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Swan Lake – Still Relevant Today

October 17, 2018 by 4dancers

Joffrey’s Victoria Jaiani and Dylan Gutierrez perform Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake. Photo by Cheryl Mann.

by Luis Eduardo Gonzalez

Swan Lake is one of the most loved and mesmerizing classical ballets of all time. The ballet was composed in 1875 and was Tchaikovsky’s first. It debuted in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre and was revamped in 1895, by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in St Petersburg. Over 100 years later it remains a favorite with ballet companies regularly performing it throughout the world. So, what is it that makes a piece of art stand the test of time the way that this ballet has done? Why is it important for a company like Joffrey whose mission statement boasts “commitment to excellence and innovation” be presenting a ballet about rich guy falling in love with a girl trapped in a bird’s body? The truth is if you take the story literally it doesn’t make very much sense at all, but if one takes a moment to appreciate the underlying themes of this story, it’s easy to see just how relevant and maybe even necessary the message behind this story really is right now.

To start, the story has been considerably reimagined by Christopher Wheeldon. Set in the studios of the Paris Opera Ballet, a company dancer falls in love with his beautiful partner, a star ballerina who is being pursued by an arts patron with bad intentions. All of the swan acts may or may not happen in the lead dancer’s very capable imagination. I think what this approach does is highlight the fact that this story is not actually about a man falling for a bird, but actually about a woman trapped in unfavorable circumstances. Traditionally, Odette is trapped in a narrative where she either has to get this prince to to fall in love with her or be forced to live the rest of her life a slave to an evil sorcerer. She is in a situation that leaves her no agency over the trajectory of her life, because those choices are being made for her by men that don’t give a second thought to what she wants. At the end of the ballet Odette disappears between two diagonals of swans. What happens to her beyond that is left to the audience’s imagination, but what is certain is that she ended up away from the circumstances which once seemed to bind her fate.

The Joffrey Ballet performing Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake. Photo by Cheryl Mann.

We are living in a time where people all over the world are demanding change. Like Odette, people are beginning to realize that being deprived of choice in one way or another or being treated with less respect than any individual deserves is no longer acceptable. We see examples in the news every day, and several specifically in the ballet/dance world. We see women being treated like objects, dancers struggling with mental health because of abuse by those that think being in leadership positions gives them the power to treat them like punching bags on which to thrust their own insecurities. The message that Swan Lake can provide to today’s social, professional, and even political climate is that no matter how rigid and unchangeable a situation may seem, or how powerless one may feel there is always room for choice, and there is always agency over the trajectory of our own lives, over our own dancing, over our own decisions.

This ballet has beautiful music, beautiful sets, costumes, choreography, and dancing. Dancing by artists who, even in the confines of the choreography, can still find room to make nuanced choices within the steps. This allows us to use our voices to layer the work that much further by using the experiences we accumulate through the lives we lead and gives us agency over what each performance is going to say. It’s up to us as performers to use every performance to really speak, regardless of what role we’re performing. The responsibility to breathe life into these venerable classics, just like the responsibility to use our voices to better the world, lies completely on the artists and people of our generation.

It is often said that classics are losing their relevance because the character narratives in those ballets are antiquated and no longer reflect anything that our current world can relate to, but this view lacks perspective. It doesn’t take much effort to see that all over the world there are people whose voices are silenced, people who struggle and suffer because of circumstances out of their control, or people who have at one point experienced a broken heart. The ballets may have been created hundreds of years ago, but we that still perform them they are very much living in the present, living in the world, and experiencing all its current complexities. As for Siegfried, at the end of the ballet he wakes from his “dream,” and sees that this beautiful creature that was suffering through injustice, is a real woman and is in a very real way still being taken advantage of. The ballet ends with him having this new-found perspective that he didn’t have prior to his imaginative moment, and in a way is a call to action for him as well as the audience to go out and do something about it.


See Christopher Wheeldon’s version of Swan Lake for yourself! Joffrey’s performance run opens tonight. Tickets are available here – and it runs through October 28th.


