This is How You Turn Shakespeare's Writing Into Ballet

May 12, 2016

William Shakespeare’s plays have provided inspiration to dozens of choreographers, but have you ever wondered how dance-makers translate his complex writing into beautiful dancing?

This video from The Royal Ballet (a company full of natural dance-actors) provides an amazing illustration. Christopher Wheeldon’s latest full-length ballet, The Winter’s Tale, features Royal Ballet principal Edward Watson as the jealous and possessive King Leontes. In this video, actor Geoffrey Streatfield recites some of King Leontes’ lines while Watson dances the scene they inspired. You can see how Leontes is teetering on the brink of madness—both in Streatfield’s acting and Watson’s movement.

 

It’s like a peek inside Wheeldon’s creative process!

Curious about how the rest of The Winter’s Tale looks, translated into a ballet? The Royal has a ton of information on it’s website about how the ballet was choreographed, designed and composed.

For more news on all things ballet, don’t miss a single issue.