(Image source: The New York Times)

BY STEFANIE REDDING
ANCHORED BY BRICE SNADER

Sir Paul McCartney’s band days are behind him. And now-- he’s moving on to the ballet. Here’s ABC.

“Paul McCartney can scratch ballet off his bucket list. Sir Paul composed the music for the ballet ‘Oceans Kingdom,’ which premiered here in New York City Thursday.The former Beatle talked exclusive with the BBC on why he tackled a ballet.
PAUL MCCARTNEY: ‘The great thing is I don’t know much about ballet so I come to this with an open mind … I was just interested in doing something that I’ve never done before.’”

The ballet “Ocean’s Kingdom” sounds a bit like the Little Mermaid -- an ocean-dwelling princess falls in love with a land-dwelling prince. McCartney kept the ballet all-in-th-family having daughter, Stella, design the costumes.  Stella tells the BBC it was a “collaborative effort” between the music, choreography and costumes.

STELLA MCCARTNEY: “My role was to design the costumes and to tell the storyline because there is a clear storyline. So for me I had to try and do that and try to fit that with the needs of athletes, essentially.”

But critics panned Stella’s designs. A writer for the Associated Press compared the ensembles to  creations from a “child's spinning paint game” -- and a New York Times reporter adds...

“Several of Ms. McCartney’s costumes evoke bygone trends from Carnaby Street in London. The entertainers wear luridly iridescent costumes and clownishly fluffy wigs... No dancer is made to look any lovelier by this apparel.”

The choreography also took a beating from critics, too. LA Times writer James C. Taylor argues the show needs some help.

“Give McCartney credit -- his music does manage to convey the setting and underscore the action. If only the action was worth watching.  Peter Martins' dances are not just forgettable, they're boring. There's running around in circles and cheerleader-style symmetry that looks as if the choreographer were setting the piece on student dancers -- not one of the finest companies in the world.”  

A reporter for The Star-Ledger agrees the choreography and costumes were not up to par, but believes it could all come together for Sir Paul.

“...inviting McCartney into the house was an excellent idea. Perhaps what the ballet world needs most today is an unpretentious musical craftsman who can supply charming melodies and danceable rhythms for fairy tale scenarios that obliquely address modern concerns, like the threat to the world’s oceans, or at least engage real, human emotions.”

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Transcript by Newsy.