Matthew Bourne

[Petra]

Ari posted this in the Links section:

In the Guardian, Judith Mackrell talks to Matthew Bourne, founder of Adventures in Motion Pictures and creator of the all-male Swan Lake.

quote:

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Bourne's style of storytelling, a mix of formal steps and vividly observed body language, partly evolved from his lack of dance training. "It came about because I didn't have lots of steps at my fingertips to rely on. And I've always enjoyed telling stories. I rack my brains to find movements that will say something." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. And here was silly little me - thinking that a choreographer should know something about steps.

2. "I didn't have lots of steps at my finguretips" - and it shows.

[Leigh Witchel]

In all fairness to Bourne, he's never made himself out to be an academic choreographer of any sort, but I'll admit that I found the vocabulary in his Swan Lake thin, too.

[Mel Johnson]

I think of Bourne the same way I think of Busby Berkeley, who wasn't much of a dancer himself, but called himself a "dance director". He was really more of an editor.

[Petra]

If that's the case, why would opera/theatre directors want to collaborate with Bourne? Surely most of them are able to do the 'editing' themselves and would like to collaborate with precisely that kind of dance professional who could give them the steps they need in order to convey the aesthetic they have already conceived.

Also, why doesn't Bourne do that kind of collaboration? WIth all due respect for his chosen dancers, they aren't necessarily choreographers either. Is that kind of collaboration very unusual? In Israel, for instance, there is a very talented young (modern/modern-ballet) choreographer called Inbal Pinto who routinely collaborates with a director (who happens to be her boyfriend) and their productions are usually very well thought out - deep and effective on many levels.

[Alexandra]

Bourne is popular, and there are those who admire him as theater. He's not working in ballet, though, as a choreographer. Just using ballet themes. He's a modern dance choreographer.