Silja Maria Wendrup Schandorff (born 1969) is a Danish
ballerina
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...
who performed with 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 ...
from 1985 to 2009. She has since served the
Royal Theatre as ballet instructor and deputy ballet master.
Biography
Born on 10 February 1969 in
Dragør
Dragør () is the main town of Dragør Municipality, (Denmark), which includes the village of Store Magleby. The city hall and seat of the municipal council lies on Kirkevej 7 (postal code 2791 Dragør) in Store Magleby, which has enough space ...
, Silja Schandorff is the daughter of
Axel Carl Schandorff, a Cyclist with Olympic bronze medal and goldsmith, and Runa Clara Wendrup Petersen, a ballet dancer in
Tivoli's Pantomime Theatre. Thanks to the encouragement of her parents, she entered the Royal Theatre's ballet school in 1975. When only nine, she performed a solo children's dance in ''
Elverhøj
''Elves' Hill'' () is a comedy by Johan Ludvig Heiberg (poet), Johan Ludvig Heiberg, with overture and incidental music by Friedrich Kuhlau (Op. 100), which is considered the first Danish national play.
History
''Elves' Hill'' was commissioned ...
''. After her début in
Ib Andersen
Ib Andersen (born 14 December 1954) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. He was principal dancer for the Royal Danish Ballet 1975-1980, for the New York City Ballet 1980-1990, freelancing ballet master 1990-2000 and artistic director of ...
's ''1-2-3–1-2'' in 1975, she quickly moved on to the Neoclassical works of
George Balanchine
George Balanchine (;
Various sources:
*
*
*
* born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
, starring in ''
Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2'', ''Tzigane'', ''
La sonnambula
''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...
'', ''
Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux'', ''
Allegro Brillante
''Allegro Brillante'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3. The ballet is danced by a principal couple and a corps de ballet of eight. Balanchine said it "contains everything I knew about classic ...
'', ''
Agon
() is the Greek personification for a conflict, struggle or contest, describing a concept of the same name. This could be a contest in athletics, in chariot or horse racing, or in music or literature at a public festival in ancient Greece. i ...
'' and ''
Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
''.
[
As a result of her dancing in the theatre's Balanchine season, she became a principal in 1992. While she has taken roles in '']La Sylphide
''La Sylphide'' (; ) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only ve ...
'', ''Abdallah'' and ''A Folk Tale
''A Folk Tale'' () is a ballet in three acts, created in 1854 for the Royal Danish Ballet by the Danish ballet master and choreographer August Bournonville to the music of Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann and Niels W. Gade. The first performance ...
'', she has not been a typical 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 ...
dancer, given her tall, slender figure and her artistic temperament. Instead she has moved from the Royal Ballet's romantic traditions to 20th-century modernism. She combined the two approaches in her interpretation of Harald Lander
Harald Alfred Bernhardt Stevnsborg Lander (25 February 1905 – 14 September 1971) was a Danish dancer, choreographer and artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet.
Lander was born in Copenhagen. He started as a dancer, studying under ballet ...
's ''Études
Études (French for "studies") or Étude may refer to:
Compositions
* Étude, a type of instrumental musical composition designed to provide practice material
* ''Études'' (Chopin), by Frédéric Chopin, 1829–1839
* ''Études'' (Debussy), by ...
'', setting new standards for the work.[ Her favourite parts evolved as the title roles in '']Manon
''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...
'' and ''Giselle
''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...
''.[
The choreographer ]Anna Lærkesen
Anna Lærkesen (2 March 1942 – 14 January 2016) was a Danish ballet dancer who was a soloist at the Royal Danish Ballet. She had her debut at the theatre in the Bournonville version of La Sylphide as the first sylph (1959). She was appointed so ...
was particularly interested in Schandorff, creating adaptations specially for her. These included ''Partita'', ''Polacca'', ''Hommage à Bournonville'' and ''Hommage à Balanchine''.[ After retiring from the stage on 8 April 2009, she remained with the Royal Theatre until 2016, serving as artistic coordinator and instructor (2009-11) and deputy ballet master (2011-16). She has since directed a new production of ''Giselle''.][
]
Awards
Schandorff's awards include the Reumert prize
The Reumert Award (Danish: Ã…rets Reumert) is an annual Danish awards ceremony to recognize excellence in theatre achievements in Denmark. The award was founded by the in 1998, and has been handed annually since then. There are 16 award categori ...
as dancer of the year in 2002 and 2006, the Danish Theatre Cup in 2009 (for her role in ''Giselle'')Knight of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known as ''White Knights'' t ...
.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schandorff, Silja
1969 births
Living people
Danish ballerinas
20th-century Danish ballet dancers
Dancers from Copenhagen
People from Dragør Municipality
Royal Danish Ballet dancers
Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog