The Bard, Ballet and “Black Swan”
The Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) is bringing Shakespeare’s perennial classic “Romeo and Juliet” to the ballet stage from March 24 to 27 at the Esplanade theatre- with a twist. The Bard’s “Romeo and Juliet” tells the classic tale of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet who cannot be together because of a bitter feud between their respective families.
Although the SDT production of “Romeo and Juliet” makes some modifications to the story, like the introduction of a dancer personifying Fate, who brings Romeo and Juliet- played by principal dancers William Wu and Chihiro Uchida respectively– together, the story remains true to the spirit of the original text. And with sets and costumes made especially for Singapore Dance Theatre by the well known designer, Peter Cazalet, as well as choreography by late Singaporean choreographer Goh Choo San, SDT’s artistic director Janek Schergen believes there is no better way to kick off the ballet company’s 2011 season than “Romeo and Juliet”.
“Romeo and Juliet is the ideal counterpoint to our last production, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, in terms of spectacle on stage,” explained Schergen in recent e-mail interview with channelnewsasia.com, pointing out that “Sleeping Beauty” had a stronger focus on dance while “Romeo and Juliet” is more about the drama in the story. Apart from sharing their thoughts on the production, Elynn Chew, who plays Lady Capulet in “Romeo and Juliet” , took some time to debunk some ballet myths propagated by possibly the most famous ballet movie to date, the Oscar-nominated film “Black Swan”, along with her fellow dancers Alison Carroll and Amy Bale.
Swan Lake, performed by Singapore Dance Theatre
Sleeping Beauty, presented by Singapore Dance Theatre
I want to come back to life as a prima ballerina in a top drawer dance company such as the Singapore Dance Theatre and be featured in my favorite ballets; Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.