Ballet Company of Győr has prepared another two act, full-length ballet for the 2017/18 season. They have undertaken the challenge of adapting American author, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic, The Scarlet Letter, to ballet for the first time.

Hawthorne was akey figure in 19th century American literature. He wrote his first novel, The Scarlet Letter, when he was 46, in 1850, and it was an immediate hit. The novel is set in the puritan New England in the age of the wars with Native Americans. The novel bears all the hallmarks of Puritanism, and the atmosphere in which holiness, hypocrisy and morality are present simultaneously.

The work is astory of adultery. The heroine is the wonderful Hester Prynne, who is condemned for adultery, so she has to wear the scarlet letter 'A' on her clothes as a mark of an adulterer. However, Hester bears this with her head held high as she lovingly raises her child, Pearl, conceived outside marriage. She never names her partner in crime, partly because he is the greatly respected young priest of the community, Arthur Dimmesdale. The piece mixes morality and hypocrisy with feelings of guilt and vengeance. The most exciting moral dilemma in the novel us the duality of admitting to crime and emotions.

The dance was choreographed by the company’s artistic director, the Harangozó Award Winner Pál Velekei. He was assisted in the staging of this production by artists such as Mara Bozóki, set designer; Rita Velich costume designer and the internationally renowned lighting designer, Yaron Abulafia.

Place: National Dance Theatre Budapest

Address: 1024 Budapest, Kis Rókus u. 16-20