My recent exposure to The Car Man of choreographer slash director Matthew Bourne sent me to my Netflix queue to move Bourne's Swan Lake up the list. Yes, the homo-eroticism of both pieces is not lost on me and there-in lies at least part of my interest (I won't say which part).
Swan Lake made a big splash on both sides of the pond and ran on Broadway for several months--something unheard of for ballet. But this is not just ballet. While Bourne's choreography in The Car Man is firmly in the modern dance vein, his Swan Lake includes more styles, at least to my untrained eye. There is certainly ballet, but also modern, some variations on ballroom, and a send-up of historical dance.
The story told here is one of a lonely and confused young prince who is dominated by his cold mother, manipulated by the royal press secretary and uncommitted to his lower-class girl-friend. As he is about to throw himself into the lake, swans come to life as bare-chested men. The prince becomes enamored of the lead swan. Whether this is an hallucination by the prince is up to the viewer, I suppose. After not drowning himself, the prince attends a ball where a young man who looks just like the lead swan is announced to be his mother's fiance. The still confused prince becomes violent and is sedated and taken to his room. There he hallucinates again about the swans. When his mother returns to check on him, the prince is either dead or catatonic and we see him with the lead swan through the bedroom window. I've never seen a traditional telling of the story, so I can't say how Mr. Bourne has changed the story (apart from the gender switches).
Swan Lake made a big splash on both sides of the pond and ran on Broadway for several months--something unheard of for ballet. But this is not just ballet. While Bourne's choreography in The Car Man is firmly in the modern dance vein, his Swan Lake includes more styles, at least to my untrained eye. There is certainly ballet, but also modern, some variations on ballroom, and a send-up of historical dance.
The story told here is one of a lonely and confused young prince who is dominated by his cold mother, manipulated by the royal press secretary and uncommitted to his lower-class girl-friend. As he is about to throw himself into the lake, swans come to life as bare-chested men. The prince becomes enamored of the lead swan. Whether this is an hallucination by the prince is up to the viewer, I suppose. After not drowning himself, the prince attends a ball where a young man who looks just like the lead swan is announced to be his mother's fiance. The still confused prince becomes violent and is sedated and taken to his room. There he hallucinates again about the swans. When his mother returns to check on him, the prince is either dead or catatonic and we see him with the lead swan through the bedroom window. I've never seen a traditional telling of the story, so I can't say how Mr. Bourne has changed the story (apart from the gender switches).
Like Will Kemp (who is in the corps de ballet here, but later danced the lead swan) from The Car Man, Adam Cooper is a lovely, communicative dancer and very sexy as the lead swan/mother's fiance. He takes the brunt of the dance time, too, as Scott Ambler as the prince is a much more passive role and is often watching the action rather than making it occur. I was also struck by Mr. Ambler seeming too old for the role. This wouldn't have been an issue if I were seeing it on stage, but in close-ups, Mr. Ambler does not appear to be a spring chicken--er, swan. Fiona Chadwick as the prince's mother does some lovely dancing and has a great wardrobe.
I have to say this is not entirely a positive image for gay identity. The prince is ashamed and confused by his attraction to swan/fiance man. At several points the prince is mocked by taunting crowds. He becomes defensive and violent and only in death does he get his lover. The male swans are also very protective of the lead swan, and rather violent toward the prince, not allowing him and the swan to come together in the bedroom scene.
Isn't that just like a bunch of catty swans?
Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
Music by Tchaikovsky
Story and Choreography by Matthew Bourne
Cast: Adam Cooper, Scott Ambler, Fiona Chadwick
Isn't that just like a bunch of catty swans?
Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
Music by Tchaikovsky
Story and Choreography by Matthew Bourne
Cast: Adam Cooper, Scott Ambler, Fiona Chadwick
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