Sleeping Beauty Rebourne: Matthew Bourne's Gothic Romance at Sadler's Wells, London

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty: a Gothic Romance again proves New Adventures as magnet to audiences with a sell out Christmas season at Sadler's Wells. Originally premiered in 2012,
New Adventures brought back their vampiristic version of the Petipa / Tchaikovsky classic. In his re-telling based on the well-known fairy tales by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm,  Bourne also references the traditional ballet version not only in utilising Tchaikovsky's score, but with numerous choreographic and historical courtesies to the original. Aurora, for example, is borne in 1890 the year Petipa's Sleeping Beauty premiered. In an elegant turn, her coming of age is celebrated in 1911 followed by a hundred years of sleep so that Aurora's awakening happened last night. As with his other performances, Bourne does not merely recount the fairy tale, but mixes contemporary aspects into his version. Years of vampire craze following the Twilight Saga, Vampire Diaries and True Blood series paved the way for Bourne's conversion of elegant French fairies into eerily dark vampires. The division between good and evil fairies now translates into good and evil vampires echoing films such as Interview with a Vampire and its successors.

The entire New Adventures cast give life to Bourne's fluid and passionate choreography. Bourne's sensibility to to Tchaikovsky's master work has the performers use every accent. The ensemble scenes are well laid out and the vampire fairies bow to their balletic ancestors through inclusion of some small choreographic references to the traditional fairy variations of the Petipa version. The vampire ball of the second act is reminiscent of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake's Act III as well as the Parisian vampire theatre of Interview with a Vampire. Ashley Shaw's Aurora is spell bindingly beautiful with attention to detail, supreme musicality and intense passion of a young woman in love. Partnered by Dominic North as Leo the gardener, the pair offer one of the most beautiful versions of the Rose Adagio performed on and around a simple garden bench. North's playful and open demeanour counteracts Adam Maskell's dark and brooding Caradoc. A visual resurrection of Antonio Banderas, Maskell entrances Aurora and audiences into a ritualistic sacrifice. Aided by Count Lilac, Leo rescues Aurora to ensure the fairy tale ending can happen.

A beautiful fairy tale with gothic elements, Sleeping Beauty entertains through passionate dance, romantic imagery paired with an exceptionally talented cast and humours scenes. With its season at Sadler's Wells about to finish, the company and Sleeping Beauty will tour the country to continue their success.




Dr Astrid Bernkopf will talk on Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty as part of the Adaptation and Dance conference 2 March 2016 at DeMontford University, Leicester.

From Swan to Angel: Jonathan Ollivier (1977 - 2015)

'You were a Swan, now you're an Angel' tweets @imprint_dancES as dance makers, practitioners and audiences wake to the news of Jonathan Ollivier's fatal road accident. Ollivier's tragic and untimely death Sunday 9th August 2015 moves dance fans across the world. Since Monday morning, a continuous wave of sympathy sweeps through social media and to a designated contact at New Adventures.

Having trained at Rambert School of Dance, Ollivier became principal dancer at Cape Town City Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre and Alberta Ballet. He toured extensively and was guest artist in the USA, South Africa and Germany. With New Adventures, Ollivier is best known for his charismatic performances of Swan/Stranger in Swan Lake and Luca in The Car Man. Ollivier was awarded an honorary fellowship by the Dance Critics' circle and nominated Best Young Male Dancer (2003) and Best Male Dancer (2004).

Described by colleagues and audiences as warm, respectful and charming person, Ollivier took his time to chat to his audiences. The power and strength of Ollivier's stunning performances moved audiences and serves as inspiration to the next generation of dancers. Ollivier's legacy will live on in his performances and the hearts of family, colleagues and dance audiences.




 

Hottest ticket in town: Matthew Bourne's The Car Man (Saddler's Wells, London)

Matthew Bourne and his New Adventures prove that a British summer can be scorching hot. With its tale of passion, lust and murder, The Car Man steams up Sadler's Wells and now goes into its final week of performances. Originally premiered in 2000 with a first revival in 2007, The Car Man draws its audiences into a mesmerising dance thriller following Bourne's style of postmodern re-readings of classic narratives. The story of gypsy Carmen initially published as novella by Prosper Merimee in 1845 set the path for numerous adaptations in different genres including Georges Bizet's well known opera in 1875 and Roland Petit's 1949 ballet version. With Alberto Alonso's 1967 version for the Moscow Bolshoi, Rodion Shchedrin's revised score of Bizet's opera has become the standard accompaniment to this tale of the quintessential seductress. Terry Davies reworked parts of Shchedrin's score adding numbers based on the opera to expand for Bourne's version that now presents a highly rhythmic set of dance numbers compellingly visualised by Bourne's choreography.

In his adaption, Bourne uses his standard repertoire of gender swap to create the highly cinematic narrative of Luca who appears in the American town of Harmony to  seduce Lana the garage owner's wife. Christopher Trenfield's stunning performance as Luca sits well with Zizi Strallen's hypnotic eroticism. Both carry the narrative of murder and revenge through their electrifying connection. Is it Luca who seduces Lana or Lana Luca? The solo variations of both flirt, tease and incorporate humorous moments. Liam Mower excels as underdog Angelo whose desire for Luca creates a love triangle that is rendered into a beautiful duet of two simultaneous solos. His highly skilled change in expression from boyish soft to ice cold and capable of murder equals the iconic dichotomy of black and white swan. The latter results in an eery duet between Angelo and Rita leading to a surprising show down of the narrative.

Manifold cinematic influences flow into the performance with The Postman always rings twice as the most prominent one. American stereotypes in costume and visuals appear together with a drunk car race echoes various US films. At moments, imagery is reminiscent of James Dean and his era. The Spanish tones of the score are masterfully choreographed into the American setting by Bourne's skill and attention to detail. Highly rhythmic movement visualises the accompaniment by presenting fast paced and fluid patterns. Spanish rhythms are translated into American folk dances offering a stylised version of these. Most memorable image, however, is the steaming hot shower scene of part one. Luckily, ice cream is readily available during the interval to cool down and refresh.

With the last performances sold out, Bourne and his New Adventures prove themselves magnets to audiences through superb entertainment and astonishing performances. A live recording of the performance will be broadcast tonight Monday 3rd August at 8pm on SkyArts for those fans that were disappointed in getting tickets.
   

Dancing Topiaries - Edward Scissorhands' return to UK stages

Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands made its return to UK stages. The performance, originally created in 2005, follows the main plot of Tim Burton's film. With some scenes revised and the ending still offering audiences snowfall in the auditorium, Bourne offers a feel good performance for the entire family. In its setting American setting Bourne offers audiences a 1950s feel of the Rock'n'Roll area with stunning group choreographies. The performance includes wonderful dream-like scenes such as the cheerleader posters coming alive in Edward's dream and a dancing topiary to have audiences hold their breath. At large, this work of Bourne's rather remains with pedestrian movement and gestural scenes.  Especially, Edward's movement material is constraint by his scissor hands. Yet, the constant fiddling with blades and the metallic sound these created in the original film translates well onto stage where the prop similarly resounds over the music to highlight Edward's emotions and agitation. New Adventures again manages to rapture audiences with this treat that has gone on to tour the UK and bring a spell of magic to the country.