The National Ballet of Canada’s Swan Lake: Choreographer James Kudelka imparts vivid new life, depth, and complexity to a 19th-century ballet classic. All performances feature the NAC Orchestra.
James Kudelka’s reinterpretation of Swan Lake restates the ballet’s essentially fable-like character but also unearths a wealth of provocative, passionate ideas. This Swan Lake departs in a number of ways from the classic love story between a Prince and a Swan Queen. The choreographer adds lots of sexual politics and dark psychological complexity to the scenario, with violence lurking around the edges and a near-apocalypse resulting from the hero’s perceived infidelity. The Globe and Mail’s Paula Citron called it “radically different … a work of endless fascination.”
Kudelka has described himself as "a conscientious observer" whose dances are meditations on the timeless themes of love, sex, and death. In an innovative prologue to Swan Lake, the major figure of evil wizard Rothbart (massively winged, like an avenging angel) is introduced. Prince Siegfried, the hero, is heir to a troubled kingdom, a rotting place awash in decadence. In Act I, male hunters perform a technically demanding, testosterone-driven version of the famous Swan Lake waltz. The lone female, a serving girl, is assaulted at the end of the act. As the main love interest, Kudelka insists that the White Swan Odette is indeed a bird and not an enchanted princess. Another Kudelka innovation comes in the form of a violent flood which destroys the brutal court. A visual marvel, we see large sheets of cloth pour over the stage in billowing ripples, creating a tumbling mass of water. As the waves recede we see the ruin of the castle in the background and sinister black swans (handmaidens to Rothbart) quietly floating on the lake.
James Kudelka served as The National Ballet of Canada’s Artistic Director from 1996 to 2005, when he left to open a bakery in southern Ontario. More recently, he has been working with Ballet British Columbia and as resident choreographer with Toronto’s Coleman-Lemieux & Compagnie. The NBC’s 2013-14 season includes a premiere of a new piece by Kudelka – his first work created for the National since his departure -- as well as his Cinderella, Nutcracker, and Swan Lake. During his tenure, James Kudelka reworked big story ballets for contemporary audiences and his legacy as Canada’s most renowned choreographer of classical ballet is secure. “We have a huge inventory of his works,” Artistic Director Karen Kain has said. “[He gave] us versions of the classics that would anchor our seasons and give us generations of dancers who would measure themselves against these productions.”
For a lighter look at the ballet, here is a video excerpt from Swan Lake by the all-male Compañía Cómica Ballet con Humor de Buenos Aires: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ8OQcg6OAo
The National Ballet of Canada perform Swan Lake in Southam Hall on Thursday January 30, Friday January 31, and Saturday February 1 at 8 p.m.