Luis Eduardo Gonzalez
Joffrey’s Luis Eduardo Gonzalez, Photo by Cheryl Mann

Contributor Luis Eduardo Gonzalez joined The Joffrey Ballet in July 2015.

Mr. Gonzalez, is originally from Bogota, Colombia, where he grew up before moving to Atlanta, Georgia. His training came primarily from the continued direction of Maniya Barredo, former prima ballerina of Atlanta Ballet, and current director of Metropolitan Ballet Theatre. Mr. Gonzalez has received the Star Student award at Regional Dance America’s SERBA, been awarded 3rd place at the Regional Youth American Grand Prix competition in 2008, given first place pas de deux at the American Ballet Competition in 2013, and selected to compete as the only representative of Colombia in the 2014 Jackson International Ballet Competition.

Mr. Gonzalez began his professional career with The Houston Ballet II, where he had the opportunity to dance works by Stanton Welch, among other renowned choreographers, as well as tour both nationally and internationally. At 18, he joined Orlando Ballet where he danced for three years and performed roles such as the Jester in Swan Lake, Peter in Peter and the Wolf, Ghoul’s trio in Vampire’s Ball, Franz’s friend in Coppelia, and Cavalier in the Sugar Plum Pas de deux in The Nutcracker.

Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: Cheryl Mann, christopher Wheeldon, Jofrrey, Luis Eduardo Gonzalez, odette, odile, siegfried, Story Ballets, swan lake, the joffrey ballet

Dancer Profile: Isabella Boylston

April 13, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Isabella Boylston. Photograph by Rosalie O'Connor. Used with Permission from American Ballet Theatre and Rosalie O'Connor.
Isabella Boylston. Photograph by Rosalie O’Connor. Used with Permission from American Ballet Theatre and Rosalie O’Connor.

“That’s the goal: To really have your expression manifest itself in your movement” –Isabella Boylston

Isabella Boylston began dancing at three and fell in love with ballet at eleven. At that age, her lessons featured live piano music and the opportunity to improvise with silk scarves at the end of class– both out-of-the-ordinary experiences for most ballet classes. Boylston went on to train at Colorado Ballet and the Harid Conservatory in Florida. In 2001, she won the gold medal at the Youth America Grand Prix.

At age 17, she attended the American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive and was asked to join ABT’s studio company. However, her parents wanted her to complete her education first. Boylston said, “We got into a big fight because I wanted to come to New York and they wanted me to finish high school. Eventually we compromised and I got to come halfway through my senior year and I finished high school through correspondence.”

She found the transition from school to company a little jarring a first. In the studio company, she had to learn choreography much faster than she did in school. When she moved up to ABT’s main company, her struggle was to fit into the corps rather than stand out as an individual dancer. But, she rose to the occasion and was promoted to soloist in 2011 and principal dancer in 2014.

Boylston has danced many famous roles from the classical repertoire including Odette/Odile, but her favorite character is Giselle. She explains, “I really relate to Giselle. She’s impulsive and I feel like she’s more like my younger self than me now. I’ve experienced betrayal and it can be quite devastating, but it didn’t kill me. I think in the first act she’s really really lively and vital, experiencing life to the maximum. She opens herself up completely and that makes it all the more tragic when everything comes crashing down.” Boylston believes in ballet’s power to convey complex emotions and its relevancy. She says, “Ballet is such a unique art form. You can say things through dance that you could never express in words, and ballet has the ability to touch people on a deep, abstract level. In some ways, ballet is more valuable now than ever.”

Fun Facts: [Read more…]

Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: abt, american ballet theatre, ballerina, Diana Vishneva, giselle, Isabella Boylston, odette, odile

Images From The Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake

March 19, 2015 by 4dancers

There’s nothing quite like watching a performance of Swan Lake, especially when it is danced beautifully. Tonight, The Royal Ballet will perform this historic ballet on cinema screens across the nation. We are delighted to be able to share some of the beautiful imagery with you here as a “sneak preview” of what is to come…

If you are interested in seeing this production, you can find tickets here.

