Black Swan
The period evoked in the performance coincides with the time of the premiere of Swan Lake (1877). At the same time, the second half of the 19th century is also a period of proliferating mental hospitals, patients 'possessed' by animal spirits, and the treatment of mental illnesses by torture and other strange methods.
It is in such an institution that the schizophrenic Odette, a swan queen in her fantasies, wanders among her many comrades, in and out of balls and palaces, between her past, her present and her never-to-be future, her imagination unhindered by the solitude of the ward or the straitjacket. The long fingers of the latter, ending in a string like mutilated swan wings, record the moment of transformation. No longer human, no longer a swan. No longer healthy, no longer undead.
Schedule
Surrounding him are figures with a double bond: on the one hand, they represent the characters of the basic work, and on the other, they are residents or employees of the institute. The Prince's mother - a nun healer. Alexander - a fellow physician. Siegfried - a young doctor who emphasises kindness and patience over chains and violence, physical abuse. Professor Rothbart, who wards off Evil with handfuls of medicine, bedridden, cold-water head-washing. Then, suddenly, a girl in black, the great rival Odile, emerges from the outside world and enters Odette's fairy-tale dreams. In these visions, she follows him like a black swan, seeking to tear him away from the prince of his dreams, the young doctor. In this way, reality and fantasy merge into a single nightmare. Despite Rothbart's desperate attempts, the beautiful girl, who rebels in vain against her fate, cannot be kept sane; for her, the reality of her physical captivity is replaced by the freedom of hallucinations as her final home: the swan lake.
National Dance Theatre
On 15 February 2019, Budapest's unique new cultural arena opened its doors: the new National Dance Theatre in Millenáris Park. The building, equipped with the latest theatre technology and featuring unique architectural solutions, offers two theatre halls and a chamber hall for dance lovers, as well as rehearsal rooms for professional dancers. The foyer of the building will also become a community space open to visitors to the park, giving Millenáris the opportunity to become even more part of the capital's bloodstream.
