Explaining my gushing fangirl moment

[charlie_cochrane]

I happened across Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake on Sky Arts, and was smitten. I'd not watched it before because ballet bores me rigid, but I've recorded it to consume at leisure. I do like male dance - Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire are two of my on screen heroes - so the pas de deux with a male swan and the prince (the point I've reached) is just my cup of tea. I love the physicality and sheer masculinity of Richard Winsor's swan; the whole story so far is wonderfully rich, not just about discovering one's sexuality, but picturing a man's descent into madness because of pressures of life and lack of emotional support. Is the swan real or just a figment of his imagination?

Anyway, if you like male dance, here's another little beauty, from Bourne's Dorian Gray.

Comments

[kcwarwick.livejournal.com]

I love the Bourne Swan Lake and was lucky enough to see it on stage once. It is deep in all sorts of ways as you'll find when you get to the end. I can't make my mind up about the swan either! Another good ballet for non-ballet lovers is David Bintley's 'Edward 11', if you ever get a chance to see this.

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Thanks for the heads up on that!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

You've been seriously missing out if you've only just discovered Matthew Bourne and Adventures in Motion Pictures! I'll never forget the first time I saw Adam Cooper dancing the black swan, the original and still the best imho :)

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Be still my beating heart!

You know I'm always last to the party...

[bigolarthurfan.livejournal.com]

How wonderful that you posted about Bourne's Swan Lake. I've certainly heard of it but not seen it. I remember that it got a great deal of attention when it first was presented. I'll have to seek out some video. Of course, I know the music, in fact I've played a great deal of it in orchestras, although never the entire thing, just various suites pulled from it. It's great music. It also is a perfectly reasonable thing to do a homoerotic version, however much traditionalist might (and did) object, given Tchaikovsky's sexual orientation. In fact, if you read what he himself wrote about his last three symphonies and know anything about his life, it's clear that those amazing symphonies are all about his struggles with his homosexuality. For me, at least, it makes the final movement of #6 absolutely heart wrenching. While I can listen to #4 and #5 frequently, I can't really hear #6 very often. In any case, the idea of Bourne's ballets make perfect sense to me.

And you know, like you I'm not a big ballet person. But that clip from Dorian Gray is really good.

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

I didn't realise you were musical - what did you/do you play?

I think you're spot on with the Tchaikovsky's own sexuality (and mental fragility) element. I had similar thoughts about the symbolism of the original Swan Lake story let alone the MB version. The pas de deux between the swan and the prince - all of them - are stunning in their beauty and sheer masculinity (as is the Dorian Gray clip). I do like a manly man.

[bigolarthurfan.livejournal.com]

The viola is my main instrument, having taken it up when I was 11. Once upon a time, I considered it as a career possibility. I can also play the violin but not quite as well, and the piano, although truly less well there. I'm not playing in an orchestra at the moment, but when I do I play in our lead community orchestra--everyone's a volunteer except the conductor. Like any volunteer organization, there can be inconsistent performance, but when we're on, we sound as good as some professional orchestras I've heard. In addition to playing, I also have pretty significant music history background.

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Wow. You truly are a man of many parts. I never progressed beyond grade III cello, but I can hold a tune and have a reasonable singing voice. Actually, the whole family does, so our in car songs are pretty impressive. Sort of.

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

Now, I like that clip...

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Isn't it wonderfully atmospheric?