“The Red Shoes” Becomes a Ballet

The English choreographer Matthew Bourne is known for ballets that are based on popular tales or movies; that pulsate with crime and passion; that transpire on shifting planes of reality; that incorporate big, crazy dance parties and small, nastily observed manners; and that generally end with the boy's not getting the girl, or the boy. Now Bourne has done it again, God bless him! His new ballet is "The Red Shoes" , and the story, basically, is that of the famous 1948 movie by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.