The celebrated opening of Swan Lake at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1895 paved the way for it to become a beloved classic. But what most people don’t know is that the ballet’s debut at the Bolshoi eighteen years prior was a complete fiasco. The concept of the disastrous forgotten premiere captured the imagination of Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman—known for his clever, fast-paced works threaded with humor—and his A Swan Lake was born. Act One is Ekman’s fanciful reinvention of that first production, with references to Tchaikovsky’s score and the original dances. But Act Two, set 137 years later, is the ingenious—and very wet—tour de force seen in the process of creation in Rare Birds (Oct. 19). This full-length production film was recorded live in HD.