Bourne combines universally known classical pieces with modern content to expand the narrative, which is his signature style of storytelling. It was a visual spectacular, beautifully staged with sets draped in luscious curtains, fairy lights, decadent props that surround the dancers wearing the most stunning costumes bright red, modern, creative and simply astounding. Since 1876, Tchaikovsky's iconic ballet "Swan Lake" has spread its wings to take on many forms, the unique of which was the 1995 production by Matthew Bourne. Part of the fun of watching a Bourne production is in spotting the references. When Matthew Bourne’s version first appeared, at the Sadler’s Wells stage in London in 1995, it turned this story on its head. LONDON — A bright red curtain flutters down. Celebrating 25 Years: Matthew Bourne’s Early Adventures at Sadler’s Wells, May 21. By far the best known of the Bourne revamps is Swan Lake (1995), with its all-male chorus of swans, which became a phenomenal international hit. Directed and Choreographed by Matthew Bourne. These Dancers, unlike Matthew Bourne’s Dancers, don’t require intensive ballet training in order to be the dancers they are as the moves they do are strictly contemporary and gymnastic style movements. Having seen Dorian Gray a couple of years ago, I was not, I admit, much inclined to see another work by Matthew Bourne. He is very good at imagery and comic timing but the story always comes first. He’s an astute businessman, having run his company – previously Adventures in Motion Pictures, now New … Besides the dramatic switching of the swans’ gender, Bourne also adds new settings to the ballet, including a seedy dance club, and even removes pointe shoes from the production entirely. His work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre. Sadler’s Wells, London August 23, 2019. It is called Romeo and Juliet, and it is about a Romeo and a Juliet, but of star-crossed lovers or feuding Capulets and Montagues you will find nothing.Matthew Bourne has made a name for himself with radical re-imaginings of classic tales, and this is no different. Find out more about the New Adventures Artistic Director. Bourne himself has stated in an Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! Born in 1960 in east London, Matthew Bourne was a stage-door regular and autograph hunter as a kid. Bourne talks about his Edward Scissorhands, Edward Scissorhands, Sadler's Wells, London, December 2 – January 18 2009, Oliver!, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London, December 12 – September 26 2009, Mary Poppins, Palace theatre, Manchester, December 11 – March 12 2009, My Fair Lady is currently touring America, Sanjoy Roy profiles the movers and shakers of the dance world, 22 Nov 2011: Step-by-step guide to dance: Jérôme Bel, 16 Dec 2008: Step-by-step guide to dance: The Royal Ballet, 19 Nov 2008: Step-by-step guide to dance: Sankai Juku, As Edward Scissorhands returns to Sadler's Wells, Sanjoy Roy appraises the career of its cutting-edge choreographer, Bradley Wiggins capped his remarkable sporting year by taking home the big prize at the ceremony in London, A glass of wine with a rough sleeper, Santa in trunks, a thousand partying Muscovites … in a My Best Shot special, top photographers pick the image that sums up winter for them, Kimon, an eight-year-old pet female long-tailed monkey, treats a kitten as her baby in Bintan Island, Indonesia, Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! As the creator of the world’s longest running ballet production, Matthew Bourne has earned his title as the most popular and successful choreographer and director in the UK. Throughout the ballet, arch humor, ambiguous sexuality, and accomplished theatricality keep us enthralled. He is the creator of the world’s longest running ballet production, a five - time Olivier Award winner, and the only British director to have won the Tony Award for both Best Choreographer and … Photograph: David Levene For full treatment, see dance: Choreography; dance, Western. In the context of The Red Shoes, romantic ballet and swing dance were predominantly used to help decipher the difference between Bourne’s narrative and the various ‘featured’ ballets presented by Ballet Lermontov such as Les Sylphides and Lermontov’s version of ‘The Red Shoes’. His daring male-swan reimagining wowed… Bourne's rendering is best known for having the traditionally female parts of the swans danced by men. Matthew Bourne’s “Sleeping Beauty” is the last of his trilogy of Tchaikovsky ballets, which took nearly two decades to complete. Does modern dance’s stereotypical serious façade exclude it from exploring Christmas as a theme and embracing the most wonderful time of the year? In his view, he owes it to his audience to make his stories completely understandable." That strange beginning has helped me connect with more people. "Interview with Peter Conrad, the Observer, 2000, "I came from an odd route, really, and I feel that's been my saving grace. Again, this invites new audiences through the development and fusion of new styles and disciplines. He has received multiple awards and award nominations, including the Laurence Olivier Award, Tony Award and Drama Desk Award, and he has also received several Honorary Doctorates of Arts from UK universities. Bourne's early works tended toward witty, campy pastiches; eventually he started a series of showbiz-style reworkings of established ballet classics-a version of The Nutcracker set in an orphanage, and Highland Fling, a new look at Bournonville's La Sylphide transposed to a contemporary Glasgow housing project. Sir Matthew Bourne is an icon in British contemporary dance, who was knighted at the 2016 New Year’s Honours List for his services to dance. I'd get bored if I was doing abstract dance. After Nutcracker, Bourne is on track to tackle a dance version of Edward Scissorhands; but he is also excited by plans to do experimental music theatre at the National. Bourne was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours for … To inaugurate the new year, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Company returned to the Kennedy Center with a new production of his popular retelling of Cinderella.Walking into the theater, patrons are greeted with signs that warn of air raid sirens. Two of Bourne's trusted dancers from the early years of the company - Scott Ambler and Etta Murfitt - are now associate directors of New Adventures. This week we