“The Dying Swan” “The Dying Swan and Its Cause of Death”

The image of ballerinas in white tutus and headdresses, dancing on pointe with outstretched arms flapping in the air is probably the most common image people have when they think of “ballet.” The inevitability and persuasiveness of Hana Sakai’s dance, one of Japan’s leading prima ballerinas, reach every corner of the audience with its serene beauty. The audience members are immersed in a lingering feeling of satisfaction – a moment of “I saw a ballet!” – as they witness a swan dying a fleeting death. But moments after, she reappears on pointe while humming a melody by Saint-Saëns and talks eloquently about the cause of her own swan’s death in colloquial Japanese.
In this comic rendition, playwright/director Toshiki Okada spins a monologue on behalf of choreographer Fokin, who created The Dying Swan as a drama without words, and dancer Hana Sakai + swan. He brings “environmental destruction,” a very real and timely topic, as an answer to why the swan is dying. Furthermore, he verbally exposes the dedication and struggle of the ballet dancer to control her body and mind in order to become the swan; he analyzes the origins of the art of ballet. This work could be considered a milestone that organically fuses ballet and theater.

Natsume Date Review (December 10th, 2021, [Venue: KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre < Large Studio > ])

Trailer(Japanese)

There were only two things I did in this production danced by Hana Sakai, a solo dance piece that deconstructs The Dying Swan. Both are very simple. One is to decide on the concept of the work.

More specifically, to make my own choice about what caused the swan in The Dying Swan to die. In the original The Dying Swan, the reason for its death is not explicitly stated. I think this gives the work a lingering and open-ended feeling. It seems like it is required to not mention the cause of its death, to evoke the beauty in its last moments. Therefore, in our version, we aimed to clearly determine the cause of death and to ruin any lingering feelings that come from the work. The second thing I did in this piece was to clarify what the quality of this performance depends on. But I didn’t necessarily come up with something particularly innovative. Rather, it is quite straightforward. Hana Sakai’s body and mind are imbued with the system of ballet, as well as with the work The Dying Swan. I simply decided to make work that relied on this, above all else. I have asked Hana to speak the text I have written as her lines. The text is like a drowsy speech. By voicing this text, Hana’s body will be dragged down from the culmination of her ballet body, no matter what. I created this piece because I wanted to see that happen. But why would I want to do that? I feel as though…. if there is something I can do to contextualize dance in our current society, it is by presenting dance that struggles against the “ordeal” of being dragged down from this high point.

Toshiki Okada