Duck Pond | Circa | DanceHouse | Vancouver Playhouse | January 22-25, 2025
Acrobatic feats, physical humour, emotive contemporary movement, burlesque, and sequined duck feet: Duck Pond is a true spectacle. Australia’s preeminent dance-circus company returned to Vancouver with another … adaptation of a classic ballet. Duck Pond is an artful mashup of Swan Lake and The Ugly Duckling. The company first wowed Vancouver audiences in 2023 with Sacre, a new version of the Rite of Spring — both co-presentations between DanceHouse and The Cultch.
When an ugly duckling falls in love with a prince, the feathers fly — quite literally. A silky pillow fight in the first act sets up some of the irreverence and physical comedy that runs throughout. Circa’s sense of humour sets them apart.
Luxurious sparkle adorns the costumes as the prince’s revellers fill the stage. The Fairy Swan Mother’s half black/half white tutu and wings are also striking, along with the webbed feet and suspenders of the duck army who bring their mops and come to play with the ugly duckling. Their acrobatic clowning around drew many laughs from the audience and reminded us that clowning is a core element of a great circus company.
The black swan is featured in a sensual duet in which she walks all over her partner with red high heeled shoes. It looks like it would be extremely painful, but it’s so skilfully done and is a powerful moment of domination. There are many other stunning scenes, including a silks trio that has the group working together to achieve beautiful lines and a trapeze act with four performers.
Between all the gravity-defying acts, there is a clear narrative that is easy to follow. Just as Odette flings herself into the lake, our ugly duckling is in despair and throws herself to the swans with an impressive flying jump.
After we find out what becomes of the duckling, the prince, and the black swan, there is a bonus act that reveals the behind the scenes lives of the swans as they pack up the stage, peeling off the tape that holds down the dance floor (and some more clowning around, as they get tangled in it). They undress, pick up stray feathers, and prepare for the grand finale: the white swan floats above a billowing curtain, leaving us with am images of her in flight, light as a feather.
Photo courtesy of Pia Johnson.
