# Swan Lake All Male Cast



## PlaySalieri

Many rave about an all male Swan Lake - having seen some clips I have to say it is not something that would interest me.

So what is the case for an all make Swan Lake?


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## Ingélou

I haven't seen an all-male production, but I remember reading an article that claimed that the male swans were more aggressive, sinister, alien, and that that made the story more gripping, in keeping with the evil-enchantment theme.

But I find Swan Lake gripping enough already...


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## PlaySalieri

maybe - but Odette - is a girl ...

if it's all male - how does the love story work? is the prince gay


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## Ingélou

Look up 'all-male Swan Lake' in Wikipedia (wish I had done, before posting). The all-male ballet appears to have a different plot.


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## moody

Ingenue said:


> Look up 'all-male Swan Lake' in Wikipedia (wish I had done, before posting). The all-male ballet appears to have a different plot.


But there was a fuss about them several years ago...plot shmot you can keep the daft looking twits.


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## Pyotr

That's a show I probably wouldn't buy a ticket to. But as far as the all-male thing, did you know that the world's first ballet company, The Paris Opera Ballet, had an all-male cast for it's first 15 years of existence. The cast included the reigning monarch, Louis XIV, an avid dancer who performed 80 roles in 40 major ballets. 
Imagine if that happened today - a male politician in tights. Do you think the late-night comedians would have something to say about that?


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## BurningDesire

Its kind of a cool idea. I like these reimaginings, always cool to try new things


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## mstar

I would NOT go to see such a horrendous thing!! What, is Male-Odette going to dance with Male-Siegfried who also dances with Male-Odile? Isn't that sickening to see on stage - men in tutus? Hahahahahahhahaaha!!!


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## Pyotr

The ending of the movie Billy Elliot, shows him debuting in the ballet in question, I believe.


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## Couac Addict

I'm guessing that it's nothing like this...


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## BurningDesire

mstar said:


> I would NOT go to see such a horrendous thing!! What, is Male-Odette going to dance with Male-Siegfried who also dances with Male-Odile? Isn't that sickening to see on stage - men in tutus? Hahahahahahhahaaha!!!


Just imagine David Bowie in a tutu <3 hawt~ :3


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## hreichgott

I've seen two productions that might be what you're describing. 

One is excerpts from Swan Lake performed by the comedy drag troupe Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, which is as campy/silly as you'd expect a comedy drag show to be.

The other is Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, where the prince is under the control of a cold and uncaring queen mother, the Swan is male, the corps of swans are male, the love story is same-sex, and Odile is either the Swan or a guy who looks a lot like him who encounters the prince at a party but turns out to be cruel. The cast isn't all male but large portions of Act II are. The choreography is completely redone to suit male dancers although Petipa homage is there if you know where to look. The most affecting moment is at the end of Act II, where the prince, back in his mundane world after the adventure with the Swan, runs off under the streetlights ecstatic over the magic he has just witnessed. Unfortunately a lot of the human-human interactions don't take themselves seriously enough to carry the story successfully, imho, and it falls short of the lovely adaptation that it could be.


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## Itullian

No interest here.
Wouldn't like an all female one either.


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## BurningDesire

the Takarazuka Revue should do Swan Lake


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## PlaySalieri

Looking at some of the reviews on Amazon is hilarious - some people unwittingly bought the all male story as a preview to taking little Sara (or whoever) to see the Royal Ballet doing swan lake.


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## Vaneyes

Sure, why not, it's eco-friendly, isn't it?


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## Vaneyes

BurningDesire said:


> the Takarazuka Revue should do Swan Lake


Is that like Chippendales?


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## BurningDesire

Vaneyes said:


> Is that like Chippendales?


no, its a Japanese all-women theater troupe. They do acting, singing, and dancing.


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## PetrB

BurningDesire said:


> Just imagine David Bowie in a tutu <3 hawt~ :3


Well, he has worn dresses, including wearing one when he showed up at an interview. Asked why he was wearing a woman's dress, he instantly responded, "This is a man's dress."


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## deggial

the all [insert gender] cast thing is done a lot in theatre these days, so why not ballet? as long as the performers are good there's no reason not to do it.


