New York City Ballet is back at it again with their 2015 production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Alastair Macaulay, of New York Times, has chosen to stray from the dry critique of this frequently performed piece. He focuses on comparing and contrasting this production with those of other companies as well as commenting on the changes made in casting throughout his review. The focus of the review has been spread among a selection of aspects from the performance including, different dancers, costumes, music and solos. This correlates somewhat with Oliver’s writing in which she states, “Should the show consist of one full-length work, find three or four specific dance sections to critique” (76). Macaulay differs slightly as he focuses on different aspects of the performance and dancers while touching on certain choreography rather than focusing on the plot and rewriting what many others before him have said on the choreography and style of Swan Lake. Macaulay uses a variety of intense and descriptive adjectives and verbs to help guide the reader through pieces of the performance as if they were sitting next to him in the cool dark theatre. He speaks about NYCB’s choices in casting and adds his ideas about what he believed worked and what he did not enjoy watching. Macaulay employs some first person narrative to provide anecdotal evidence to his majorly third person narrative. His use of the first person voice is sparse and deliberate, confirming Oliver’s belief that authors should not “mix [the tenses] without cause” (91). This review on Swan Lake contained many extreme statements which at first surprised me. Macaulay described one solo as “grotesque” as well as the costumes’ color schemes as ” terrible in conception and execution”. After further investigation that these types of phrases were custom for the author and had previously been under fire five years ago because of a comment that he made about a female dancer’s weight.

I enjoyed Alastair Macaulay’s Review of NYCB’s Swan Lake. While he was critical of many aspects of the production, he did highlight certain dancers and gave credit where credit was due. Because of his vast knowledge of dance and his history as a dance critic, his reviews focus on much more than the dance itself. Because of this, the review may seem distant to readers who do not understand the plotline of Swan Lake. The review encapsulated many of Wendy Oliver’s ideas on writing for dance to create a sense of authority and provide the reader with information on the production and the ideas of the author.

 

-Eli McClain