Giselle, and What to Do with the Problematic Past Part II
When the renowned choreographer Akram Khan was commissioned to update the classic \u201cGiselle\u201d for the English National Ballet, he couldn\u2019t simply put new steps to a Romantic-era plot. Beautiful as it is, \u201cGiselle\u201d has a view of ideal womanhood that is insupportable in our century\u2014and it didn\u2019t reflect the women he knew.\xa0 In Khan\u2019s 2016 \u201cGiselle,\u201d the title character doesn\u2019t chastely expire from a broken heart; she is a strong woman victimized by more powerful men.\xa0 The story still culminates in an act of forgiveness, but in a way that resonates with the era of #MeToo. Vincenzo Lamagna composed the production\u2019s new score. The producer Ngofeen Mputubwele describes the production as not simply a great modern ballet but a model for how to reimagine a story that doesn\u2019t work anymore.