Natalia Osipova as Odette, Matthew Golding as Prince Siegfried, Swan Lake, ROH, Photo by Alice Pennefather
Natalia Osipova as Odette, Matthew Golding as Prince Siegfried, ROH Swan Lake, Photo by Alice Pennefather
Swan Lake 2012 ROH
Photo courtesy of ROH
Swan Lake 2012 ROH Approved
Photo courtesy of ROH
Natalia Osipova-Odette; Matthew Golding-Prince Siegfried; Gary Avis-Von Rothbart, ROH Swan Lake, Photo by Alice Pennefather
Natalia Osipova-Odette; Matthew Golding-Prince Siegfried; Gary Avis-Von Rothbart, ROH Swan Lake, Photo by Alice Pennefather
SWAN LAKE; The Royal Ballet, Approved
The Royal Ballet, Swan Lake, Photo by ROH Bill Cooper
SWAN LAKE; The Royal Ballet, Approved
The Royal Ballet, Swan Lake, Photo by ROH Bill Cooper
Natalia Osipova as Odette, Matthew Golding as Prince Siegfried, Swan Lake, Photo by Alice Pennefather
Natalia Osipova as Odette, Matthew Golding as Prince Siegfried, Swan Lake, Photo by Alice Pennefather

Disclosure: 4dancers accepts compensation to promote this series.

Filed Under: Dance in the UK, Editorial Tagged With: Gary Avis, Matthew Golding, Natalia Osipova, odette, odile, prince siegfried, royal ballet, swan lake, the royal ballet, von rothbart

Swan Lake: Combining Storytelling With Stamina

October 28, 2014 by 4dancers

Fernando Bufala w Joseph Gatti in Corella Ballet
Ashley Ellis and Joseph Gatti in Swan Lake, photo by Fernando Bufala

Today Boston Ballet‘s Ashley Ellis joins us to talk about how she gets ready to dance the classic ballet Swan Lake. Read more from her in the coming months as she authors posts for us as a contributing writer to the site…


Dancing the role of Odette/Odile is an incredible challenge for any dancer. What steps do you take to prepare your body for this role?

Dancing the dual role of Odette/Odile is a challenge in various ways. There is the obvious technical challenge that most full-length classical ballets demand. However, Swan Lake is different in that to dance this ballet the ballerina is required to portray two characters that are completely opposite of one another.

When preparing to dance either Odile or Odette I like to start with my arms. The style of the upper body is quintessential to becoming a swan. Like with dancing any role, but especially Odette/Odile, I like to spend a bit of time before rehearsal or a show just to gear my body up for the specific style it will have to feel. I go through the movements so that when I have to dance it feels more organic. When I enter in the second act I don’t want to have to think about if my arms are making the right lines, I want to think about how I feel at that moment with my partner and the music.

So until I feel that I have these extreme and sometimes contorted positions feeling more organic in my own body I am constantly checking in the mirror to see what line the public will see. For me this comes with time as I’m working on the role. Each day my muscles remember more and I have to think less about the positions.

Then it is important to build stamina, so as we approach the shows, I like to run each act to build strength.

Black Swan Pas with Joseph Gatti
Ashley Ellis and Joesph Gatti dance the Black Swan pas de deux, photo by Fernando Bufala

What do you do to make each character (Odette and Odile) unique?

Each swan, the white and the black, the good and the evil, represents a completely opposite identity from the other. I try to embody the characteristics of each and do my best not to let them bleed together. I take on each role and try to let them shine through my movements. For example, Odette is a kind spirit, embodying love. However she is not weak, she is still a proud swan queen.

Odile on the other hand shows up in the 3rd act with Von Rothbart and carries out her actions under his command. Her mission is to trick the prince into swearing his love for her. To bring this role to life I try to use my eyes and more commanding movement to show strength and lure the prince in.

It does require a moment though to calm down going into 4th act after running off stage from the high of dancing the black swan–especially because in this act Odette is heartbroken.

When getting coached by the incredible, Larissa Ponomarenko, she constantly reminds me as I execute my steps that although I may be creating an esthetically pleasing classical line with my arms, that I look human, and “at this moment you are a swan.”

What is your rehearsal schedule like for this ballet?

