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(More customer reviews)Finally, Matthew Bourne's innovative production of Tchaikovsky's SWAN LAKE is available on DVD. This is not a camp send-up of the balletic war horse, but a modern, freshly imagined telling of a tale of enchantment, betrayal, disenchantment, and release. What most people already know about this production is that the swans and cygnets are performed by male dancers, that the choreography emphasizes the aggressive rather than the graceful movements in swans' repertoire, and that the story is heavily freighted with Freudian implications as it shows a young prince's efforts to break free of his mother's hold (she's part Merry Widow and part Cruella deVil). The viewer who tries to analyze plot points too carefully is heading toward frustration and confusion. (For those who just can't let it alone, there's a helpful on-screen synopsis you can jump to whenever you need it.) The best way to enjoy this production is by focusing on the choreography and the dancing itself. Adam Cooper's nameless Swan is powerful, persistent, and unapologetic. He could be the prince's alter ego, his embodied desires, the id, or just about anything else you'd want to ascribe to him. He woos son and mother with equal conviction. Besides the moments when Cooper is on stage/screen, the choreographic hightlight of this production for me was the dance of the cygnets (pas de quatre). This is a moment of levity in every production of SWAN LAKE, but more so here where the mischievous antics and curiosity of the cygnets are played for all they're worth.
The other thing worth commenting on is the quality of the filming of this live performance. I have usually been disappointed by ballets on film--presentation is often static, or feet and hands get cut out of the picture, or the camera goes in for a close-up at a point when something significant is happening in the choreography. Given the trade-offs, Adventures in Motion Pictures has done an excellent job of capturing all the key choreography while creatively managing close-ups, transitions, and montages. The colors are rich and expressive (the dance of the swans by the lake is bathed in a haunting nocturnal blue). And best of all, the film is completely free of the annoying halos and bizarre shimmerings that always seem to make their way into filmed stage productions.
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Matthew Bourne, director and choreographer of Adventures in Motion Pictures--a maverick new modern dance company based in London--brings a new twist to an old classic with this production of "Swan Lake." Taking advantage of the public's preoccupation with the ups and downs of the royal family, Bourne has set his story in the modern era and has cast all the swans--including the Odette/Odile role--as males. Boutne's creation brings great ballet to an audience it has never before reached, and for cognoscenti offers a new view of the breadth of possibilty in Tchaikovsky's well-loved score. "Swan Lake" enjoyed a sold-out run in London and a subsequent critically acclaimed and public-adored Broadway stint.
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