The tenth series of Royal Academy of Dance podcast Why Dance Matters podcast features an episode with Sir Matthew Bourne, in which he talks about his award-winning interpretation of Swan Lake which will tour again for its 30th anniversary.
Bourne is the creator of the world’s longest running ballet production, a nine-time Olivier Award winner and the only British director to have won the Tony Award for both Best Choreographer and Best Director of a Musical. His company New Adventures performs his works, including Nutcracker!, Swan Lake, The Car Man, Edward Scissorhands and Romeo and Juliet.
On why he started to dance, he says, “my parents took me to see a lot of big musicals in the '60s. I loved it, and I wanted to recreate those dances. So, I became a self-taught dancer through my teen years, putting on shows. I didn’t discover ballet until my late teens. I actually went to see Swan Lake just out of self-education. After that I got so hooked and that’s where everything started.”
On why dance matters, he adds, “dance has always been my form of telling a story; my form of communicating with people. I think that's why dance matters on the wider scale because it is so totally universal.”
The RAD podcast is produced by David Jays, dance critic and editor of Dance Gazette, and Sarah Myles.