Matthew Bourne was one of millions of people who enjoyed Tim Burton's film "Edward Scissorhands," starring Johnny Depp, when it first came out in 1990. Fifteen years later, the English dancer and choreographer presented his own dance theater piece based on the film that has become one of the biggest hits of his already illustrious career. Bourne's "Edward Scissorhands" comes to the Benedum Center for five performances this weekend during a worldwide tour of the London production that features 30 dancers and a reworking of Danny Elfman's film score by Terry Davies. Burton created the story of Edward, a gentle, innocent and isolated young man with scissors for hands because the scientist who created him died before completing the job. Edward's efforts at becoming part of society, and his community's efforts to understand him, make the narrative both stimulating and touching. Bourne enjoyed Burton's film for itself in 1990. It didn't occur to him then to create his own version of the story, he says, because his company was small at the time. But a few years later, when some composer friends asked for 10 ideas that might be turned into shows, "Edward Scissorhands" was the first thing that came to Bourne's mind. Soon, he was thinking of his own version. "My initial impulse was to create something as a piece of theater, not as a film put on stage," he says. The project took about a decade to bring to fruition, in part because Bourne didn't know Burton, Elfman or Caroline Thompson, who helped Burton create the film script. Bourne says his work can be difficult to explain, and it was several years before all of the film's creators saw his work. Now widely recognized as one of England most important choreographers, Bourne's versions of ballets such as "Swan Lake," "The Nutcracker" and "Cinderella" are modern classics. "To be honest," he says, "everyone was incredibly generous in the end in getting the rights from 20th Century Fox film studio." Bourne feels especially lucky to have worked with Thompson on his scenario because he had the voice of the creators by his side. "In my case, I tell the story through movement and dance and without words. Anything with words or too complicated, I discarded," he says. But far from simplifying the story, Bourne wanted to present more in his version. "We know why he's maimed, but we've (added) a prologue to show the impulse for making him in the first place. I wanted an emotional reason for him to exist," Bourne says. Edward's love for Kim, the daughter of the family with whom he lives, provides some of the most affecting moments in the story. Bourne says it was a "lovely challenge" to create love duets, which are a "combination of beauty and danger. They're really exciting, because Edward's hands do extend his arms by a foot or so -- bigger than in the film. He does a full dance with them at the beginning of the show and more on the second half." But Bourne also created a scene in which Edward imagines himself as normal and dancing with Kim. "It's a very odd sight when they dance in the garden, and he lifts her amid surreal dancing bushes. But it's in keeping with the gothic and strange essence of the film," he says. In fact, Bourne says only one scene really mirrors the movie, the one with the ice sculpture Edward creates of Kim. He also says he's created a new and more poetic ending, one that works better onstage. "Yet you do get a sense of the film if you watched it five years ago," Bourne says. "We have a piece which reflects the heart of the film in our own way."

Getting a 'scissorhand' up When Matthew Bourne's dancers began rehearsing "Edward Scissorhands," they wore swimming goggles to avoid injury. "It was really quite dangerous," says Richard Windsor, one of two dancers who alternate in the title role. "We dance with flailing arms, and the girls could have gotten stabbed." Edward's scissorhands are a foot long and quite heavy, Windsor says. The fingers are made of fiberglass with a carbon rod through the blade. They are attached to leather gloves, with the finger hinges in the hands and connected to the fingers with springs and brackets. The gloves are braced against the forearms. "We've learned exactly how much arm extension we can do safely," Windsor says, adding that muscle memory is what dancing is all about. Muscle memory is the way dancers and musicians can re-create precise movements without being conscious of all the elements in the motion. It permits the performer's mind to concern itself with expression in the moment, as well as anticipating what's coming. What's past is gone, and worrying about a mistake only creates new ones. Additional Information:

'Edward Scissorhands'

Presented by: Pittsburgh Cultural Trust; Matthew Bourne, choreographer When: 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday Admission: $25-$57 Where: Benedum Center, Seventh Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown Details: 412-456-6666

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