Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
For anyone unfamiliar with this modern take on Swan Lake, this performance will come as a shock. Gone are the delicate, feminine swans danced by women poised in their pointe shoes, replaced by strong men, half-naked to the waist, bedecked in feathery shorts and wild, powerful moves. It's not the ballet most people think of when, if, ballet comes to their mind. It's bold and breath-taking. Even when the lead dancer isn't as strong as he should be.
All in all, I loved the show, but there were a few disappointments with the tour version of this ballet. There was no live orchestra. Canned music at a ballet? Logistically, I understand the reasons for it, and there were a few cues that were pretty tight, but still! So having the music piped out through speakers left me a little cold, but I got over it.
Upon entering the Regent Theatre (Melbourne), we were greeted with this sight:
The other disappointment, as I alluded to before, was the lead dancer, the swan. In the DVD that I have, Adam Cooper is the Swan and I adore it. The Prince is a minor, and irritating, character in this recording of the ballet. The Swan is all charisma, wild power and animal magnetism. You really understand this swan. Alan Vincent, however, was less convincing, shaky on more than several poses and just not "there." This time, it was the Prince, danced by Dominic North, that really stood out. He was really impressive. Perhaps, being the understudy (we went to the Sunday matinée), he had something to prove. And he did, in spades.
I've seen it on DVD, and while the performance in the recorded version is more polished and has better dancers, it does lack the immediacy of seeing it in person. So despite these minor disappointments, it was a fantastic show and worth every penny my friend spent on it! I'm so happy I was given the opportunity to catch this tour. Bec, if you ever read this blog, THANK YOU.
