Often cited as ballet’s greatest love story, Swan Lake is poised to set hearts aflutter when it flies into Cardiff’s Millennium Centre this November for a much anticipated four-night run. The production, directed by Sir Peter Wright, promises to bring a modern, British flavour to the classic Russian tale of a lovelorn prince who stumbles upon a woman cursed to live out her days as a swan, and vows to rescue her.
Among the cast of the Birmingham Royal Ballet is William Bracewell. Born in Swansea, this winner of the 2007 Young British Dancer of the Year Award saw his first ever ballet in the Grand Theatre and says, “I was about eight when I went to see a production of The Nutcracker. I’d just started ballet lessons and my mum realised it was something that really interested me.”
“We really enjoy touring because we get to live together,” says fellow cast member Yvette Knight, “there’s four of us who always rent a house together and it’s great.”
Growing up in a town where boys were more likely to be seen practicing their passing than their pirouettes, ballet wasn’t always a laughing matter for William. “I was scared of getting bullied so I’d tell my friends I was going to martial arts class after school when really I was doing ballet. They were all incredibly supportive when I left school at 11 to start my training at the Royal Ballet School though.”
“Swan Lake has all the things you want to see in a ballet,” continues William, “girls in tutus, the dry ice, the big formations, but it’s also very exciting and has some very technically impressive sections for both the guys and girls to get stuck in to.”
It may be the Millennium Centre rather than the Millennium Stadium, but I have a feeling this upcoming performance will bring the house down just the same- and at least the props are guaranteed to be better-looking.
Swan Lake, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Wed 11 Nov-Sat 14 Nov. Tickets: £17-£50. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk
words BETH TOLSON
photos ROY SMILJANIC