Well, at Boston Ballet we are often working on various ballets at the same time. We just finished putting together Lady of the Camellias as well as various shorter pieces for later in the season. So things can get a little bit crazy, and some days going from contemporary into classical makes it especially challenging. The most important thing is to go into each rehearsal focused on the role to be mastered. So much of dance is about being mentally prepared.

As we get closer to the performances I like to run the ballet in order, beginning with second act and going to black and then back to white. It is so important to build stamina. It’s funny because I find that I tend to stress about not having stamina, but I know in the end I will get there. The feeling of not being able to get through a variation, ballet, or whatever is so daunting. It’s never easy, but it can get easIER.

IMG_4688
Ashley Ellis as Odette, photo by Fernando Bufala

You have danced Swan Lake before, but Petipa’s version. How is Mikko Nissinen’s version different?

Like the version I danced previously, Mikko’s has the same classical base, with variations in the steps that he has chosen to apply to make it his own. I do find it interesting to see how the ending changes from version to version; if they die, or live happily after, or in some, they even die and then rise up into the clouds. I don’t think I’m supposed to reveal the ending of this version because it is NEW, and he probably wouldn’t like it if I spilled the beans. Haha!

There are many beautiful, interesting, and original touches in Robert Perdziola’s design and it is sure to be stunning. I can’t wait to see the production on stage; I know it will definitely be worth coming to see.

Swan Lake has such beautiful music. Is there a particular section of the score that you find you gravitate toward?

One of my favorite moments is the introduction to the Black Swan Pas de deux. The music begins while we are still off stage and then we fly on from the wing together. From the very beginning it gives me such a feeling of strength and command.

In terms of your pointe shoes – how do you prepare them for Swan Lake, and how many pairs will you use in a performance?

I definitely want good shoes, and will most likely wear a different pair for each act. Not a new pair for each act, because they will be broken in and worn just enough that they are ready to provide what I need. They have to have good support because there is so much technical dancing throughout the whole ballet.

As Odette I like to have supportive shoes but they should be well broken in. There is a lot of running around as well as movement that is very controlled so I need to be able to really feel the floor. As Odile I can wear a slightly harder pair. There are a lot of turns throughout the pas, variation, and coda and I need to know they will support me until the end.

sitting swan by Hoggerandco
Ashley Ellis in costume for Boston Ballet’s Swan Lake, photo by Hogger & Co.

What do you find to be the most difficult part of dancing this ballet, and what do you do to cope with it?

The stamina is quite hard, but it is more than just doing the steps and getting through to the end. It is so important to make everything seamless, while maintaining your portrayal of a swan, and on top of that telling a story. So the hardest part is doing all of this at once. I find that the best way to achieve this is to spend time on it.

It sounds simple, but spending time moving like a swan and listening to the music, and thinking of how the character feels at that moment within the ballet is the best way for me to prepare.

What is the thing that you enjoy most about dancing this ballet?

I love dancing both Odette and Odile so much, the challenge to becoming both is quite exciting. I love various aspects of becoming each character. On a physical level, although the dancing is very classical, the style feels quite freeing. Also, for me the music really brings both characters to life. You can really hear the emotions through each composition; from the tranquil feeling of Odette when she is all alone in her entrance to how frantic she is when the prince startles her, to the second act pas where she is falling in love, but is torn because of the spell cast on her. Tchaikovsky carries you through all of these emotions. Then for Odile, I feel thrown at a high speed onto the stage with the entrance of the 3rd act pas; the music screams grandeur and power.


Boston Ballet will be performing Mikko Nissinen’s Swan Lake from October 30th through November 16th. See Ashley Ellis bring Odette and Odile to life on stage. View the rest of the company’s offerings for the season here.


Boston Ballet's Ashley Ellis
Boston Ballet’s Ashley Ellis

Contributing writer Ashley Ellis is a principal dancer at Boston Ballet. Ellis hails from Torrance, California and she received her dance training at the South Bay Ballet under the direction of Diane Lauridsen. Other instruction included Alicia Head, Mario Nugara, Charles Maple, and Kimberly Olmos.

