Swan Lake in Social Media
Explore below how social media has turned Swan Lake into a playground for DIY creativity, especially during COVID-19 quarantine, when people globally made their own parodies, performances, and playful reinterpretations, and into today, where the references keep spilling forth.
In early 2026, MusicaParaDespertar, an organization dedicated to providing music therapy to people with Alzheimers, released a video on Instagram showing a former ballerina whose Alzheimers wiped most of her memory. When a music therapist gave her a pair of headphones playing Tchaikovsky's Swan Theme, her hands began to recreate Odette's wing gesture, a testament to the body's memory of dance and Swan Lake's lasting impact. Video courtesy: musicaparadespertar via Instagram
As part of BBC's "Culture in Quarantine" series in 2020, they released a YouTube video featuring 27 elite ballet dancers performing their own bathtub-rendition of Swan Lake. It was choreographed, filmed, and post-produced entirely remotely. Video courtesy: BBC via YouTube
Like every other pop culture phenomenon, Swan Lake and its peripheries are no strangers to viral editing trends on TikTok and Instagram. Here, Swan Lake is clipped with videos of swans being hunted for sport. The edit sits at 1.9M views and 440K likes and counting. Video courtesy: editing.credits via TikTok
Swan Lake was used as a marketing strategy on the West Virginia Symphony's Instagram page. They assigned each birth month to a different Swan Lake character, a popular content format for social media marketers. Video courtesy: wvsymphony via Instagram
In a TikTok skit, creator Zac Jeremiah practices his bungee-fitness skills by improvising a routine to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. In the caption, he pokes fun at himself by calling it a "brown swan blooper." Video courtesy: zacjeremiah via TikTok
Chappell Roan took to Instagram shortly after appearing on the Jimmy Fallon show in 2024 to show off her Swan Lake-inspired outfit. She sported a large feather headpiece, frosty makeup, claw-like nails, and a bedazzled bodice. Image courtesy: chappellroan via Instagram
Snack brand Cheez-It also hopped on the Swan Lake marketing train to promote their product. Tchaikovsky's Swan Theme creates a regal atmosphere for a Cheez-It box to be displayed on top of a mountain of crackers, ready to satisfy customers' "cheesy cravings." Video courtesy: CHEEZIT via YouTube
In April of 2020, Victoria Aletta, Italian principal dancer, hit the streets of Gracia, Barcelona for a spontaneous solo performance of Swan Lake. Later, she shared on Instagram that she sought to bring people together through dance during the pandemic's difficult times. Video courtesy: Victoria Aletta & Arturo Rossi, Caters Clips via Youtube
Comedy influencers Un Par de Ales (@unpardeales) create an optical illusion by dancing side-by-side with half of a Black Swan costume on each person. Image courtesy: unpardeales via Instagram
Kadeem En Pointe (kadeem.enpointe) is an artist who defies the gender binaries of ballet by performing en pointe, something traditionally unheard of for male dancers. Here, Kadeen dances as the Black Swan outside of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Image courtesy: kadeem.enpointe via Instagram