[On Stage] "The Longest Kiss Ever? ... The Ultimate Expression of First Love"

British Ballet Choreographer 'Matthew Bourne' Written Interview
'Romeo and Juliet' Performed at LG Arts Center
"Hope Audience Recalls First Love's Emotions and Excitement"

The ballet "Romeo and Juliet," which will be performed at the LG Arts Center starting on the 8th, is famous for having the longest kiss scene in dance history. The male and female leads share a kiss for about one minute during the balcony pas de deux (duet) scene.

Matthew Bourne, the British choreographer who directed the production, explained in a written interview with Asia Economy, "When young people fall in love, it is so intense that they cannot be separated from each other, which is why I staged such a long kiss scene."

Bourne said, "Romeo and Juliet is a work depicting the ultimate first love of two young people," adding, "The balcony pas de deux, which includes the longest kiss scene in history, is my favorite scene."

Matthew Bourne [Photo by LG Art Center]

Bourne co-founded the dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP) in 1987, marking the start of his full-fledged career as a choreographer. Thirty-two years later, in 2019, he premiered Romeo and Juliet in London, UK.

He explained, "I postponed working on Romeo and Juliet for quite a long time because I thought it was a work that had already been extensively covered in various media such as opera, ballet, film, and theater."

To differentiate the very famous Romeo and Juliet, Bourne said he agonized for a long time but found the answer surprisingly simple: focusing on young dancers and creators. He decided to make Romeo and Juliet a work depicting the ultimate first love of two young people, which led to the creation of the longest kiss scene in dance history.

"First love is sometimes awkward and full of newly discovered excitement. I wanted to capture that youthful emotion and excitement so that the audience could remember the feeling of falling in love for the first time during adolescence. They cannot let go of each other for a moment and endlessly explore each other, moving toward their first kiss. Rather than the common way of lightly kissing on the cheek or lips, I wanted to present a challenging choreography and created the longest kiss scene in dance history. Romeo and Juliet, both wishing that moment would never end, capturing the youthful memories that all the audience holds dear."

Bourne added, "The kiss scene shows the first moment when Romeo and Juliet freely express their true selves."

Bourne's works are known for radically reinterpreting existing stories. A representative example is his reinterpretation of the classic ballet "Swan Lake." While Swan Lake is famous for the beautiful corps de ballet of ballerinas, Bourne's 1995 premiere of the work with the same title featured muscular male dancers performing dynamic group choreography, attracting attention. Bourne's Swan Lake was also inserted in the final scene of the film "Billy Elliot," which tells the story of a boy dreaming of becoming a ballet dancer. Swan Lake was first introduced in Korea in 2003 and was performed five times until 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2019.

'Romeo and Juliet' performance scene [Photo courtesy of LG Arts Center, (c) Johan Persson]

Bourne also recreated Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in a modern way. The place where Romeo and Juliet fall in love at first sight is the "Verona Institute," a correctional facility for youths classified as delinquents. Romeo and Juliet are confined within walls surrounded by white tiles and are under the control of guards. Although Romeo and Juliet are imprisoned by adults at the Verona Institute, they share a dangerous love, evading the guards' watchful eyes.

Bourne explained, "The Verona Institute is an imaginary place where youths seem to be confined." He added that the reason Romeo and Juliet are imprisoned might be because they do not conform to socially encouraged values, and whether this place is a juvenile detention center, a school, a prison, a hospital, or a site of some cruel social experiment is left to the audience's interpretation.

Bourne explained that the reason he can include such radical content is that he creates works without a script. "The story of Romeo and Juliet remains, but Shakespeare's lines are essentially gone. This fact gives me the confidence to transform the story of Romeo and Juliet more boldly."

For the choreographer, music is important. Bourne said music is like a script to him. Russian composer Sergey Prokofiev composed the ballet music for Romeo and Juliet, and Bourne completed the choreography based on this. He described Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet ballet music as "feeling like modern film music and, in many parts, fantastic dance music."

This is the first time in five years since 2019's Swan Lake that Bourne's work is performed in Korea. Bourne said, "I am pleased to present 'Romeo and Juliet,' a work I am proud of, to Korean audiences."

Bourne holds the record for the most Olivier Awards won, having received nine, the highest honor in the UK performing arts scene. Recognized for expanding the horizons of contemporary dance, he was knighted by the Prince of Wales in May 2016, becoming the first figure in contemporary dance to receive a knighthood.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.