She began her professional career with American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company and later joined American Ballet Theatre as a company dancer. In 1999, Ellis won the first prize at the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award, and went on to become the recipient of the Coca Cola scholarship award in 2000 and 2001. She has performed in Spain with Angel Corella’s touring group and joined Corella Ballet in 2008 as a soloist. In 2011, Ellis joined Boston Ballet as a second soloist. She was promoted to soloist in 2012 and principal dancer in 2013.

Her repertoire includes Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty; Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker; Natalia Makarova’s  La  Bayadère;  Marius  Petipa’s  Swan Lake; Christopher Wheeldon’s DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse, VIII and Polyphonia; Harald Lander’s Études; Michel  Fokine’s  Les  Sylphides;  Rudolf  Nureyev’s Don Quixote; Christopher Bruce’s Rooster; George Balanchine’s  Serenade,  Coppélia,  Symphony  in Three Movements, Symphony in C, and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux; Clark Tippet’s Bruch Violin Concerto; Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room; Stanton Welch’s Clear; Angel Corella’s String Sextet; Wayne McGregor’s Chroma; Jorma Elo’s Awake Only; Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free; Jiří Kylián’s Wings of Wax, Symphony of Psalms, and Petite Mort.

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: Ashley Ellis, ballerina, black swan, black swan pas de deux, Bostone Ballet, lady of the camellias, Mikko Nissinen, odette, odile, petipa, swan lake, white swan

Conducting Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake

October 3, 2014 by 4dancers

Joffrey swan lake
Dylan Gutierrez & Jeraldine Mendoza, Photo by Cheryl Mann

Conductor Scott Speck is with us to talk about the music of one of the most famous ballets of all time–Swan Lake. He has been in rehearsal with Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet, and they will open October 15th doing Christopher Wheeldon’s version of this ballet classic. We’re excited to share a deeper look at this wonderful Tchaikovsky piece with you here…

This is one of the big story ballets. Is there more preparation involved in conducting a piece like this than in doing a mixed rep program? Why or why not?

More preparation is involved, but not because it is big. This is one of the most specific​ ballets of all time, meaning that this ballet has an inordinate number of special moments, solos, pas de deux (and trois and quatre….) that require very specific attention to what the dancers are doing onstage. In addition, each dancer has a personal mode of expression within the choreography, and my goal is to create the musical backdrop to support that expression and allow it to shine. For that reason, each moment requires several different kinds of preparation–and that makes Swan Lake one of the trickiest pieces to conduct in the whole history of ballet.

Tchaikovsky’s music is well-known and well liked. Can you talk a bit about him as a composer?

Tchaikovsky was the essence of the Russian Romantic era. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and his unforgettable melodies are full of the most honest expression. It’s like listening to an old friend pour his heart out to you. I think that’s why people love Tchaikovsky so much.

It was with pieces like Swan Lake, his first work for the Bolshoi Ballet, that Tchaikovsky burst upon the musical scene. He was very influenced by Ludwig Minkus, his extremely talented and facile (yet much less deep) predecessor at the Bolshoi. Minkus’s clever and tuneful music to La Bayadere, which the Joffrey performed last fall, had recently premiered.​ Minkus was a master of miniatures–those wonderful short characteristic movements that create a mood and atmosphere in a very short period of time–and in Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky was able to try his hand at the form. Although his “foreign”-sounding characteristic dances–Spanish, Neopolitan, Hungarian. etc.–are probably not as idiomatic as those of Minkus, Tchaikovsky allowed his true character to show in the body of the ballet.

And so, in most of Swan Lake, you hear the same personality that you can hear in the 6 symphonies, multiple operas, concertos and tone poems that Tchaikovsky is famous for. In other words–when he wasn’t trying to imitate Minkus directly, he appeared clearly as the immortal composer that he was.

Joffrey worked with choreographer Christopher Wheeldon on this version of the ballet. Is there anything different here musically?

Yes, We are still using the original Tchaikovsky, but Chris has created a more streamlined version of the ballet–it moves very excitingly from beginning to end. Some of the movements are in a different order​ than listeners may expect, but all the favorite melodies are intact, Most ballet companies do cut the music somewhat, as the full score would take about three hours to play.

