In this descriptive passage, I would like to focus on ¨Mazurka, op.33, №2¨ part of Les Sylphides as danced by Mariya Aleksandrova. Although Mazurka in its origin is a Polish folk dance designed for several couples, in Les Sylphides it was choreographed as a dynamic solo, adhering to ballet conventions. What sets it aside from the rest of the performance, though, is the liveliness that is inherent in the music and that transcends into the dance. The light and airy jumps of the ballerina, her quick, effortless looking footwork evoke an air of almost childish nonchalance. Together with her wings and foamy tutu, they create a moving image of a butterfly looking for a flower to land on. Similar to impressionist paintings, it feels like we are shown an isolated instance of nature taking its course that was beautiful enough to inspire the choreographer to create this work of art. This image of the butterfly is not too far off from what the ballerina is supposed to represent – a mythological air spirit, called the sylph. Unlike a similar named ballet La Sylphide, where the otherworldliness of sylphs is painted in a negative light, in Les Sylphides it contributes to the dreamy atmosphere of the romantic reverie. The joyful steps and hops of the ballerina are calling the viewer to forget their everyday worries and join her in the world of merriment and delight.
Another important aspect of the dance is the softness of the soloist’s arms. As Tamara Karsavina, the ballerina who danced in the original production of Les Sylphides, mentions in her interview, the soft arms are supposed to remind us that we are dealing with “unearthly, ethereal beings”. Interestingly, in the broader context, we can view this particular scene from two opposite sides. On one hand, the “etherealness” of the ballerina reinstates the perception of women as light fairies that are delicate and fragile. We can also see that in other scenes of the ballet. For example, in various pas de deux whenever the ballerina is lifted by the only male dancer in Les Sylphides, contemporary Russian virtuoso Nikolai Tsiskaridze, she is perceived from the spectators’ point of view as completely weightless, thus fitting the mold of what an ideal woman should look like. In the famous prelude, the dancer seems to be flowing in rhythm to the music, bending and bouncing back with graceful flexibility, another important feminine trait. In this regard, the happiness that the ballerina exudes through the mazurka can be viewed as an expectation for women to always be content and improve the mood of others. On the other hand, the high technical demands of the performance and the fact that a female dancer is shown to take initiative to showcase her solo, in a way, asserts her independence. Considering that the dance is followed by the male variation of the mazurka and that both genders are therefore provided with their time under the spotlight, we might in fact be looking at two equals, enjoying their time in the dreamy world of sylphs.