Matthew Bourne’s ground-breaking, predominantly male production of Swan Lake has enchanted millions. He tells Time Out about his life and the making of male swans
On wanting to entertain
I always put on shows with [neighbours] or friends from school, and I had small companies, one when I was 14, one when I was eight. I thought I wanted to act, but as a teenager, I didn’t like using my voice, so it led me to dance. I guess when I was young, [performing] was showing off a bit; I don’t know why it was there, but it had to come out.
On being a self-taught dancer
The first time I really danced was at my dance audition for Laban (now Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance). I had done a lot of song and dance shows and naively assumed I was not bad. I was probably terrible. But I loved Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly – I didn’t know classical or contemporary dance until my late teens, and then it became a passion. I read everything, I saw ballets at Covent Garden or Sadler’s Wells about three or four times a week. My passion got me into Laban – I don’t think it was my dancing.
On directing both West End musicals and ballet
To me they’ve always gone hand in hand. Ballet was theatrical, glamorous and entertaining, with great costumes and music, all the things I loved about MGM movies and musical theatre. It never felt elite. In both cases, you’re trying create an atmosphere and at the same time tell a story.
On choosing a male swan
One idea was of a prince, where even in modern society, you can’t be the person you really are inside. And you’re born into it; it’s not a choice. With the stifling nature of his life, I thought the swan could represent beauty and wildness, all the things he couldn’t be. The white swan is the good voice; the black swan the bad voice, more sexualised, leading him into a place he felt he was wrong. The prince is confused by his feelings. There’s a lot of psychology here, but I’m not denying there’s a sexual element in the story. I got into trouble years ago in New York, when I was asked to play all that down to sell it to a Broadway audience. For a lot of people – it’s a very moving story, as it should be.
On teaching men to be swans
You’re starting from scratch, creating swan movements with a male dancer, so the first thing to do was to go watch how swans moved, whether they’re flying, waddling, or protecting their young. I found them quite scary. They would hiss at you or come at you. I was happy to discover that. Also, they’re beautiful when they’re flying or gliding along the water, but coming into land with their legs cycling forward, they’re ungainly. And when they’re outside the water, their feet are slightly turned in. I tried to bring all those aspects in.
On making audience-accessible work
I don’t see the point of making work if it’s not for the audience. I [want] people to understand what we’re doing. It doesn’t have to be easy; the audience has to work. When you read a novel, you imagine a lot of what you’re reading, and it’s the same thing when you’re watching dance. I think audiences like to be told a story, but they don’t like being mystified or overly confused. There’s not much point in being an artist if you’re not doing it for people.
On being both revolutionary and popular
I suppose it’s this strange mixed background I have in entertainment, theatre and dance. I always loved theatre and Hitchcock movies, and these other interests influenced my choreography. Also, I’ve worked with great musical theatre directors who taught me about storytelling and pacing, and keeping people excited and interested. Something must’ve worked, because we’re still going after more than 25 years, and the audiences are bigger than ever. And they’re not your normal dance audiences, that’s the fascinating thing – they’re people who go to the cinemas and theatres.
On making his China debut in Shanghai this month
Coming to China for the first time has given us all a sense of excitement we haven’t had for a while. It will be thrilling to see what the audience makes of it. Our Swan Lake follows the classical version closely, and doesn’t mess with the music. For people who know [the ballet] well, there’s an added interest about how we work it – even some of the swan groupings are the same, we’ve just added different steps. At the heart of it, it’s about someone who wants to be loved, even if it’s a father’s love or a mother’s love; it’s universal. Chinese audiences may find that beautiful.
