Review: The Acrobatic Swan Lake ★★★★★

Yelps of disbelief could be heard throughout Sadler’s Wells at the climax of The Acrobatic Swan Lake by China’s Xian Acrobatic Troupe.There had been other breathtaking occasions in this show, that combines China’s ancient tradition of acrobatics with Western ballet – more the former than the latter, if truth be told – but then never have we seen a Western ballerina stand on pointe in attitude on the head – yes, you read that correctly! - on the head of her partner.

The Acrobatic Swan Lake has toured extensively since its creation exactly 20 years ago and in the process garnered a raft of awards; it has now has been updated and spruced up for the anniversary with new sets and more than 200 eye-catching new costumes.

The basics of the story, here with some light modifications, are those of the Swan Lake we’re familiar with – and in London this season we cannot fail to be familiar with it, as a number of productions have returned to our stages: The Royal Ballet’s, ENB’s Swan Lake in-the-round and still to come The State Ballet of Georgia’s own version.

So, to recap: carefree princess is taken by the Black Hawk King and turned into a swan.

The Acrobatic Swan Lake, Black Hawk King
Thousands of miles away a handsome prince senses what happened and determines to travel to save the swan princess. That he does, but not before nearly losing everything by being seduced by her evil double, the black swan. Love and good prevail over evil, leading to the thrilling pas de deux mentioned above and a glorious wedding image. Oh, and the spectacular death of the Black Hawk King.

In place of the danced divertissements of Western ballet here we have a variety of acrobatic skills on display in the various scenes: when the melancholy prince, the strong and elegant Zhou Jie, lying on his couch, is entertained by court performers, during this trips across the seas to the Far Eastern city of Chang’an, when he meets representatives of different cultures, and in Black Hawk King’s cave, where he goes to claim the swan princess, performed by the impressive Sun Yina.

Among the skills on show are pair contortion, particularly impressive in the Eagle and Snake scene, Li Jinyan’s seemingly boneless Snake creating shapes you never thought a human body could bend into; Straw Hat, where a large group of women in bright flouncy red costumes perform collective juggling with hats; a fast whirling Cyr wheel, and many more.

There are, of course, white swans, but the famous four cygnets become four bright green acrobatic frogs; and very impressive they were, too.

The Acrobatic Swan Lake, The Four Frogs
Sets, sumptuous costumes and lighting are all richly atmospheric, particularly in the lakeside scenes; less attractive is the combination of the heavily bowdlerised Tchaikovsky score and Sadler’s Wells's sound system, which at times amounts to an assault on the senses.

No matter. The Acrobatic Swan Lake is a thrilling, enjoyable show, its mostly very young, highly trained performers deserving high plaudits for their extraordinary skills.