At the palace the royal family and their guests are gathered for prince siegfried s birthday celebrations in a majestic ceremony siegfried is made a knight and young girls try to attract his attention as he must choose a wife during the ball overcome by the sudden awareness of his future responsibilities he escapes into the night and meets a strange flock of swans by a magical lake white swan by day human by night the beautiful odette awaits an oath of true love to break the curse on he