saw Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty gothic style. This shows the sheer strength that the Dancers need in order to lift their own body weight and others, whilst still making it look effortless. Bourne loves to communicate with audiences. Joan Acocella, New Yorker, 2007, "You represent the past, present and future of dance" Shirley MacLaine (just one of many celebrity endorsements at the New Adventures website), "I don't usually go in for this dance malarkey, but that was brilliant." Bourne is a household name within the dance world and people utterly adore him, but to me, he is just an unoriginal choreographer. He has also had hits with musicals (he choreographed Mary Poppins, Oliver!, My Fair Lady) and in theatre (he devised Play Without Words at the National Theatre). Dance history and storytelling is important to choreographer Matthew Bourne, creator of a Swan Lake with an all-male corps of Swans, and an Edward … He has choreographed for West End musicals and done his own play for the National Theatre (Play Without Words). Photograph: Tristram Kenton, The Car Man referenced The Postman Always Rings Twice. The piece begins in 1890 and heads through the golden age of the Edwardian era on for another 100 years. Some of them are from the dance world, but many come from classic cinema (Hollywood musicals, film noir) or popular culture (celebrity gossip, period fashions). In 1968 Matthew Bourne danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a production staged by the Walthamstow Cubs for their annual gang show. This is where Matthew Bourne’s celebrated dance company, New Adventures, puts its work together. No matter how ironic or camp they are, his pieces often contain a deep-felt human fable about transformation or tragedy. "He's better at drama than at steps." The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Opera House Washington, DC. "My skill is as a director of stories, not movement for its own sake. "Judith Mackrell, the Guardian, 2002, "Bourne is the most audience-conscious artist I have ever spoken to, or the one most willing to admit to that concern. ————– The Red Shoes. Matthew Bourne bores me beyond belief. Once upon a time there was a little duckling who became a beautiful swan. Matthew Bourne, British choreographer and dancer noted for his uniquely updated interpretations of traditional ballet repertoire. In his own words. Bourne's movement cleverly conveys the swans' feral nature and pulses with male energy. Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne OBE is an English choreographer. Matthew Bourne's contemporary remake of The Nutcracker is returning to Sadler's Wells Theatre to celebrate its 20th anniversary. He speaks for many.). Set designer Lez Brotherston is Bourne's frequent artistic partner. David Mead. © 2016 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Matthew Bourne's company has performed Swan Lake more times since 1995 than the Royal Ballet has in its entire history. He is a pioneer in taking dance to wider audiences through the medium of film, and ensuring that his works are accessible to a diverse audience base in many different ways. Tom Clark (Carabosse) in Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty (© Johan Persson). But oh, that dance can be so many things and reach so many people.This is Bourne’s gift. Matthew Boune interview: 'It's wonderful that dance is so popular'. When a … Based on the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and the Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tale. I have always said that Bourne is the pantomime of the dance world. All materials contained on this site are protected by Korean copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior consent of Joins.com. Set and Costume design by Lez Brotherston. Jasmin Vardimon explores her observations of … The composition of dance is creative in the same way in which the composition of music is. [LG ARTS CENTER], Dancer Adam Cooper, left, in “The Red Shoes" [LG ARTS CENTER], A scene from Bourne's 2019 ballet "Romeo and Juliet." But to get the true Bourne flavour, you should look beyond dance and towards film and theatre especially. To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts. First staged at Sadler's Wells theatre in … He directed his own mini-musicals at school but didn't take his first dance class until he was 22. Matthew Bourne is widely hailed as the UK’s most popular and successful Choreographer/ Director. A brief treatment of choreography follows. (BBC1) 2007; The Magic of Nutcracker - South Bank Show (ITV) 2011: Swan Lake 3D (Sky Arts) 2011: Matthew Bourne's Christmas (More4) 2012: Imagine - "A Beauty Is Born" [LG ARTS CENTER], A scene from Bourne's 1997 ballet "Cinderella." It was the longest-running ballet in London's West End and on Broadway. Matthew Bourne uses choreographed body language and a variety of dance and movement styles to tell stories, supported by the design and the music. Composer Terry Davies is another regular collaborator, and Bourne's musicals have been produced in partnership with Cameron Mackintosh. All rights reserved. For over 30 years he has been creating and directing dance for musicals, theatre, film as well as his own highly successful, award-winning companies. Her style is founded on her background of Bharatanatyam, a traditional Indian dance form. Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake is a contemporary ballet based on the Russian romantic work Swan Lake, from which it takes the music by Tchaikovsky and the broad outline of the plot. "Interview with Lewis Segal, Los Angeles Times, 2006, "At heart, he is still the eight-year-old kid who staged Mary Poppins from memory with all his mates … He may have matured into a consummate professional, but he hasn't outgrown his fantasies. It may be true, but if Bourne hears it one more time he might keel over and die of boredom. Petipa/Ivanov, and Bourne’s more theatrical version of the ballet. Bourne, who was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to dance, does far more than reinvent well known ballets and operas, of course. Lastly, audiences can diversify by age and experience of dance, which Matthew Bourne is able to do by creating entertaining and witty ballets which can be understood without previous dance study at any age or social status. He has worked for over 30 years creating musicals, opera, films and theatre as well as running his own award-winning companies. 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