Enjoy the age-old fairytale Snow White as you've never experienced it before, as France's greatest contemporary ballet company pirouettes into the Arts Centre Melbourne to perform Ballet Preljocaj's Snow White this August.
Ballet Preljocaj's Snow White has captivated global audiences by tapping into the darker side of the fairytale, collaborating with the artistic talents of the world's greatest creatives.
This modern take on the classic fairytale Snow White is a breathtaking full-length stage story put together by the award winning French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj.
Ballet Preljocaj's Snow White at Arts Centre Melbourne
Featuring monumental sets designed by Thierry Leproust, magnificent sounds of Gustav Mahler's symphonies performed live by Orchestra Victoria, and intricate costumes pieced together by legendary haute couture designer Jean Paul Gaultier, it is no wonder this eye dazzling production won the award for Best Ballet at the 2017 Helpmann Awards.
Ballet Preljocaj's Snow White follows the original Brothers Grimm fairytale of 1812, depicting scenes in a much more malevolent manner than the Disney-fied version you may be familiar with.
Focussing on the innocence of the main character with 'skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony' matched with the unforgiving envy of her wicked Queen stepmother, Ballet Preljocaj's Snow White isn't quite the watered down fairytale you may have grown up with.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who in this land is the fairest of all? The story of Snow White tells the tale of an evil stepmother who does everything she can to prevent her stepdaughter overtaking her on the beauty stakes, even poisoning her with an apple.
This story, as it has been told in recent decades, has inspired countless pop-culture interpretations both in Disney films, TV, music and of course, dance. Ballet Preljocaj's Snow White introduces theatre goers to the much darker, original side of this 19th century story, yet portrayed in a contemporary and visually striking new way.
Of his Snow White adaptation, Preljocaj said: "I was very keen to tell a story, to offer something magical and enchanted. I have followed the version by the Grimm Brothers, with just a few personal variations based on my own analysis of the symbols in the tale."
"The wicked stepmother is without doubt the central character in the tale. She is the one who I examine through her narcissistic determination not to give up on seduction and her role as a woman, even if it means sacrificing her stepdaughter," he explained.
Angelin Preljocaj is a Parisian choreographer who studied classical ballet before turning to contemporary dance. He founded Ballet Preljocaj in 1985 and since then has collaborated with artists in fashion, design, literature and music in his award winning dance productions.
See Ballet Preljocaj's Snow White at Arts Centre Melbourne, performing from 1 - 5 August, 2018. Book online here.
