The Dying Swan that the dance today is often made to appear to be a variation of "Swan Lake", which she describes as "Odette at death's door." Isabelle says that the ballet is not about a ballerina being able to transform herself into a swan, but about death, with the swan as a metaphor. Pavlova was recorded dancing "The Dying Swan" in a 1925 silent film, to which sound is often added. The short ballet has influenced interpretations of Odette in Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake", particularly during the parting of the lovers in the first lakeside scene. The dance was almost immediately adapted by
Ballet company unlike ballerinas female character dancers do not dance en pointe. The largest ballet company in the world is the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, which employs over 240 dancers, as of 2010. The largest companies in Western Europe and North America employ around one hundred. Many companies have a music director, generally a conductor by profession, though this is often a part-time position. The music director has a lower status in ballet than he has in opera, where he is the head of the company. Freelance conductors are hired to conduct specific productions as and when required. Large companies have their