The Dance of Gay Relationships

Re Ellen Brandt’s Counterpunch (“ ‘Swan Lake’ Anything but Ill-Fated,” June 9), in which she criticized Stephen Farber’s commentary in the June 1 Calendar on Matthew Bourne’s “Swan Lake”:

I, too, have seen “Swan Lake” twice and, although I did not come away from the second viewing any less admiring of Bourne’s choreography and concept, Farber’s commentary is astute on several points.

First, the choreography is indeed exciting, sensual and original but not always because Bourne has devised particularly original dance steps. As noted by Farber, Bourne’s choreography is an amazing pastiche and, in some cases, parody of the tried-and-true choreography of classical ballets that in recent years have stultified the art form. Much of the joy one experiences in watching Bourne’s “Swan Lake” is derived from identifying the “old” choreography and marveling at how Bourne uses it for ironic effect or dramatically refits it for his retelling of the familiar story.

Brandt lashes out at Farber’s purported misreading of “Swan Lake’s” original (and limited) story line, of which Bourne has retained very little. It is easy to confuse the black leather-clad interloper as an entirely different Swan because his sadistic behavior toward the Prince is so extraordinarily cruel in contrast to the loving pas de deux between the Swan and the Prince, which ends the second act, that it seems inconceivable the two Swans are one and the same. However, by the ballet’s conclusion, it is crystal-clear that the Black Swan is not an enchanted evil doppelganger but the physicalization of the cruelty some men and women exact on their devoted lovers.

Brandt further vents--and most speciously--by labeling Farber as “heterophobic.” Not only does her use of the “sexual preference card” rival the intolerance of the couple she believes was offended (loudly, apparently) by “homosexual innuendoes,” it also betrays Brandt’s own misunderstanding of what Bourne attempts and succeeds to portray. I don’t presume to know Bourne’s thoughts and emotions as he created the ballet, but it seems that the painful dance danced on the Ahmanson stage is echoed each night in the gay bars of West Hollywood (and Greenwich Village and Key West).

True acceptance in society is still predominantly based on marriage and family. Unable to fit in, a gay man often turns to despair, and in some cases, as in the Prince’s, to suicide. How wonderful to be rescued by a beautiful, otherworldly creature who promises eternal love! But, sadly, as too often happens, after the love has been consummated, the “Swan” moves on (so many Princes, so little time!). The spurned Prince demands commitment; the narcissistic Swan seduces every woman in sight to prove he’s “straight,” while dismissing the heartbroken Prince as an object of derision because of his homosexual yearnings. The Swan returns and dances for forgiveness (poignantly imagined by the Prince), but society’s hatred and intolerance results in the deaths of these mismatched lovers.

Despite the pretty trappings, this is not a pretty portrait of gay life and, as suggested by Farber, it seems a throwback to the “tragic” homosexuals eschewed in recent years. The ugly truth is that Bourne’s take on gay relationships is, unfortunately, still more the norm than the exception. If there’s anything “ill-fated” about “Swan Lake,” it’s that people like Brandt aren’t “getting it.” There are plenty of princes seeking commitment from their Swans--and some even find it!--but the Swans are a showy lot and represent, to some, precisely why a man loving a man can never surpass a man’s love for a woman. Until we learn to change from Swans to Princes, we need truth-tellers like Bourne to tell us the truth over and over again.

GENE FRANKLIN SMITH

Los Angeles

Smith is a screenwriter and playwright whose play “Rubicon” was produced at the Coast Playhouse in March.