American Ballet Theatre's Swan Lake

If I can’t live by the rules of classical ballet then I shouldn’t go, but still I must gripe and after all, what is a blog for? First I will tell you that the American Ballet Theatre’s production of SWAN LAKE (having premiered in 2000) is beautifully designed by Zack Brown––looking like a Monet painting. There is also the treat of having sixty pieces play one of the most famous ballet scores known to man. The main theme pops up in all kinds of media––used several times in the earliest Universal Horror films such as DRACULA and THE MUMMY. On Broadway we hear the theme in the “Dream Ballet” of BILLY ELLIOT. The score continues to be stirring and haunting. It is rich with dramatic possibilities––possibilities that have not been explored in the recent incarnation choreographed by Kevin McKenzie (though based on an older traditional staging). The story as described in the program notes is much more detailed than what is realized on stage. What occurs on stage is a mere sketch of a story to barely hold together a series of bravado solos and presentational group dances. The famous Act II with the swans is only a novelty of white tutus making various formations. Pretty––yes. Theatre––no. Of course there is an audience looking at a stage with performers of grace and stunning ability––and we are indeed in a theater building––but there is very little dramatic action. This “newer” staging really means a new set and costume design. Otherwise it is still stuck in the 19th Century. This is my gripe and I won’t be able to change the Ballet, but I wish today’s choreographers would reimagine these old ballets because something very exciting could come out of this dynamic score.

When Matthew Bourne came along in the late 1990s with his reimagined SWAN LAKE it was a revelation. He told the same story (nearly), but gave the characters motivations, objectives, tactics, and still found room to show off the athletic technique of the ballet dancer. Story came first and then dance and the blend was satisfying as both theatre and a dance exhibition. In fact, this fall we will be seeing a remounting of Matthew Bourne’s SWAN LAKE at the New York City Center. No one else is taking Mr. Bourne’s cue. He seems to be the only one bringing the staging of classic ballets into the 21st Century––we certainly aren’t getting it from the New York companies. Shakespeare’s plays are constantly revived and they are always reimagined. To see them in a “traditional” staging at this point is actually a novelty. It is a wonder that the Ballet is mostly cemented in the past.