Atlanta Premiere of Matthew Bourne’s White Swan Pas de Deux from his Blockbuster, All–Male Swan Lake
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Guest Artists Dominic Walsh and Domenico Luciano

For the first time ever, Atlanta audiences will have the opportunity to witness one of the biggest sensations in modern dance – the centerpiece duet from British choreographer Matthew Bourne’s Tony Award-winning Swan Lake. Bourne, who is widely praised as the UK’s most popular and successful choreographer, debuted the almost all-male Swan Lake in 1995 – eschewing tradition and turning the ballet world on its head. The ballet has toured steadily since, playing to more people than any other ballet in modern stage history. It’s the longest running ballet on Broadway, and in 2011 it reached an even broader audience when it was released in select theaters as a 3-D movie.

Bourne’s avant-garde interpretation of Swan Lake tells the timeless story of ill-fated, forbidden love with dynamic modern day flair. New York Times dance critic Gia Kourlas described the ballet as “a painterly exploration of desire told through dance.” The ballet was called "a miracle" in a Time Out New York review.

For Atlanta’s premiere, the White Swan pas de deux will be performed by guest artists Domenico Luciano and Dominic Walsh of Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre (DWDT) in Houston, TX. DWDT first performed the duet in 2009 and is the only company outside of Bourne’s own that has been permitted to perform the work.

“Experiences like these are what we live for at Atlanta Ballet,” said John McFall, artistic director of Atlanta Ballet. “Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake is a choreographic masterpiece. It’s astoundingly inventive and quite simply genius, and we are lucky to have the chance to present a moment of this work to our audiences. We look forward to this opening the door to bring more of Bourne’s work to Atlanta.”

Join us for this breathtaking series of performances exploring the themes of love with the our final program of the season, Love Stories, May 10-12! Click here to get your tickets today.

Image: White Swan pas de deux from Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. Performed by Domenico Luciano and Domenic Walsh. Image courtesy of Domenic Walsh Dance Theater (dwdt.org).