This new version of Swan Lake as presented by the artistic director, Thomas Leroy, tells the story of a virginal girl that is trapped in the body of a White Swan. The White Swan desires to be free but only true love can break her spell. Soon as a handsome prince falls in love with the delicate White Swan and is about to announce his love for her, the White Swan’s lustful twin (the Black Swan) steals the prince away. Devastated, the White Swan kills herself, where in death she finally finds freedom from her curse.
Once Nina successfully obtains the role as the Swan Queen, she is to portray both personas of the innocent and fragile White Swan, as well as the destructive and devious Black Swan. As expected Nina could easily capture the essence of the White Swan since they both share very similar personalities. Nina is a well-structured dancer and is always in control of every movement she makes, but her overall timid and fragile character cannot gain the essence of the Black Swan. The Black Swan represents a looser and sensual structure of dance that becomes difficult for Nina to embrace. With such frustration in Nina’s inability to fully grasp both characters in one dance, Nina begins to suffer from delusions, hallucinations, and amongst other irrational behaviors, all of which later contributes to her diagnosis of the borderline personality disorder.
Nina’s abnormal behavior becomes more consistent as the date of the show’s premiere approaches. Her disorder develops more as she shows patterns of impulsivity with high levels of instability and anxiety. Borderline personality disorder is known to show a pervasive pattern of