Le Corsaire

Based on Lord Byron’s poem, The Giaour,
Le Corsaire answers the question, “How does one swashbuckle in a ballet?”

Meet Conrad the pirate. Like most pirates, he seeks treasure. He discovers his personal version of treasure in one named Medora, the exceptionally beautiful slave girl he falls in love with at a bazaar where she is being traded. Conrad steals her from her new owner, the pasha, and kidnaps the slave trader as well.

Conrad swears to Medora that he will help free the other slave girls. His friend, Birbanto, refuses to help, not liking the idea of stealing property from and interfering in the pasha’s business. Instead, Birbanto makes a deal with the trader to return Medora to the pasha, stages a mutiny, and drugs Conrad with a rose sprayed with a sleeping potion.

When Conrad awakes, he is distraught to find Medora missing; Birbanto claims not to know who rebelled against him. “X” may not mark the spot, but a plan develops to rescue Medora.

Known historically for its pas de deux (dance of two) sequence, this is the school’s first production of the Le Corsaire ballet.