Mads Blangstrup (born 26 February 1974) is a Danish ballet dancer. He became an apprentice with the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish 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 and originates from 1748, when th ...

in 1990 rising to the rank of

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, ...

in 1998. In early 2014, he retired as an active member of the Royal Danish Ballet after performing in

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

's ''

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 fi ...

''.

Biography

Born in Copenhagen, Blangstrup showed an early interest in dance, becoming a Danish champion in Latin dance when he was only nine. Thanks to the encouragement of his dancing teacher,

Britt Bendixen Britt Bendixen (14 January 1942 — 18 February 2023) was a Danish choreographer and dance instructor who is remembered in Denmark for her many appearances as a judge in the television series '' Vild med dans''. As a choreographer, she contributed ...

, he entered the Royal Danish Ballet School in 1983. In 1990, he joined the company as an apprentice becoming a member of the corps de ballet in 1992, a soloist in 1997 and a principal dancer in 1998. As a principal, his roles included The Ballet Master in

Flemming Flindt Flemming Flindt (30 June 1936 – 3 March 2009) was a Danish choreographer born in Copenhagen. He studied at the Royal Danish Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet schools, joined the Royal Danish Ballet and was promoted to soloist in 1955. He guested wi ...

's '' The Lesson'', the title role in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'', the Prince in '' The Sleeping Beauty'', various roles in ''Manon'' and Count Vronsky in

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Ru ...

's ''Anna Karenina''. Throughout his career, Blangstrup has been an enthusiastic

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, as can be seen in his sensitive interpretation of James in Ulrik Wivel's film ''I You Love'' (2005) where he dances with

Gudrun Bojesen Gudrun Bojesen (born 2 February 1976) is a Danish ballet dancer. Since 2001, she has been a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet. Early life Born in Copenhagen, Bojesen grew up in the well-to-do district to the north of Sortedam Lake. Th ...

in ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' ( en, The Sylph; da, Sylfiden) 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. ...

''. With his masculine radiance, he has danced the role of prince in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'' and ''The Sleeping Beauty'' but has also demonstrated his talents in more modern works by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras ...

and

Tim Rushton Timothy John Rushton MBE (born 18 March 1963 in England) is a British choreographer and from 2001 to 2018 artistic leader of the Copenhagen-based Danish Dance Theatre, Denmark's largest modern dance company. Tim Rushton was trained at The Royal ...

. Blangstrup continues to work with the Royal Danish Ballet as a character dancer and teacher.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blangstrup, Mads Danish male ballet dancers Royal Danish Ballet dancers Living people 1974 births Dancers from Copenhagen