"Project X" - Patrick King
The gay dancer choreographer Patrick King was born in the Caribbean, went to the USA as a young student, became an American citizen and starred in the film version of the musical "Fame", worked in Italian dance theater and TV and came to Sweden to join the prestigious Stockholm-based Cullberg Ballet.
Leaving Cullberg, King has appeared in a number of performances in various productions in Sweden. One of the most highly praised was at the Uppsala City Theater. In the play by Lars Noren, King personified in dance the erotic and plagued feelings of a bi-sexual medieval composer, forced to satisfy the lust of a royal tyrant.
In creating his new dance group in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, "Project X", King has continued with the series of dance productions describing sexuality and emotions. He dances the role of the manipulative androgyn, at times wearing only a flashing silver jock-strap or with a meter-long Afro-wig dangling down his back in his latest production, "Exit". Another black and slender young dancer portrays a prima donna trying to escape from a persecuting spotlight. A short blonde Finish dancer uses erotic aggression in attempts to capture a beuatiful blond narcisuss, wrapped up totally in his own sexuality.
"I've chosen some of the finest young dancers in Sweden who have not passed 20, since I am aiming very much at a young audience, " King told Erato. "In "Exit", I'm trying to ask the eternal questions concerning love versus hate, freedom against responsibility, and the individual against the collective."
"Exit" after touring Sweden is also scheduled to begin a foreign tour in Rome.

"On the Front Porch of Heaven" - Ulysses Dove

A stunning world premier describing life, death agony and survival in the age of AIDS has been donated by the gay American choreographer, Ulysses Dove, to the Royal Swedish Ballet. Dove's "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven -- odes to love and loss" has been called one of the finest - and most demanding - ballet numbers on the Stockholm stage in years. Dove explained to journalists that his new dance is dedicated to 64 lovers, friends, and family members who have died in the past years. He also praised the Swedish dancers for their stamina and technique.
Estonian Arvo Pärt's music ranges from celestial bells to soul-shattering thunder. The space above the dance floor is almost filled with slender, hanging blue cylinders, leaving a limited purgatory for the earth-bound dancers. All six dancers are dressed in skin-tight white, together with fair Nordic features - perhaps reflecting the black American choreographer's ironic idea of our possible concept of heaven's doorstep.
Two blond, strikingly attractive and highly capable dancers perform the difficult movements of the male lead on alternate evenings. Often the man dances alone with one of the three women, who are graceful almost spiritual goddesses, leading the men through their agony and turmoil.
The male couple intertwines, blending strength & softness, supporting and lifting each other thro' illness and into lonely survival. A slap becomes a hug, the fragment of a kiss, or hint of copulation, as each lover helps his partner forward in their journey.
All six dancers in a magic circle, metamorphising in isolated spotlights; linked with the harmony of movement; they nod subtly at each other as the curtain falls, a sublime signal for the opening of heaven's gate.
Bill Schiller.

"Separation" - Jack Benschop

Continuing its tradition of presenting new works by members of its company the Gothenberg Ballet performed "Seperation" by Jack Benschop - danced by him and János Misurák. The ballet is seen by critics as a powerful masculine dance with clear homoerotic overtones, describing with insight, the love the men feel for each other and their pain when they must part. Born in the Netherlands Antilles, and trained mostly in Europe, Benschop went to Sweden about 10 years ago. As a featured dancer in the Cullberg Ballet (Stockholm) his dark good looks, his impecable technique, and unfailing good humour made a favourite with audiences.

Bill Schiller