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## Cavaradossi

Pyotr said:


> Imagine if that happened today - a male politician in tights. Do you think the late-night comedians would have something to say about that?


Former presidential arm-twister and current Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel studied ballet through high school and was good enough to win a scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet (which he took a pass on). But such is "Rahmbo"'s reputation as a tough guy that no one seems to take pot shots at him about it.


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## Celloman

Think Shakespeare at the Globe. That was an all-male cast.


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## Ingélou

Think Ingénue's school drama productions, 1962-1968 - that was an all-female cast!

But in my case, and also Shakespeare's, it was just a convenience, since oppo-sex actors weren't available, for representing the female-male interplay that was conventional for the time. The all-male Swan Lake is a bit more innovative.


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## Celloman

Ingenue said:


> But in my case, and also Shakespeare's, it was just a convenience, since oppo-sex actors weren't available, for representing the female-male interplay that was conventional for the time. The all-male Swan Lake is a bit more innovative.


Right. Same practice, different purpose.


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## Huilunsoittaja

Actually, it would be neat if the roles were gender switched. As in, Odette the Swan princess is now a Swan Prince, and Siegfried is now a Princess. Thus, the whole complex can be recreated, with the Princess making the wrong decision and choosing the Black Swan who is the son of the sorceror (maybe switch this role too and make it sorceress?).


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## sharik

stomanek said:


> what is the case for an all make Swan Lake?


making an attack on classical ballet and one of its masterpieces.


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## sabrina

It might be hilarious if it is a parody. But I could be horrified if it is for real. I would not pay attention to such a Swan Lake performance...not even for free. But I'd might like to watch an all men modern dance, though I always prefer mixed couples...


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## Mickey

The beauty of the Corp de Ballet in Swan Lake is the uniformity and precision not theatrics and solos.


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## Mickey

Cavaradossi said:


> Former presidential arm-twister and current Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel studied ballet through high school and was good enough to win a scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet (which he took a pass on). But such is "Rahmbo"'s reputation as a tough guy that no one seems to take pot shots at him about it.


Didn't he recently guest perform ?


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## ahammel

I almost went to such a production with my family about ten or fifteen years ago, but one of the set pieces broke down at the very last minute (as the seats were being filled). They had to cancel and refund all the tickets. We didn't actually find out it was an all-male cast until after the fact!

I honestly don't understand the fuss. Why not do it with an all-male or all-female or gender-flipped cast if the director feels like it?


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## StlukesguildOhio

How about an "all male" Carmen?











:lol:


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## hengjiunion

*verygood*

The article is very good
Webster Hardness Tester Portable Brinell Hardness Tester Rockwell Hardness Tester 
Portable Hardness Tester


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## narraboth

It's rather annoying seeing many people here talked ignorantly rather than 'talk classical'

First of all, this famous Matthew Bourne's production is not 'all male cast'. All the swan are played by male dancers, yes; but there are other important female dancers in the production.

Many people interpret the relationship between the Prince and the leading swan a gay one, which is kind of obvious in the pas de duex. Some may interpret that the swan is one of images of Prince's self (another one is the 'black swan'). Those interpretations are all fine. Even it's really a gay version of swan lake, there's nothing wrong about it. If gay people can appreciate female ballet dancer, I don't see why straight men can't enjoy men's dancing. Remember, Tchaikovsky himself, who composed such a great score, was a gay. It might be very true that he put his longing and sorrow into those bitter-sweet lines.

However, technically speaking, this production is more like a dancing drama rather than a
ballet performance. The dance used here is more powerful and masculine, more 'sweaty'.


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## bigshot

It takes a pretty far stretch to take an all male Swan Lake to something that isn't a goofy novelty! Me? I'd probably enjoy it. It would be a laugh riot!

Sweaty Lake?


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## suslik

Never heard about Matthew Bourne's version. Very interesting, thanks!