Is there anything that the audience can listen for musically in terms of distinguishing Odette and Odile?

The character of Odette is presented as very elegant and poised, with great control; and Odile is very confident, with bravura technique. To a certain extent this is reflected in the music. For example, both the White Swan (Odette) and Black Swan (Odile) have a pas de deux with young Siegfried, and each pas de deux features a violin solo. In the White Swan Pas de Deux, the violin solo is extremely elegant and mingles beautifully with cello and harp. But in the Black Swan Pas de Deux, there are moments of astounding virtuosity for the violin. But other than that, I think that most of the distinguishing characteristics are visual.

What are the most challenging parts of this ballet in terms of the orchestra?

We are so lucky to have the Chicago Philharmonic, which has been called one of the nation’s finest symphonic orchestras, playing for us in the pit. These musicians can really do anything. My challenge will be the communicate the specific needs of the stage, with my baton, to musicians who cannot see the dancers. That communication will be most important in the pas de deux and solo movements, which can vary the most from show to show. These movements will require the most lightning-quick reflexes from all of us.

What do you enjoy most about conducting this ballet?

The opportunity to hear Tchaikovsky’s glorious music — ten times!​

Joffrey’s Swan Lake runs from October 15th through October 26th at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre.


scott speck
Scott Speck

With recent performances in London, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, Contributor Scott Speck has inspired international acclaim as a conductor of passion, intelligence and winning personality.

Scott Speck’s recent concerts with the Moscow RTV Symphony Orchestra in Tchaikovsky Hall garnered unanimous praise. His gala performances with Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Midori, Evelyn Glennie and Olga Kern have highlighted his recent and current seasons as Music Director of the Mobile Symphony. This season he also collaborates intensively with Carnegie Hall for the seventh time as Music Director of the West Michigan Symphony. He was recently named Music Director of the Joffrey Ballet; and he was invited to the White House as Music Director of the Washington Ballet.

In recent seasons Scott Speck has conducted at London’s Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Paris Opera, Washington’s Kennedy Center, San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House, and the Los Angeles Music Center. He has led numerous performances with the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Houston, Chicago (Sinfonietta), Paris, Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, Vancouver, Romania, Slovakia, Buffalo, Columbus (OH), Honolulu, Louisville, New Orleans, Oregon, Rochester, Florida, and Virginia, among many others.

Previously he held positions as Conductor of the San Francisco Ballet; Music Advisor and Conductor of the Honolulu Symphony; and Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Opera. During a recent tour of Asia he was named Principal Guest Conductor of the China Film Philharmonic in Beijing.

In addition, Scott Speck is the co-author of two of the world’s best-selling books on classical music for a popular audience, Classical Music for Dummies and Opera for Dummies. These books have received stellar reviews in both the national and international press and have garnered enthusiastic endorsements from major American orchestras. They have been translated into twenty languages and are available around the world. His third book in the series, Ballet for Dummies, was released to great acclaim as well.

Scott Speck has been a regular commentator on National Public Radio, the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Voice of Russia, broadcast throughout the world. His writing has been featured in numerous magazines and journals.

Born in Boston, Scott Speck graduated summa cum laude from Yale University. There he founded and directed the Berkeley Chamber Orchestra, which continues to perform to this day. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Berlin, where he founded Concerto Grosso Berlin, an orchestra dedicated to the performances of Baroque and Classical music in a historically informed style. He received his Master’s Degree with highest honors from the University of Southern California, served as a Conducting Fellow at the Aspen School of Music, and studied at the Tanglewood Music Center. He is fluent in English, German and French, has a diploma in Italian, speaks Spanish and has a reading knowledge of Russian.

Scott Speck can be reached at www.scottspeck.org and also at facebook.com/ConductorScottSpeck, and @ScottSpeck1 on Twitter.

Filed Under: Music & Dance Tagged With: ballet music, chicago philharmonic, christopher Wheeldon, joffrey, music & dance, odette, odile, scott speck, swan lake

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