While books and movies about King Arthur abound, a dance version, particularly one that cost $1.6 million to produce, is considerably rarer.
“Any brand-new, full-length ballet is an anomaly,” Morgan said. “Doing new renditions of ‘Swan Lake’ or ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is one thing, but it takes a certain amount of adventure to take on what’s known as a ‘non-warhorse’ ballet. There’s a lot of time and expense. (Composer) John (Estacio) spent a fully committed year just getting the score on paper.”
So why mount a production of non-traditional content that incorporates such costly technology, props, and staging? As with the circus and Broadway, Morgan sees a need to evolve their traditional entertainment for a modern audience.
“Our audiences are used to seeing the classic idioms stretched, pushed, pulled,” Morgan said. “When we did it last time, the reviews compared it to Broadway in terms of visual spectacle. And the story of Camelot is so emotional. It’s nice to break down the formality (of dance) and tap into that rawness.”
The bucking of convention extends to the dancers themselves. Due to the obviously masculine nature of Arthurian legend, Morgan describes ‘King Arthur’s Camelot’ as a ‘man’s ballet,’ an apparent nod to the cultural assumption that ballet is chiefly done by women for women, and that even the male dancers are mere extensions of that effeminacy.
“These guys are really tough,” she said. “I feel guilty toward my women, but there’s only one female lead in the story, and I was excited to work with the men. And even though there’s a lot of traditional ballet technique — jumps, leaps, and turns — there’s a contemporary orientation to it as well.”
“King Arthur’s Camelot” doesn’t adhere to any particular version of the story. Rather, it’s an amalgam of the most well-known elements: the sword in the stone, the Round Table, the love triangle of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere and, perhaps most of all, the imposition of a code of chivalry on a lawless society.
“The legends all have a commonality of creating a utopian society through goodwill, structure, and discipline,” Morgan said. “Taking knights that were rough and ready like in the Wild West and giving them ethical values. And then the consequences of leadership, and the price Arthur had to pay.”
Since mounting the original production, Morgan said she has made a number of significant adjustments to the ballet for this second run, leading her to jokingly muse that she wound up with a completely different ballet.
“When you see a piece with an audience, you can see things you didn’t see before, whether the audience is traveling with your idea or not,” she said. “I’ve changed the first fight and the dance of honor. I’ve tweaked and changed the ending of the wedding pas de deux and the wedding dance. Hopefully, the storytelling will be clearer, more fleshed out.”
HOW TO GO
What: "King Arthur's Camelot"
When: Feb. 10-12, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati
Cost: $32-$116
More Info: 513-621-2787 or www.cincinnatiarts.org
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