Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” in Theater Basel
Belgian choreographer Stijn Celis’ adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” in the Theater Basel is a titillating new ballet experience.
Overture: A blue iridescent satin curtain is producing waves. Ah, the Swan Lake and the love dance of an enamoured prince for a princess-turned-swan who is waiting in vain for her salvation. The dim-witted young prince is tricked by the apparition of a black swan by an evil magician and breaks his vow of fidelity.
The popular ballet has been seen and performed thousands of times. Over the decades, it has also been copied, rearranged, mutated, satirised, parodied, deconstructed… and still: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s most famous ballet remains a classic for the ages. And it is precisely this fact that allows choreographers to actively fight against this classic status and create something innovative.
As soon as the spidery magician Rothbart (reminiscent of a Disney villain in a red-black Mephistophelean costume) lets the curtain drop, the audience realises that this Basel performance does not adhere too closely to the classic adaptations. Celis is not conservative in his ideas and has rearranged his interpretation of “Swan Lake” for Basel after a prior production in Bern in 2006.
The curtain rises, or rather falls, and opens up a nearly empty stage. A sculpture of a doe can be seen in the background – a reminder of the original hunting scene in the ballet. The picture is completed by an inflatable castle with four towers, which loses structural integrity as soon as someone enters it. Here, we have the realm of the queen mother, a mixture between head secretary and tiger mama. She totters in on high heels to teach her son some manners: He has to get married, and soon!
Comic-like humour
Lanky Frank Fannar Pederson (who plays the prince) escapes the tough humour of Ayako Nakano (portraying the queen mother) with almost autistic elegance, defiant contortions, and elastic power. He also remains resistant to the whispers of the exuberant Debora Maiques Marin. She plays the fool, a character located somewhere between Rumpelstiltskin and Till Eulenspiegel.
The royal household (ministers in neon-yellow uniforms and governesses with towering hair) acts masterfully, filled with precision and humour – but young prince Siegfried does not want to accept the crown under any circumstances. He also remains unimpressed by the four potential brides-to-be cast by his mother, who tumble onto the stage on an airplane evacuation slide.
Instead, the headstrong young prince retreats into his dreams, where images of phalluses and bosoms heat up the éducation sentimentale of the pubescent teenager. They lead him to the place where gracious Odette (Annabelle Peintre) and the wild swans live. This is the realm of Rothbart (Jorge Garcia Pérez). It is only fitting that the magician turns into a psychiatrist in a later scene and tries to free the prince from his delusion – to no avail, as the prince himself turns into a swan in the end.
Creative mixture of styles
As for the swans: There is no weightless gliding and ethereal floating in Celis’ production. His feathered birds waddle around on the stage, often bent over and with crooked wings. The white tutus are present, as are the headdresses inspired by Native American headwear.
But above all, here both male and female swans are moving in circles (barefoot!). After the first gay production of “Swan Lake” by Matthew Bourne in 1995, this is nothing new anymore, but it is refreshing and entertaining. The “Dance of the Little Swans” is a highlight, performed to excellence by the four ministers. A dance style mix of the highest calibre!
Stijn Celis also rearranged and shortened Tchaikovsky’s score rigorously in parts – undoubtedly by working together with Thomas Herzog, head of the Symphony Orchestra of Basel. That way, some excessive secondary music pieces, even though they may sound nice, have been left out. The story therefore becomes more stringent. Lovers of classic ballet may be irritated by the comic-like, almost clownesque choreography, but an open-minded audience will leave the theatre into a cold November night with warm hearts – and hot hands from clapping.
Basel short film with David Dimitri wins numerous awards
“The Story of L’Homme Cirque” by Basel movie producer Michael Flume has garnered much international attention. Now, the silent short film with David Dimitri will also be shown in Swiss cinemas.
Mr Flume on Saturday announced that the silent film will have its Swiss premiere on 11 December at the Pathé Küchlin cinema in Basel. The world premiere of “The Story of L’Homme Cirque” had already appeared in the Charlie Chaplin Theatre in Los Angeles.
The film has won 18 awards at various festivals in London and the United States, the director stated in his communiqué – for example at the Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival in Los Angeles.
The story of the “Homme Cirque” – it shares its name with a solo programme by David Dimitri, son of the late clown “Dimitri” – combines tragedy and comedy, love and art. David dreams of starting his own circus, but still lives in the barn of Mr Max and needs to work hard every day.
Mr Flume said that his work making a silent film was carried out “in the manner of Charlie Chaplin”. It was shot in 2016 at historic Basel locations. Michael Flume had been inspired by the solo program of David Dimitri, even though he had originally only seen it by chance, the director told “20 Minuten”. The film is David Dimitri’s first movie role.
Police hunt for witness after child injured in accident on zebra crossing
The police are looking for the driver of a red car who may have seen an accident in which an 11-year-old child was hit by a scooter on a zebra crossing.
The accident happened on Monday, 30 October as the child crossed the street at the junction of Lehenmattstrasse/Redingstrasse. The child was injured in the accident.
As part of ongoing investigations, the police are looking for a driver who was waiting at a stop line near to where the accident happened. As the car turned to enter Lehenmattstrasse towards Stadionstrasse from the right, the driver may have seen what happened and could provide further information.
This driver and anyone else who can offer useful information about the cause of the accident asked to contact the traffic police under the phone number 061 699 12 12 or via the email address KapoVrk.VLZ@jsd.bs.ch