Summary Of Sleeping Beauty By Matthew Bourne

Matthew Bourne’s self-identification as a storyteller is well portrayed with his directing and choreography of Sleeping Beauty: A Gothic Romance. His fascination with exploring characters, their emotions and motivation, is showcased by both his adaptation of Tchaikovsky's score and his interpretation of the ballet. While remaining respectful of the audiences expectations, Bourne (fig. 1) challenges the audience with his unconventional casting of roles, a switching of time periods, and costumes that both reflect these changes and contribute to the visual delight of this classic. The fusion of his interest in musical theater and the fascination of stories such as vampires in pop culture, creates a work that uses dance as a means to tell a silent story, rather than a ballet where the silent story is secondary to the ballet. I will explore with the images how he accomplishes this.
“Once upon a time” flashes upon the stage, the ballet begins, reminding us of both its origins rooted in the most classic of
3) play the dual roles of mother and son, Carabosse and Caradoc. Having male dancers play dual roles of both genders and traditionally female roles like the fairy/vampires is a way of challenging the traditional mindset and drawing in younger generations who are more open minded to exploring gender diversity in artistic expression. Referring to his choreography of Swan Like, Bourne stated, “I also wanted to do something more lyrical for men - without emasculating them in any way - I wanted to do something beautiful for men.”(queer swans pg 57) This is a clear example of how Bourne’s focus is in his modifications to the story, in making the story contemporary and unique. As other choreographer’s have attempted to express gender diversity through dance, Bourne attempts to express it through the character of the story rather than how it’s being expressed through the