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Rachel Beaujean to create Swan Lake for Northern Ballet and Ballet National de Bordeaux


Beaujean's Swan Lake will be performed in Bordeaux in December 2026-January 2027. Northern Ballet will tour the production throughout the UK in 2027-2028.


Beaujean, with dramaturg Uzma Hameed, will give the timeless classical ballet a radical plot twist to give Odette a voice while keeping the magical elements.


The Northern Ballet news release said:

"Odette has been raised as a swan to protect her from the king who stole her mother’s crown, while her mother plots to reclaim the kingdom. In human form, Odette falls in love with Prince Siegfried, but their love refuses to be a pawn in their parents’ pursuit of power, even as tragedy threatens to tear them apart. Beaujean uses the surrounding narrative to give depth to her character’s journeys, where Odette's final metamorphosis is no longer an inevitability, but an act of independence and freedom."


For creative credit so far, click here.


Beajean, who will retire from the Dutch National Ballet at the end of 2025-2026 season, is no stranger to reinterpreting classical ballets. She has worked on Les Sylphides, Giselle, Paquita, Raymonda and most recently La Bayadere. As a personal note, I have watched her Giselle, Paquita and Raymonda and I quite liked her production of Raymonda. She skilfully removed the Islamophobic aspects from it without ruining the classical and technical elements. Rather, the production was a great display of the company dancers' excellency and it was enjoyable for general public and hardcore ballet audiences alike.


TED BRANDSEN





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