Kirsten Ralov (26 March 1922 – 30 May 1999) was a Danish ballerina. She was born to Kai and Kaja Gnatt, née Olsen, a family of dancers living in

Baden, Austria Baden (Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from Baden (disambiguation), other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden (district of Austria), Baden District in t ...

. Kirsten's mother encouraged her, and her brother

Poul Poul is a Danish masculine given name. It is the Danish cognate of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People * Poul Andersen (1922–2006), Danish printer *Poul Anderson (1926–2001), American writer * Poul Erik Andreasen (bo ...

, to train as dancers. She entered the school of the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet ( Danish: ''Den Kongelige Ballet'') is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world a ...

at the age of 22, and was associated with that troupe throughout her career. Her theatrical debut was as a child in '' Konservatoriet'' in 1933. Her first solo performance as an adult was in 1941 in '' La Ventana''. Throughout her artistic career, she primarily performed on the stage of the

Royal Theater Royal Theatre or Royal Theater may refer to: Venues Australia * Royal Theatre, Canberra Belgium * Royal Theatre of La Monnaie, Brussels * Royal Park Theatre, Brussels * Royal Flemish Theatre, Brussels Canada * Royal Theatre, Victoria, Britis ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, where she was most notable for her ballet performances of the works of

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the ne ...

. Her farewell performance was in 1962, where she danced the Ballerina Doll in '' Petrouchka'' by

Michel Fokine Michael Fokine ( – 22 August 1942) was a Russian choreographer and dancer. Career Early years Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant and at the age of 9 was accepted into the Saint Petersburg Imperial Ballet Sch ...

. Thereafter, she became the ballet mistress for the Royal Danish Ballet. From 1978 to 1988 she was the associate director under

Henning Kronstam Henning Kronstam (June 29, 1934 – May 28, 1995) was a famous Danish ballet dancer, ballet master and company director. Life and career Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, he began training with the Royal Danish Ballet at the age of nine. He later ...

. Her four part work, ''The Bournonville School'' (1979), includes daily classes teaching the Bournonville technique, along with the associated

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...

. She was first married to Børge Ralov, then later to Fredbjorn Bjornsson; both Danish dancers. She had two sons.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ralov, Kirsten 1922 births 1999 deaths Danish ballerinas Ballet mistresses Royal Danish Ballet dancers 20th-century Danish ballet dancers Austrian emigrants to Denmark Burials at the Garrison Cemetery, Copenhagen

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