aileen Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Did anyone else see this last night? I'm still reeling from the shock of how different it was from traditional versions of Swan Lake. There was not a tutu in sight and the sorrowful, snowy swan corps was replaced by some scary birds in scraggily feathered leotards. The costumes were an eclectic mixture, mainly of breeches, shirts and waistcoats (all one colour but different colours for different dancers) for the men and leotards (one worn with half a skirt) and sometimes shorts, or dresses of different lengths, for the women There were some good bits and some very arresting images and the simple staging was very effective but I felt the lack of the tender or romantic pdds which the music demands and, overall, I felt that the sometimes rather crude choreography did not do justice to Tchaikovsky's magnificent score. The performance was very well received though. There was prolonged and what seemed to be genuinely heartfelt applause for the performers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Northern Ballet announced yesterday that they are to perform Maillot's Romeo and Juliet next year so I, too, would be interested in hearing thoughts on his Swan Lake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 It certainly was different. Here are some pictures from the General Rehearsal on Tuesday. Stephan Bourgond - The Prince, Mimoza Koike - The Queen, Alvaro Prieto - The King and Jeroen Verbruggen - The Prince's Confidant April Ball - Black Swan and Stephan Bourgond - The Prince Anja Behrend - White Swan and Stephan Bourgond - The Prince More pictures on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Maillot's choreography was just very, very different from the traditional choreography and at some points when there was a climax in the music this was not, I felt, reflected in the choreography. On one occasion, when there would normally be a big romantic moment for Odette and the Prince the White Swan just stood there. The story was re-ordered so that the Prince met the Black Swan first and there was a back story about the White Swan being the Prince's childhood playmate who had disappeared and the Black Swan's mother being the king's former lover. There are a number of reviews about previous performances online. The Dancelines one is very comprehensive. One critic (a NYT critic?) hated it. I suspect that Maillot is a bit of a marmite choreographer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 I too, was at the LAC rehearsal. Visually very striking, but strange at the same time (as we're so used to the 'normal' version - which is, lets be honest, pretty bonkers in its own way!!). Anyhoo - a few pics: LAC - Monte Carlo Ballet: Alvaro Prieto, Gaelle Riou (Devorante)© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr LAC - Monte Carlo Ballet: Les Chimeres around the Prince© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr LAC - Monte Carlo Ballet: Stephan Bourgand, Anja Behrend© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more...Set from DanceTabs - LAC - Les Ballets de Monte Carlo Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveclassics Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Doesn't look like my sort of thing but your pictures Dave, as ever, are stunning. Thanks very much. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 "Visually striking, but strange" indeed, Dave. I was particularly surprised to spot Alexis Oliveira on stage. I make that 3 different companies I've now seen him with in London since he left ENB, which must be some sort of record, I'd have thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dancer2027 Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 I love the classics, as a student I have danced swan lake 3 times in different youth companies/schools etc including Russian style, and have seen 4 different swan lake performances. It was a refreshing change, although at times I was Just imagining the original choreography such as my favourite the black swan pas de deux, It was great to push past the boundaries of what I normally expect. Having said that I am looking forward to seeing Coppelia enbs this afternoon, a lovely classic. Also may I add I saw this swan lake with someone who knows very little about ballet and has never seen one, he loved it and was surprised how entertaining he found it. I would say that had he seen the traditional version he may not have been so entertained, with 10 minute long pas de deuxs etc as he cannot really appreciate the technical perfection of the Bolshoi for example. Therefore I think Maillot could be appealing to a new audience and overall I really enjoyed his re interpretation of the classic 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 flutterby, it's interesting to hear about a 'ballet newbie's' opinion on this 'Swan Lake'. I think that the problem for people who have seen or danced 'traditional' versions of Swan Lake is that much of the iconic choreography and imagery is firmly etched in the mind and that it's hard to accept anything else being done. Janet, I believe that PNB has performed Maillot's R&J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Thanks Aileen, I have just found Alastair Macaulay's review of PNB from last year. As I suspected, I have seen this production before danced by Geneva Ballet (when I checked their website they now do a different production). I am sure Northern Ballet's dancers will be wonderful in this production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coated Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 I rather liked Lac. If I had to make a choice of only seeing traditional versions of Swan Lake or Lac, traditional it is, but as a piece of fun Lac is great. It probably helped having read a few comments about it beforehand so I could go in and attempt to watch it as if I'd never seen a Swan Lake before. I was very impressed with a lot of their dancers (someone lost their cast list, so I have no idea who they were) and really loved the staging and costume design (minus a few shiny fabrics and colour choices). The story telling worked for me, and I took away the impression that you only mess with women in Monte Carlo at your own risk - the queen taking care of The Black Swan by semi throttling and then kidnapping her, the 'suitors' having their wicked ways with a slightly intimidated prince in the first act. If I moved to Monaco, I'd happily adopt the company as my new home team and I very much hope that the slightly sluggish sales don't mean this was the last time we've seen them in London. The only thing that really didn't work for me was the expectation mismatch for the music for the usual 32 Fouettes - I didn't miss the Fouettes as such, but if you are including something so iconic in your score, you need to do something that changes expectations, instead of garnering a 'meh'. Oh, and if they do come back, I would love them to bring an Orchestra. Or hire one in London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 I did wonder whether they might have tried, had the Royal Ballet Sinfonia not been playing at Sadler's Wells for Fabulous Beast that week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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