Swan Lake Matthew Bourne

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake

I had never seen this version of Swan Lake seeing it however, has developed my understanding of ballet and given me a wider perspective of the different ways a traditional ballet can be presented. I had heard this production described as the ‘gay` ballet therefore, I was a little uncertain of what I should expect. It was helpful to watch the documentary on Hardtalk as it gave me a greater understanding of his background and how he actually wanted the production to be viewed; that the Prince is drawn by the freedom and beauty of the male swan not necessarily in a sexual way. Bourne really feels that the most important thing is the story he doesn’t want the story to be written in the programme but the story needs to be on stage. I understand what he means because often when watching traditional ballet the details of the story line are not clear.

I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the performance it was very different to the traditional story line of Swan Lake, I felt that it was far more like a theatre performance than a ballet. The way they danced was more of a combination of ballet and contemporary dance there was no point work. The emotions are shown so clearly between the characters something which was really lacking in the first Swan Lake performance we watched. The scenes between the Prince and his mum are so powerful the way he just wants to hug her to feel that emotional bond however, she completely rejects him. Comparing this to the way the swan allows and shows him to move as he does.

There is not that magical feeling to the production which is essential to the traditional Swan Lake, I feel this practically highlighted by the scene when we first encounter the swans. It is set in a park with no eerie mist over the lake. This for me shows that there is no real sexual tension between the swan and the Prince because they are real swan’s not magical swans which turn into men at midnight.

The costumes where beautiful but not at all like the traditional ballet costume they where elegant without being over the top and highly decorated. The Queen’s costumes reminded me of the 50s style the circle style skirt allowed for a lot of movement. I liked the way they altered the costumes so that they went from being servants to courtiers, just by changing the accessories. The costumes are unified in the colour palette of blacks, whites and reds this means that the whole performance has one style unlike the first Swan Lake we saw where the colours went from being pastels to bright colours. The male swan costumes where very masculine although we didn’t get the full impact of how the tassels moved because we watched it on film.

I feel that watching all these different ballet productions of Swan Lake has enabled me to develop my own view of what ballet is and whether it is just about the point work and tutus or is it about the telling of stories. Although I did miss the classical style of ballet I did enjoy this production for his humour and strong emotions which where conveyed so powerfully through every look and dance move.