6/2/2025 | Entertainment | AU
The swans are pissed off. And they should be. In Angelin Preljocaj's radical reimagining of 'Swan Lake,' the pristine white feathers are tinged with soot, the lake is poisoned, and the villain isn't some mystical sorcerer but a property developer scheming with the prince's own parents. This isn't your grandmother's ballet. It's a full-throated scream into the void of climate despair, set to pounding electronic beats and Tchaikovsky's haunting melodies.
Premiering in Australia just days after the government greenlit a massive gas project, the timing couldn't have been more pointed. The ballet world often floats above politics, but Preljocaj drags it down into the mud where the fight is happening. Rothbart, traditionally a dark magician, is now a sleek corporate predator. The swans aren't just cursed, they're collateral damage in a world where profit drowns out everything else. Scenes of industrial wastelands projected behind the dancers make it impossible to look away from the parallels to our own reality.
The choreography matches the urgency of the message. Gone are the delicate, floating movements of classical ballet. These swans are strong, grounded, and at times downright feral. Arms twist like necks, hands snap like beaks, and the famous Dance of the Little Swans gets a rebellious makeover with pelvic thrusts that would make Petipa clutch his pearls. The pas de deux between Siegfried and Odette is still romantic, but there's a desperation to it, as if they're clinging to love in a world determined to crush it.
What makes this production so electrifying is how it balances its rage with beauty. The dancers move with a ferocity that never sacrifices grace, and the blend of Tchaikovsky's symphonies with throbbing electronica underscores the tension between tradition and rebellion. It's a Swan Lake that doesn't just ask to be admired, it demands to be heard.
Ballet often feels like a relic, a beautiful but distant art form. Preljocaj proves it can be a weapon. There's something thrilling about watching a centuries-old story crack open to reveal such raw, modern fury. Maybe ballet hasn't been silent all this time. Maybe we just haven't been listening hard enough.
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By Homer K, this article was inspired by this source.