Swan Lake

Swan Lake is a beautiful concertina book detailing a night at the Ballet.

Illustrated by Californian artist Ping Zhu, we see the pristine theatre, audience and performance on one side and the back-stage bustle and nerves on the other. Based on a performance of Tchaikovskys Swan Lake, the images are not only inspired by the dramatic story but also the atmosphere of a working dance venue. Zhu illustrates the orchestra, the boxes and even the entrance hall and ticket office. Backstage is a world away from the delicate and precise presentation of front stage ropes and pulleys, stage hands and prop handlers, seamstresses sewing sequins, ballerinas nervously awaiting their queue, the director signalling and gesturing silently all in all we are treated to delightful concertina which anyone with an interest in the performing arts will immediately love.