Since I didn't know this wasn't a more or less traditional SB, just took it out of the library, you can imagine how startling. Didn't know who Mats Ek was.

Anyway, always depraved and malignant, sometimes disgusting, but hilarious beyond belief sometimes. Probably terribly unhealthy, reminds of me of 'marat/sade' or Bellevue or something. Plus a lot of 60s, 70s alternative spaces and trendy Flash Art things and Chelsea art galleries. One scene is like Sandy Skoglund's green and blue dog-room sculptures. Didn't quite finish watching, but the Egg birth is hilarious, as is the Puss 'n' Boots crudeness, and the Jewel Fairy number is side-splitting--some hybrid with this Patti Lupone type in tight mini-dress swinging London. I mean--you can write anything about this, because they just do anything--skillfully, I admit. Sort of like dropping acid, I imagine. Anyway, enjoyed, but probably won't do any more of this sort of thing.

Anybody see this?

I saw it on stage performed by the Cullberg Ballet in Lyon some years ago, and don't remember much of it, except that I had found much weaker than his "Giselle" and his "Swan Lake"... Both are available in video too, with the wonderful Ana Laguna and Yvan Auzely.

By the way, you can find some comments about Ek's works using the search engine of this site (I remember posting some comments about his work "L'appartement" for the POB some years ago- when I used to attend ballet performances <sigh>)...

Thanks, Estelle. I found the 'l'appartement' thread and enjoyed the discussion. I may look into some of the other works, maybe I will like the ones with original scores instead of these deconstructions of old ballets and their scores--I mean, the worst thing is that I thoroughly enjoyed it despite myself and went on to hell...

There is something dangerous about someone parodying every aspect of a noble score that one loves (as I do SB), and then I knew I should turn it off after 2 minutes, but wanted to be 'in the know' about this sort of thing, so sold my soul...there was just so much derriere-wiggling and wrongful groping I positively died in the Rose Adagio and all the Lilac Fairy music. Truly some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen. The EGG even reminded me of Syberberg's film of 'Parsifal', why I'm not sure, but by then I had gone somewhat insane.

I had been curious about this production, and now I'm still not sure whether to see it or not! (I probably will.)