Dark Ballet
"Dark Ballet" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fourteenth studio album Madame X (2019). It was released on June 7, 2019 as the album's third promotional single. Written and produced by Madonna and longtime collaborator Mirwais, the song contains a sample from The Nutcracker (1892) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and was inspired by the historical figure Joan of Arc. It is an experimental pop and electro-gospel piano ballad, with the use of vocoder on her vocals and lyrics about rebelling against the patriarchy.
"Dark Ballet"
June 7, 2019
4:14
- Madonna
- Mirwais
"Dark Ballet" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who deemed it a highlight from Madame X and one of Madonna's most experimental songs. In the United Kingdom, "Dark Ballet" peaked at number 83 on the official downloads chart. A music video, directed by director Emmanuel Adjei, was released on June 7, 2019. It features rapper Mykki Blanco playing Joan of Arc. Madonna first performed "Dark Ballet" during the 2018 Met Gala, known then as "Beautiful Game", and as the second number of her 2019−20 Madame X Tour.
Reception[edit]
"Dark Ballet" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic deemed it an "ominous number" and one of the highlights of Madame X.[11] El Hunt from NME said it was "as villainous and foreboding as Ray of Light's darkest moments", and compared it to the singer's 2002 single "Die Another Day".[13] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani called its lyrical theme "Kafkaesque".[9] Also from Slant Magazine, Alexa Camp praised the track for being "ambitious", as well as "a reminder of the wacky magic Madonna and Mirwais are capable of cooking up together".[17] Variety's Jeremy Helligar deemed it, alongside "God Control", as one of the moments in Madame X where "true weirdness sets in", and "the closest Madonna may ever come to her own 'Bohemian Rhapsody'".[7] Robbie Barnett from the Washington Blade, wrote that it was one of the album's "standout" tracks, as well as "a bold statement of extreme artistic expression".[10] Writing for Idolator, Mike Wass called it "a little heavy-handed, but nonetheless mesmerizing".[18] In a further review, Wass said it was the singer's "most experimental" single.[12] Gay Times' Daniel Megarry deemed it "arguably the most bizarre" song on Madonna's catalogue, as well as the fifth best song on Madame X.[19]
For Nicolas Hautman, from Us Weekly, it's a "dark, glitchy number".[20] The HuffPost's Daniel Welsh said "Dark Ballet" was the strangest song on the album, where the singer "takes the opportunity to let her detractors know that no matter what is thrown at her, she won’t be backing down".[21] Louise Bruton from The Irish Times, stated that the song is "an experimental stand against authoritarianism".[22] Johnny Coleman, from The Hollywood Reporter, noted that Madonna "does a decent Wendy Carlos impression" on "Dark Ballet".[23] Sean Maunier, from Metro Weekly, called it an "infectiously weird track".[24] Jaime Tabberer, from Gay Star News, compared it to Madonna's previous singles "Human Nature" (1995) and "What It Feels Like for a Girl" (2001), as all three songs exude "the same ferocious attitude" and touch on the themes of discrimination and sexism.[25] Michael Arceneaux of NBC News called it one of the album's "oddities".[26] On a negative review, Rich Juzwiak from Pitchfork said that "the 808 gloom of 'Dark Ballet' [...] is horrendous".[27] The Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Kennedy wrote that the song "starts promising enough but drifts into a computer-altered pile of jumbled, pointless slogans".[28] In the United Kingdom, "Dark Ballet" peaked at number 83 on the official downloads chart the week of June 14.[29]
Live performances[edit]
Madonna first performed "Dark Ballet", known then as "Beautiful Game", at the 2018 Met Gala.[12][36] After singing "Like a Prayer" and a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (1984), she began singing the song wearing a corset and a metallic arm accessory, her hair was braided and parted down the center.[37][38]
Several dancers, wearing similar costumes, performed a choreography that seemed to control and restrain her movements.[36] A fragment of "Dark Ballet" was included during Madonna's performance of "Future" and "Like a Prayer" as an interval act in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.[21][39] The song was then included on the singer's Madame X Tour (2019−20), where it was the second song of the setlist.[40] The performance featured "Joan of Arc references, religious garb and battles with dancers in gas masks reminiscent of the mice in The Nutcracker", as well as a ballet breakdown halfway through.[41][42] At one point, the singer gets pushed off a piano by one of the dancers.[43] Billboard's Joe Lynch praised the number's "compelling mixture of Christian iconography and pagan pageantry".[44] The performance was included on the live album Madame X: Music from the Theater Xperience.
On October 9, 2021, following the release of the Madame X concert film, Madonna gave an "intimate cabaret performance" in the basement of Marcus Samuelsson's Harlem restaurant Red Rooster, and sang Lounge renditions of "Dark Ballet", "La Isla Bonita" (1987), Madame X album track "Crazy", and Cape Verdean coladeira song "Sodade"; she was dressed in a black cocktail dress with a "dramatic leg slit", lace gloves and long blonde wig.[45]
Credits and personnel adapted from the Madame X album liner notes.[4]