Review: The Acrobatic Swan Lake – no soul

I’ve got three words for you: “ballet on heads” – my eyes are watering already…

The Acrobatic Swan Lake arrives at Sadler’s Wells for a 13-show run and promises “a unique fusion of Western Classical Ballet and mesmerising Chinese Acrobatic Arts”. In dance academia there’s been huge amounts of research and associated writing aiming to prove the differences between art and sport, yet here we are, actively fusing the two together…

The production first appeared in 2004, and I’ve seen the arabesque on pointe on the partner’s head via YouTube, but I’ve never experienced the whole work, or any of it, live, so here goes.

To be clear from the outset – this isn’t for me on any level, and I don’t believe it should be programmed at Sadler’s Wells. The Wells defines itself as a dance house, and this isn’t dance.

Dance as an art form gets far less recognition than its contemporaries and zero compared to sports, so the Wells, more than anywhere else, should be protecting these undeniably important agendas.

As for The Acrobatic Swan Lake, it’s circus, and we’re talking Blackpool rather than Vegas. I have the utmost respect for the cast members and recognise their training and undoubted commitment… but the production is dire.

There’s no storytelling, no compelling drama, and absolutely no presence of the emotive and dramatic power of dance, let alone appropriate technical execution. So what is there? 32 classic acrobatic skill types housed in random diverts (with questionable connections from one scene to the next), very tinny and poorly cut music, and what look like highly flammable sets and costumes.

There’s perhaps one intelligent moment where the infamous dance of the Cygnets is reworked for four frogs who spend most of the time on their front legs (human hands), but nothing else sticks out production wise… well actually it does, but for the wrong reasons – Swans on squeaking segways (no joke) and four male comedy ballet cygnets. This took the biscuit for me. How offensive can things get? Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo this is not. In fact, it’s the polar opposite – no technique, no rigour, so consequently no comedic, or genre-questioning value.

Sun Yina as Odette must be recognised for her indescribable skill (and Zhou Jie as her reliable human crane). Yina isn’t a natural, generous actress, but her prowess is perhaps unmatched by any other? Regardless, please don’t ask me to do the necessary research to find out.

The biggest issue for me is that the production isn’t doing what it thinks it is. There’s no “fusion of Western Classical Ballet”, fundamentally there are civilians in pointe shoes trying to do ballet, moving with no soul, and offering the most wooden mime I’ve ever witnessed. What one takes away, in fact, is how refined and rigorous classical ballet actually is, and how easily it can be poorly executed and misrepresented.

Sadler’s Wells needs to have a serious conversation in relation to programming work of a similar genre in the future. I’m aware that extremely high standard circus exists, with some groups exploring the narrative angle, whilst others the possibilities within contemporary dance, and both successfully. But The Acrobatic Swan Lake is currently doing a disservice to both genres it believes it’s fusing.

Matthew Paluch Guest Author

Matthew Paluch was awarded a place at The Royal Ballet School in 1990 where he graduated in 1997. His first four years as a professional dancer were spent working with London City Ballet, Scottish Ballet, K-Ballet and English National Ballet, becoming a full-time member of ENB until leaving in 2006.

Matthew graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance, Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma in 2007, and was formerly on faculty at The Royal Ballet School. He completed his Masters in Ballet Studies at Roehampton University in 2011, has been a freelance writer since 2010 and currently works in the Law Sector.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.