swan ballet -

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Swan Ballet (スワン バレエ) is a small ballet company located in Osaka City, Osaka. It was founded in 1995 by former principal dancer with Tokyo Ballet, Anabuki Hideko (穴吹 秀子) in response to seeing Matthew Bourne's version of the classical ballet, Swan Lake and as a result, the company's leading principle is to remain all-female. It has become renowned for its own interpretation of Swan Lake which remains its primary performance and main draw. Entrance exams for the appurtenant training programme, Swan Ballet Academy, are held once every year and have famously come to include an audition of Fokine's The Dying Swan to properly showcase the candidate's "swan arms" for which the Swan Ballet dancers have become celebrated. Currently there are approximately 45 dancers involved in Swan Ballet's productions, five of whom are ranked solo dancers - topping the hierachy, followed by soloists and corps dancers respectively.