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## Woodduck

I saw a film of the Matthew Bourne _Swan Lake_ many years ago and found it fascinating. Remember that the story is a fairy tale and that such stories have evolved over time, so that there is not one correct way of interpreting or staging them. Remember too that Tchaikovsky's music, like all the classic ballet scores, has been re-choreographed and re-staged by countless people; there's no need to be faithful to an "original version," or to a particular "period," since castles, forests, lakes, romantic dreams, music and dance transcend time and place. I'm sure this is the first production to feature a homosexual prince and the first to turn the swans into a fantasy of male sexuality, but nowadays there's no reason not to try it. The production was well done and well cast- I remember the principal swan (the equivalent of Odette/Odile) having a magnetic, dangerous stage presence - and it ran for a long time to full houses. The video exists, you can get the DVD on Amazon, and I would recommend it to anyone for whom fairy tales don't have to be all sugar 'n' spice.


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## MarkMcD

I have the Matthew Bourne version and I love it. It´s a re-interpretation of the original and not meant to be exact, but for me (as a gay man, I hope that´s not a prejudice I would encounter here), I found the story very powerful and compelling. Obviously its not to everyone´s taste but as Tchaikovsky was himself a gay man, I´m sure he would have approved greatly.


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## Posie

Frankly, I'm surprised that they would have found enough men willing to do it. How many dancers would a whole production require?


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## Dupamplont

I'm reminded of my Shakespeare professor saying the best version he ever saw of MACBETH—and he wasn't joking—was the A.C.T. portraying all the characters as Eskimos living in igloos.


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## Harri

So I've seen the traditional performance live, and I prefer it... However I can see the creativity and interpretation in the all male version (I've watched recordings of the original Matthew Bourne version). Although the plot is distorted, I found that the interactions between the prince and the swan showed the power of the enchantment in a much more visible way. Rather then the swan being a helpless damsel, in the Bourne version the swan was much more self-aware and self possessive. The all male version will never replace the traditional performance for me, however I found that watching an alternative performance, increased my perception and enjoyment of the traditional performance.


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## Woodduck

Harri said:


> So I've seen the traditional performance live, and I prefer it... However I can see the creativity and interpretation in the all male version (I've watched recordings of the original Matthew Bourne version). Although the plot is distorted, I found that the interactions between the prince and the swan showed the power of the enchantment in a much more visible way. Rather then the swan being a helpless damsel, in the Bourne version the swan was much more self-aware and self possessive. The all male version will never replace the traditional performance for me, however I found that watching an alternative performance, increased my perception and enjoyment of the traditional performance.


The nice thing is that we can have both. I'm sure Bourne never thought he was replacing the original story. It will always be a vehicle for great ballerinas and an enchanted dream for the Romantics among us (I'm one of those!). But even after years have passed since I saw the film, the menacing sexuality of the leader of those swan/satyrs haunts my memory.


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## Tsaraslondon

Bourne has done a very good job of re-interpereting the classics. There was a *Cinderella* set during World War II, which I didn't see, and a less successful (to my mind) version of *Nutcracker* set in an orphanage, that was all a bit too tricksy for my liking.

His most recent was a Gothicly inspired *Sleeping Beauty*, which I thought was absolutely stunning. I reviewed its first performance here http://www.thegayuk.com/magazine/4574334751/tags/SadlersWells

Some years ago he also did his take on *Carmen*, (music adapted from the opera of course) calling it *The Carman*, in which the central character of a travelling mechanic was a sexy bisexual hunk, who had an affair with both the owner of the garage and his wife. The choreography and dancing were superb. I particularly remember the unbridled masculinity of the group dances for the men. Thoroughly entertaining.

A ballet version of *Edward Scissorhands* was, I thought, less successful, though it has been revived this year.

Sadlers Wells in London usually stages one of his ballets each Christmas, and they are always a massive success, playing to packed houses for several weeks.


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## Speranza

I love Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. As has been said it isn't all male nor is it the traditional ballet. It changes the story and re-arranges the music but in doing so it creates something completely new and different. It isn't Tchaikovsky's ballet but there doesn't need to be only one version of the story. Personally I go for the Prince imagining the Swan interpretation (the poor kid is so fragile and desperate for love) but I can see the merits of both interpretations either way makes a very good ending.


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## hpowders

Wouldn't work for me. I love great female ballerinas. Tchaikovsky must be screaming in his grave.


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