The original version of The Acrobatic Swan Lake was conceived in 2004 for the Guangdong Acrobatic Troupe. In 2008 I was fortunate enough to see them at the Royal Opera House, London. It was thrilling to see Wei Baohua and his wife, Wu Zhengdan performing the now famous pas de deux in the final act when she stands on his shoulders en pointe in attitude, only to trump her own extraordinary move by doing the same on his head. At the time, they were the only people in the world who could do this. Fast forward 16 years and the public are gearing up for a repeat spectacle.
Artistic Director and Choreographer Zhang Quan brings his company Xi’an Acrobatic Troupe to Sadler’s Wells for a run of the production which has been performed 20,000 times over the years. The difference now is that while the classical ballet of Swan Lake is certainly a starting point and inspiration, the production has strayed far from any artistic trace of storytelling or delivery that remains true to the original. As well as that, Tchaikovsky’s score has been hacked about so much and was played on the sound system at such high volume, it became excruciating.
The acrobatics were unquestionably spectacular, but anyone thinking that they were going to see any reasonable standard of what is described in the programme as “Western classical ballet”, will be very disappointed.
The story in this Chinese version is of a princess playing by a lake, then cursed by the Black Hawk King who changes her into a swan. Thousands of miles away, a prince senses what has happened (really?) and travels to the city of Chang’an via Egypt to find her. Cue lots of acrobatic dances from other countries. The prince inevitably falls for the white swan/princess although there is little to confirm this by way of obvious emotion. Later there is a crack at a duet to the music of Black Swan and some throws and lifts that would bring on an attack of vertigo for most of us. There is a happy ending in the fourth act when their love conquers the Black Hawk King.
The acrobats were extremely entertaining, presenting acts that were unimaginably daring. Contortionists in the guise of Eagle (Li Tong) and Snake (Li Jinyan) were breathtaking in their duet, showing core strength and flexibility with rock solid control. The acrobat on the pole was one of the most graceful of the evening. Other acts included jumping through hoops (or flying might be more appropriate); juggling with straw hats and separately with balls; swinging from rings and from poles; and then we saw swans gliding.
The effect was smooth enough until you heard the whir of wheels and then inevitably, swaying skirts revealed briefly that the swans were perched on some sort of Segway. There were some big ensemble numbers where the women were in pointe shoes. Whether they should have been is questionable with many of them not equipped with the technique or facility to represent classical ballet. This may sound like harsh criticism but while these admirable acrobats train relentlessly all their lives to deliver extraordinary aerial stunts, classical ballet dancers do the same for their art form.
Other moments that were seriously cringe-making came from the four small swans in drag. As they hobbled around trying to get on pointe, continuously grabbing their breasts in order to attract the attention of the prince, the audience remained stoically unamused. No wonder the prince dismissed them offhandedly.
The cygnet dance was replaced by four frogs who deftly walked and jumped on their hands. This had been a highlight in the years previously, with it somehow reflecting the music more successfully than many of the other numbers.
The principals are described in the programme as the leading actress and actor. Whilst I’m not convinced that acting was a strength at this performance, they both looked very beautiful and they carried the roles with commendable commitment. The fourth act pas de deux defied belief. What they call “ballet on shoulders” must require much hard work from both protagonists, it is the single thing that remains the pinnacle of the show.
Sun Yina as the swan was tall and slender and has clearly had a good deal of ballet training. The main features of her performance were her unwavering concentration, her fearlessness and her staggering sense of balance. Zhou Jie was a handsome and attentive prince. His slight physique belied his Herculean strength. There is no question that what these two achieved was tremendously exciting and the audience responded accordingly. My gripe is that while I was clearly in the minority, this was not really doing anything for the art of classical ballet. For circus lovers, it’s a dream come true.
