Dance Legend Adam Cooper

Dance critic Ismene Brown interviews Adam Cooper, legendary as the Swan in Matthew Bourne’s world hit Swan Lake, about his high-achieving and wide-ranging career. Topics include years at the Royal Ballet partnering Darcey Bussell, Sylvie Guillem and wife Sarah Wildor, the move to Bourne’s Adventures in Motion Pictures to star in Swan Lake, Cinderella and The Red Shoes, on to Singin’ in the Rain and Guys and Dolls with Patrick Swayze, and his passion project, a ballet of Liaisons Dangereuses. One of a series of filmed interviews for the students and supporters of the Vyne Arts Centre and Dance Academy, Berkhamsted.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:43-03:03 Film clip Billy Elliot
04:10 The dancing Cooper boys. Early inspirations, early rivalry. Arts Educational School - Festival Ballet Nutcracker.
08:32 Both brothers into Royal Ballet School. “Competition between us was quite fierce.” RBS choreography prize.
11:08 Royal Ballet - high-flyer. Thrown on in Mayerling 1994. Lead roles. The fun of playing villains.
13:30 Partnering Darcey Bussell - Darcey’s comment. “Brilliant” David Drew classes at RBS, Donald Macleary at Royal Ballet. “I’m there for the ballerina.” Learning to be the focal point in a ballet.
16:45 Courtiers v natural soloists. Male competition at RB - “There were so many of us vying for leading roles.”
18:16 Noticed by Kenneth MacMillan. Self-confidence - “my last teacher at school said you’ve got a good brain but you’ll never be a good dancer, so I owe Kenneth a lot.”
19:48 Summoned by Sylvie Guillem, the world’s most talked-about ballerina. Perfectionism and curtain corrections. Herman Shmerman - Jeremy Isaacs’ comment. “Being” sexy.
24:55 How to judge when performance is working. “It’s an unspoken script you have with a dancer.”
27:30 Sarah Wildor - partnership at home and on stage. First pairing in The Invitation. How he and Sarah discuss roles and perform together. “She brings out the best in her partner because she demands that.”
29:40 Matthew Bourne. Creating the iconic Swan. Bourne comment. “Adam’s very manly and he had a mystery about him.” Arm-driven choreography - Nijinsky.
33:40 The “gay” overlay - “The Swan is asexual - it’s a creature, not a man.” New partnering angles.
35:23 Becoming a legend. Success and fame. Sadler’s Wells, West End, Los Angeles, Broadway. "Most eligible bachelor". Being painted for National Portrait Gallery. Working double shifts - Bourne’s Swan Lake and Royal Ballet. Injury.
39:49 Male dancers breaking out at RB. Return to Royal Ballet for Cranko’s Onegin just after wife Sarah resigned. “It was a really awkward time. But we are able to separate our personal and professional lives.” Feeling constricted by Onegin's traditionalism - “I never went back to classical after that.”
45:38 The Bourne identity. Outsider in AMP. Feeling at home, then constricted again.
46:43 The Cooper identity. Singing, dancing, choreographing, acting. Liaisons Dangereuses as conceiver, performer, choreographer and director. Guys and Dolls at Donmar Warehouse with Patrick Swayze, first non-dancing identity.
52:17 Developing skills. Advice to students - take risks, don’t be afraid of being wrong.
53:42 Brother Simon - Rambert Dance for 20 years. Bruce's Cruel Garden. Bourne’s Swan Lake. Dancing together.
55:27 The importance of attitude - Leanne Benjamin comment. Attitude is the magic dust. Spurred on by teacher’s scepticism.
58:21 Lockdown - freelancer vulnerability. Delivery driving. Keeping focus. Not worrying about legacy, not watching the Swan Lake DVD. Finding time for performing. Directing and choreographing opera and musicals in Germany. “I was only in the Royal Ballet for seven years and the list of things I’ve done since then is incredible. I’ve been lucky.” Being brave.

Visuals credits:
Billy Elliot, extract (Universal 2000)
Photographs from Adam Cooper

Related links:
Vyne Theatre and Dance Academy, Berkhamsted. www.vynearts.co.uk
Ismene's site of 30 years of dance coverage. www.ismeneb.com