Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty

Ballet, in my opinion, is one of the worlds greatest art forms and I just find it amazing how much it emotion it can bring to the audience and how it can manage to tell a story with dance, set, costume and no words.

This Christmas BBC2 played the New Adventure’s Sleeping Beauty. Although I went to see this last year with some girlfriends it was also lovely to watch it in my sitting room with family and to me it really showed a dramatic difference between live viewing and TV. On one hand I would say going to watch it live, like anything, is so much better in the sense that atmosphere from the audience is buzzing and there is nothing more dramatic than listening to a live orchestra play Tchaikovsky’s score- it never fails to give me goose bumps. However, watching it on TV was great as it allowed me to see the close up details of costume which, as a student studying costume for performance, is something I really appreciate. The costumes really do look different close up and from a distance which is helping me understand more why there is such a difference between designing for theatre or film & TV.

A few months ago I went with my classmates backstage to see the costumes (designed by Philip Prowse) for Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty and then to see it live the following evening. It was fun to see the costumes in the flesh and then on stage but also incredibly interesting to see how different they looked from a distance. The classical ballet costumes were stunning but completely different compared to Lez Brotherston’s for Matthew Bourne’s choreography.

Birmingham Royal Ballet's Sleeping Beauty.
Note the use of block colour in the costumes to create distinctive shapes that can be seen from a distance and that compliment the choreography.

Birmingham Royal  Ballet's Backstage Costume Department.
Even in costumes for stage, designers include stunning
embellishments and trimmings that are picked up in the light when
on stage.

Birmingham Royal  Ballet's Backstage Costume Department

Matthew Bourne finally finished his trio of Tchaikovsky’s ballets with Sleeping Beauty last year and his interpretation of The Nutcracker 1992 in and Swan Lake in 1995. I went to see was Swan Lake I think in 2007 and I was absolutely blown away by his innovative and genius choreography combined with Tchaikovsky’s score. Instead of the classical female swans in pretty white tutus he uses male swans in tasselled breeches to resemble feathers and a bare chest which not only adds a particularly raw quality to the performance but enhances the dance moves as the lighting reflects on their muscles as they move. This one of his in particular is a must see!

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.
Tasselled breeches are cleverly used to resemble feathers and the bare chest adds a particularly raw quality to the performance.

His take on Sleeping Beauty involved vampires and fairies with a gothic twist that spreads from the Victorian era through to the 21^st Century in three acts. His contemporary choreography isn't too out there so it is good for a younger audience. I couldn't help but notice elements of Michael Jackson's Thriller in the production, particularly in the third act! It is elements like that which makes Bourne's productions so easy and fun to watch and suitable for any audience.

One of the things I love most about Matthew Bourne is the comedic element he brings to all his productions. It must be so difficult to make people laugh at a ballet without it coming across as tacky so I really applaud him for that. So often when I go to watch ballet I usually don’t follow the story and I find myself distracted by the set and costumes – how can you not?! But I always find that I understand the story line a lot better for any of Bourne’s productions.

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty
Costumes by Lez Brotherston

If you are new to ballet or have never been that interested by it, going to see one of the performances by New Adventure’s would be a great place to start. Swan Lake is on at the moment at Sadler's Wells until January 2014. Buy tickets here quick as they sell out fast! Their production of Lord of the Flies (choreographed by Scott Ambler and adapted and directed by Scott Ambler and Matthew Bourne) starts touring in Spring 2014. Check their website for more details.

I leave you with a clip from the BBC with Matthew Bourne and the history of his work.

Akram Khan Company - iTMOi

As a complete contrast to a hip hop show I saw at the beginning of the month (Some Like it Hip Hop), at the end of May my Mum and I were lucky enough to go and see Akram Khan's iTMOi. For those of you who don't know, Akram Khan is an artistic director, choreographer and dancer. You might recognise his work from the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony - in my opinion, the best part of the it! See here. 

However, I have only just discovered that American broadcasters chose not to show his sequence as it was not commercial enough. See here. I am extremely shocked and disappointed to hear this as I really really love his work. 

Akram Khan's sequence in the London 2012 Olymic Opening Ceremony

After reading a few reviews for iTMOi I didn't feel as guilty for admitting that I didn't really understand it! But in my opinion, that is the beauty of dance. I really think that dance is an art so even if the audience don't fully understand it, it can be interpreted in many different ways allowing the mind to wonder and get lost in the performance.

