Swan Lake
In 1871 Tchaikovsky was passing the summer in the Ukraine with his sister Alexandra Davydova. It was in her home at Kamenka that he wrote a short ballet about swans for her children to perform. The story of the ballet was based on "The Lake of Swans", a German fairy tale. Tchaikovsky used a musical theme from this children's ballet in the mature Swan Lake. Little else is known of this ballet for children.