ballets with a male name as the title. Music by Stravinsky. Swoon. Apollo himself never leaves the stage and has two brilliant variations. One is really raw, and the other is really refined. Both variations are incredibly musical, which is one of the things that I adore most about Balanchine’s works. I think for a lot of male principal dancers who were trained in the Balanchine aesthetic, and definitely for men in Balanchine companies, this male principal role is used to really announce and define their presence in the company. Balanchine-founded New York City Ballet previously hosted Gonzalo Garcia and Nilas Martins in the marquee male principal role of Apollo, and both dancers made names for themselves in this commanding principal role. Adrian Danchig-Waring is the current Apollo poster boy, and is known for his regal interpretation of the role. Click here to watch clips from Apollo on YouTube.
3. The Male Variation(s) from Sylvia. Delibes’ score is super danceable and pleasant… (FUN FACT: the original production of Sylvia was created to open the Palais Garnier for Paris Opera, and the costumes were designed by Lacoste.) In the Balanchine version pas de deux, the male variation is structured like a classical variation, but has really beautiful, musical nuances added in; and like a lot of the classical-like Balanchine male variations (i.e. Tchai Pas, Theme and Variations, etc.), each one was modified so the steps vary by who dances/staged it. In the Ashton version of Sylvia, Aminta has numerous gorgeous variations. I actually think that the Ashton version is only danced at American Ballet Theatre, and Royal Ballet. Paris Opera has a version of Sylvia, but it is more contemporary/modern, so it doesn’t count for this list. If we counted that version, then we would have to count numerous other new ballets like Chroma, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, every ballet created by Complexions, Cedar Lake, and LINES, and the Cranko Ballets…though… I really should count the Cranko Ballets because they are so classically inclined. Click here for the male variations from Sylvia.
4. The male variations in John Cranko’s Onegin (Onegin and Lensky) are beyond the typical male principal ballet roles and have combined real life and ballet. The music by Tchaikovsky used for these male variations isn’t awfully heavy and scary sounding, like most male variations. The variations also create this beautiful emotional prism for a male ballet dancer to work within, something that is rare in the Imperial ballets. All of the Cranko characters are always incredibly dynamic. I’ve never seen Onegin live, but have watched the full length on YouTube, set on five different companies. (Since writing this article in 2015, I was lucky enough to see it live, and it was incredible.) When I was a student, I never really wanted to dance Onegin, but now in retrospect it is so beautiful to me and I am like -_____- (that is my Snorlax face)… Not that I was ever good enough, or would ever have been cast in Onegin… but still… a boy can dream.
5. The Liza Variation, from Balanchine’s Who Cares? Music by Gershwin. This is probably one of the younger variations as it was choreographed in 1937, but it is super fun. Kind of jazzy, okay, suuuuper jazzy, but really fun and entertaining dancing happens here. Seriously. If you ever have the chance to preform it, it is one of the must enjoyable variations to develop and perform. It isn’t like trying to slog through the male variation in Theme and Variations, or full of random crazy turns like Le Corsaire. Did I mention, it really is just plain fun? And Baryshnikov in a Balanchine ballet = love. Click here to watch.
Bonus variations:
The male principal variation in the Satanella pas deux from the Carnival of Venice ties with the male variation for Harlequinade for bonus variations; both are variations in classical ballet that simply aren’t danced enough. Obviously they are classical variations, but I feel like these two ballets are underperformed, and therefore under-enjoyed, except perhaps in ballet competitions. This is sad because the music for these male variations is endearing. I also think these two male principal variations are more age-appropriate for boys (11-16) competing at ballet competitions. I mean, what 11 year old boy should be doing Swan Lake? Then, because I love Balanchine, there are the roles that don’t really have male principal variations but are indeed gorgeous: the male lead in Rubies or Diamonds, the male in the walking pas de trois from Emeralds, all the male leads in Symphony in C and Palais Cristal, the male leads in Western Symphony, the pas de deux from Agon…I could just go on and on with my Balanchine obsession.
Finally, I would like to take the time to talk about Lady of the Camellias, music by Chopin, and choreographed by John Neumeier. This ballet is another “newer” classic work. It premiered in 1978 with Marcia Haydee, and is a super beautiful full length ballet with stunning male variations. The downside is that even though the story is the same, Val Caniparoli used the same music and redid it, maybe even better … but in Neumeier’s version, the male principal variations are great, but still aren’t as dynamic as the female principal variations.
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