Pas de deux
The "Grand Adagio" of the second scene (the "Pas de Deux" of Odette and Prince Siegfried sometimes referred to as the "Love Duet") was choreographed by Ivanov as a "Pas de deux à Trois" - Pierina Legnani was partnered by both Pavel Gerdt (who danced Prince Siegfried) and Alexander Oblakov (who danced Benno). It was not until the Danseur Nikolai Legat replaced Gerdt in the role of Prince Siegfried in the late 1890s that the "pas" became a "pas de deux". Following Legat's example, many of the danseurs of the Imperial Ballet who performed Prince Siegfried after he chose to partner Odette alone. In spite of this, the notation for "Swan Lake", made between April 1906 and April 1907, documents Ivanov's original 1895 scheme. The first production outside of Russia of the full-length Petipa/Ivanov production of "Swan Lake" was staged by Nicholas Sergeyev for the Vic-Wells Ballet (today the Royal Ballet) in 1934, a production which retained Ivanov's original version of the "Grand Adagio" as a "Pas de deux à Trois", but over time the company chose to dance it as a "pas de deux", which is today the tradition. One critic who viewed the 1895 premiere wrote of this "pas": "Legnani was as if transformed, preening and admiring her snow-white down, it was as if Legnani were actually experiencing these moments, filled with poetic melancholy. Langour showed in each of her graceful movements. There Legnani was at the height of understanding her art."