Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake was composed in 1875 as a commission by Vladimir Petrovich Begichev, the intendant of the Russian Imperial Theatres in Moscow. Like The Nutcracker, Swan Lake was unsuccessful after its first year or performance. Conductors, dancers and audiences alike thought Tchaikovsky's music was too complicated and difficult to dance to. The production's original Choreography by German ballet master, Julius Reisinger, was thought to be uninspiring and unoriginal.

Much is unknown about the original production of Swan Lake - no notes, techniques or instruction concerning the ballet were written down. Little has been found in letters and memos. It was not until after Tchaikovsky's death that Swan Lake was revived. Much of the Swan Lake we know today was a revision by the famous choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. We do know that Tchaikovsky had much control over the story's content. He and his colleagues both agreed that the swan represented womanhood in its purest form. the stories and legends of swan-maidens date as far back as ancient Greece; when the Greek god Apollo was born and flying swans circled above his head. Legends of swan-maidens can also be found in The Tales of the Thousand and One Nights,Sweet Mikhail Ivanovich the Rover and The Legend of the Children of Lir.

Swan Lake is known for it's demanding technical skill all because of one extrememly gifted ballerina, Pierina Lagnani. She performed with such grace and discipline; the audiences who saw her claimed she had set the standard. Legnani performed 32 fouettés (a fast whipping turn on one foot) in a continuing sequence - a move many ballerinas resent due to its extreme difficulty. The prestige that comes from performing Swan Lake flawlessly is invaluable, as Swan Lake has gone on to become one of the most famous ballet productions of all time.