CMU School of Drama


Monday, July 30, 2012

French Dance Company Puts Real Swans on Stage for 'Swan'

PRI's The World: The story of Swan Lake, the classic tale of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse, has been interpreted in countless ways since Pyotr Tchaikovsky first composed the ballet score in 1875. Who could forget Natalie Portman’s haunting performance in the 2010 psychological thriller, Black Swan. And now there is a new twist on the ballet.

3 comments:

Zach Hall said...

I have personally been chased by a swan, and I can tell you that they are scary. I find it cool to see that they have put swans on stage to make the show more interesting, I just worry that the dancers have been abused by the swans. Either way, I like the sound of this show and I wish I could go and see it.

Adelaide Zhang said...

It's certainly an interesting idea, using real swans on stage, but it also seems to be just a step away from being a tactic to gain interest. Something as unpredictable as having live animals might distract too much from the actual dance performance, that which people generally pay to see. There is, of course, the possibility that the show could also become something entirely different from a typical dance show, and there's no saying what the show will really be like without seeing it -- but either way, there is definitely at least some potential for an idea like this.

Emily Potter said...

The ambition that this company is showing through this is really stunning, and hopefully it works out. Swans are temperamental creatures, as evidenced by Zach's comment, and hopefully their performances will be consistently awesome. Although theatre does teach the benefits of serendipity, so it could definitely turn out unexpectedly interesting. It also harkens to the days when realism was in vogue, with live flowers on the stage being replaced by swans. However it turns out, it will be interesting.