A report of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in 1913

The piece is inspired by Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (iTMOi : In the mind of Igor) celebrating it's 100th anniversary. Now if my understandings are correct when the Rite of Spring premiered on 29th May 1913 it caused an outrage to the point that Stravinsky's dissonant chords and energetic rhythm caused a riot amongst the audience. 

So is it really a bad thing that some (according to reviews) were unimpressed by Khan's iTMOi? The Rite of Spring remains one of the most famous and inspirational ballets over the past century didn't exactly receive a good reception! 

Although I found it hard to follow I still personally thought the piece was absolutely fantastic! I particularly loved how the creative team had clearly worked so well together and every aspect of the production: the minimalistic set, costume (Kimie Nakano), choreography (Akram Khan), lighting (Fabiana Piccioli) and composition (Nitin Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook, and Ben Frost) blended so effortlessly together. It was very impressive to watch.

Something I really loved about this performance is the innovative way the dancers interacted with the costumes and props. For example, the dancer (I think Denis 'Koone' Kuhnert) would use the structure of the crinoline combined with the choreography to create different shapes and movements. Very clever! Also, the use of chalk in the performance I though felt very dream-like and mystical which was a very interesting way to create a mood and atmosphere.

I really admire Akram Khan and his team. The work they produce is exactly the kind of thing I love. Although people (including myself sometimes!) struggle to understand it I can only describe it as a good thing because it means I'm still thinking about it and I saw it a week ago! Overall, a really powerful, intense and mesmerising performance that I simply couldn't take my eyes off.

ZooNation: Some Like it Hip Hop

Sadler's Wells is definitely one of my absolute favourite theatres. I first went there to see Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands in 2007 and have been going back ever since and have never been disappointed by any production I've seen! I would recommend this theatre to anyone. There's always a variety of productions on ranging from ballet to hip hop to bollywood and more. It's fantastic!

At the beginning of May 2013 I went to Peacock Theatre to see the company Zoonation's dance show 'Some Like it Hip Hop' (directed, written and choreographed by Kate Prince) which was massively entertaining. It is a story of 'love, mistaken identity and revolution and where women are kept subservient to men.' It was full of extremely talented dancers, musicians and singers who all portrayed their character's personality through their choreography - this in particular was very enjoyable to watch.

I loved the aspect of having infectious live music (written by DJ Walde, Josh Cohen and Kate Prince) incorporated into the performance and choreography. It really brought the show to life and had us all up, dancing and singing along at the end of the show. All in all a really fantastic and fun show suitable for a wide age range that hit many emotional levels making us laugh, cry, be amazed and left us singing and dancing into the night - a real feel-good show!

Book tickets here. If you go on a Tuesday or Thursday you can go to a post show 30 minute dance class teaching basic street dance steps with the cast!

Dancing around Duchamp

Nude descending a staircase (1912)
One of my favourite pieces from the
exhibition

I recently went to see the The Bride and the Bachelors: Duchamp with Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns exhibition at the Barbican and it definitely is up the top (along with with the Hollywood Costume exhibition at the V&A [2012/13]!) as one of my favourite exhibitions.

I was a little unsure as to what the exhibition would be about when I booked it. I just new that it combined art, music and dance which won me over and I wasn't disappointed!

Fountain (1917)

The exhibition showcases Duchamp's influence on Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns and includes Duchamp's most influential work including 'Bicycle Wheel' from 1913 and 'Fountain' from 1917. This is complimented by the paintings, sculpture, stage sets and musical notations from Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns and furthermore, live contemporary dance performances and a two self playing pianos of Cage's 'prepared piano' where the sound is altered by placing objects between the strings.

I really admired the way the exhibition linked performance, art and music together. And also the way it highlights how Duchamp questions 'What is art?' really makes you think. I love the idea that anything can be art and anyone can be an artist and use it as a way to express themselves.

All in all a fantastic exhibition and well worth the money. Plus if you're aged between 16-25 sign up to the Barbican's 'freeB' membership here and it's 2 for 1 on a Monday!


The Dancing around Duchamp season is on until June which includes other events as well as the exhibition.