48 swans as the beating heart of ‘The largest Swan Lake in the world’

Derek Deane has been with the Chinese ballet company for 23 years, but is still not used to the Chinese culture and mentality. “I am happy to be back in Europe for a while. Here you can just talk to everyone again and connect. Although the atmosphere at the Shanghai Ballet is really great, real direct contact with the dancers is not possible and they don’t say ‘no’ to anything, even if they can’t deliver on something.”

“There is a difference with when I first came in there. The respect I get there is huge and always has been, but luckily they don’t bow every time I pass and have become a little more open in their attitude. The almost militaristic barriers have been broken down a bit and that is nice to experience.”

“The hierarchy is still huge there. I have this year The Phantom of the Opera made as a ballet version and it was seen in Shanghai by the ‘lords’ of Beijing. We were supposed to perform Swan Lake in Beijing, but that was immediately exchanged for The Phantom.”

It’s all about technique, technique and more technique

The British choreographer praises the Chinese dancers’ discipline and work ethic. “They are driven, they are hard workers, they are never late and the mobile phone is far out of sight. It’s all about technique, technique and more technique. But when it comes to emotions, it becomes a different story. The emotional context is something I have to keep working on there. You can perform a dance step perfectly, but that means nothing if you can’t put emotion into it.”

And it’s all about emotion The swanlake, the love story to the music of Tchaikovsky, which was first staged in 1877 and has since been missing from virtually every ballet company’s repertoire. The ballet of ballets, such as The swanlake also called, was performed in the past in a grand performance with 48 ‘swans’ by the Russian Tschaikowsky Perm Ballet in the Netherlands and the Shanghai Ballet was also in our country before, but it is not Deane to make a record attempt.

“The corps de ballet is in The swanlake the beating heart of the performance and the larger that body size is, the louder the heartbeat sounds. I’ve been criticized for it, called it a gimmick – a trick – but in my eyes it gives a completely different sensation to the story. So many swans on stage makes the ballet visually overwhelming and breathtaking to watch. It is also more impressive when 48 swans kill the evil wizard Redbeard than when it happens with 24 swans – ‘the normal number’. Moreover, as a choreographer, it gives me room to create shapes and patterns.”

‘I was happy to have a house in France’

Deane’s ‘largest Swan Lake’ can be even bigger, because the British choreographer already created a version of the ballet classic for London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1997: The Swan Lake in-the-round with no fewer than sixty swans. “We bring them back every three years and the performances are always sold out. Next June we will bring this arena production again. Sometimes people ask why the repertoire doesn’t change once in a while, but I believe that the audience should also give what it asks for and The swanlake remains in demand and continues to attract new audiences.”

The choreographer, who recently turned 70, is cautiously considering putting an end to his career somewhere. “Corona lockdowns have cut into it quite a bit. In one go, artistic life came to a halt. That was strange and certainly also the false hope that was always there. When you thought you could do something again, life came to a standstill again. I was happy to have a house in France and a garden to grow vegetables, but it still takes time to recover from that period. This does not only apply to me, but to other people and groups in the cultural sector.”

Ups and downs

Deane is open about his feelings and says he thought about quitting early this year. “I lost my sister and a few dear friends and found that it affected me deeply. Last month also passed away Carl Davis, the composer with whom I have worked so much and who also wrote the music for my ‘Phantom’. It may have something to do with my age, because of course I’m in the fall of my life and know that I only have winter to go. That changes the perspective on your life.”

“After taking a few months off, I went back to work. I am also working on new projects, but I notice that I no longer work with the enthusiasm I used to have. I really need to tap that into myself. Sure, life has its ups and downs, but the older you get, the more vulnerable you are. At least, that’s my feeling. I am healthy and I can do everything, but my mind also wanders to the future. Fortunately, my work keeps me going, because my work is never done. I am not a choreographer who makes a ballet and then never changes anything about it. I always keep looking at how I can improve things. All my work is work in progress.”