Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake" Returns to Korea After Six Years... Opening at LG Arts Center Next Month

Decorating the Final Scene of the Film "Billy Elliot"
Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Its Premiere... Performances from June 18 to 29

The performance that graced the final scene of the film "Billy Elliot," Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake," will return to Korea for the first time in six years.

On May 12, LG Arts Center announced that it will present 16 performances of Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake" from June 18 to June 29.

Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake" is a work that garnered worldwide attention by transforming the iconic female swans of the classic ballet "Swan Lake" into muscular male swans.

Matthew Bourne reimagined the fairy-tale original as a poignant drama between a fragile prince of modern British royalty and the "swan," a figure embodying the strength, beauty, and freedom the prince lacks. Set to Tchaikovsky's music, the production moves between the mysterious lake, the dazzling royal ball, and a bar in the backstreets of London, weaving a gripping and suspenseful narrative that blurs the boundaries between the prince's fantasies and reality. In particular, the sensual and dynamic group dances performed by male dancers as swans?bare-chested and clad in feathered trousers?captivate the audience's gaze.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the premiere of Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake." The production debuted in November 1995 at Sadler's Wells Theatre in the United Kingdom, with Adam Cooper, a leading star of the Royal Ballet, performing as the first Swan. At the premiere, some audience members booed and left the theater upon seeing muscular male dancers in feathered trousers. However, those who remained responded with enthusiastic cheers and standing ovations, and the press lavished praise on the production, recognizing it as a new masterpiece.

Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake" set a record for the longest-running dance production in Broadway history, with 124 performances at New York's Neil Simon Theatre in 1998. The show also achieved great success in the United States, winning the Tony Awards for Best Director, Best Choreographer, and Best Leading Actor in 1999. In 2000, the work gained further fame when the final scene of the film "Billy Elliot" featured the adult Billy (Adam Cooper) leaping powerfully as a grown-up ballerino. In 2011, a film titled "Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake 3D," capturing the live performance with 3D cameras, was also released.

Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake" began its world tour in 2002, and LG Arts Center hosted its first Korean performance in 2003. Since then, LG Arts Center has staged the production in 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2019, attracting more than 100,000 audience members to date.

This year's production of Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake" will be performed under the subtitle "Next Generation," celebrating its 30th anniversary. New leading stars who will shape the future of Matthew Bourne's company are set to take the stage.

Jackson Fisch and Rory Macleod, who visited LG Arts Center Seoul last year with "Romeo and Juliet" and portrayed a sensitive yet passionate Romeo, as well as Harrison Dowzell, who has been a leading star of New Adventures since 2019, will play the roles of Swan/Stranger. Additionally, James Lovell, who performed at LG Arts Center with "Swan Lake" in 2019, along with Stephen Murray, known for his delicate emotional expression, and Leonardo McCorkindale, will take on the role of the Prince.