Michael Bourne's Swan Lake @ Sadler's Wells

Bourne's Swan Lake has met with rave reviews for nearly 10 years since it was launched in London nearly a decade ago because of his decision to cast men as the dancers instead of the traditionally female swans and change the story from the sorcerer who curses Odette to be a woman by night and swan by day.

Launched here in London back in 1995, it is deeply English with its obvious allusions to the Royals, their imagined life and scandals and the pressures of being the honorific for the nation complete with paparazzi flashbulbing their every shortcoming.

Pretty obviously, the elements of homosexuality and unfulfilled, doomed or unrequited love throughout the production are very strong and expressed pretty powerfully through the relationship of the King of the Swans and the Prince as well as with his relationship with the Queen Mother, but handled amazingly sensitively considering the variety of the audience they need to play to, not a few of which are Royalists of the first degree. Oh, and the costuming has to be amongst some of the best I've ever seen in a contemporary ballet production as well (not that I've seen that many.. )

The dancing was deeply impressive and expressive and it's well worth the tickets if you can get them.

And yes, it is a lot of fun saying you can't stick around for the late meeting because (best said with a poshy English accent) "I have tickets for the ballet... "... :-)

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