Royal Danish Ballet
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The Royal Danish Ballet ( Danish: ''Den Kongelige Ballet'') is an internationally renowned
classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...
company, based at the
Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...
in
Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...
,
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 ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the Royal Danish Theatre was founded. It was finally organized in 1771 in response to the great popularity of French and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
styles of
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
. The company was founded with the opening of the Royal Danish Theatre, which has served as its home since that time. The Royal Danish Ballet school was founded in 1771 under the leadership of French ballet teacher Pierre Laurent (1730–1807), then Vincenzo Galeotti developed it and
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 ...
founded his methodology for the school.


History

From the outset, the Royal Danish Ballet employed some of the leading French and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
dancers and choreographers. Within a few years of its founding, in 1771, the Royal Theater Ballet School or Royal Danish Ballet school was established to provide native dancers, of which one of the first was Anine Frølich. One of its early masters, Vincenzo Galeotti, is considered the veritable founder of the company. He was master of the company from 1775 to 1816, and introduced
ballet d'action Ballet d'action is a hybrid genre of expressive and symbolic ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and ...
and prepared for the advent of romantic ballet. Galeotti is credited with choreographing ''Amors og Balletmesterens Luner ( The Whims of Cupid and the Ballet Master''), which is still part of the company's repertoire and is the world's oldest ballet still performed with its original choreography. Another major master of the troupe was the Danish dancer
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 ...
. During the half-century that Bournonville led the company (1828–1879), he choreographed some fifty ballets, of which about a dozen are still part of the company's repertoire. The works are highly influenced by the French school of dance, since Bournonville studied in that country, and include key roles for male dancers, undoubtedly written with himself in mind. After his death, one of his successors, Hans Beck, used the basic steps he learned in Bournonville's classes to create the Bournonville school to teach contemporary dancers the tradition of the old master. The third great period of the Danish Royal Ballet came in 1932, when
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 ...
took over the helm of the corps. Trained in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, he both adapted traditional ballets and choreographed original works for the company. He encouraged local choreographers, who went on to create prominent works that won international acclaim. Among them was
Børge Ralov Børge is a male Norway, Norwegian and Danish given name, a variant of Birger. The Swedish spelling is Börje. Persons with the given name Børge *Børge Brende (born 1965), minister in the Norwegian government *Børge Møller Grimstrup (1906†...
, who choreographed the first modern Danish Ballet, '' The Widow in the Mirror'', in 1934. He also trained many prominent international dancers, including
Erik Bruhn Erik Belton Evers Bruhn (3 October 1928 – 1 April 1986) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author. Early life Erik Bruhn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the fourth child and first son of Ellen (née Eve ...
. A prominent company director was Henning Kronstam (1978–1982), who directed the 1979 Bournonville Festival. In the latter half of the 20th century, the Royal Danish Ballet underwent another transformation, with many internationally prominent choreographers, including
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 ...
, commissioned to work with it. Though modern works assumed increasingly important stature in the repertoire, the ballet continued to remain loyal to its classical roots as well, earning it the reputation as one of the finest corps of dancers in the world, incorporating foreign as well as native-born talent. In 2007 the appointment of
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
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 either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...
Nikolaj Hübbe Nikolaj Hübbe (born 30 October 1967) was artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet until 31 October 2024 when the American Amy Watson was appointed as his replacement. Career Since becoming artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, Hüb ...
as artistic director was announced. In October 2024 Hübbe stepped down after having received a formal reprimand from the board of the Royal Danish Theatre, following a legal investigation which concluded that he had failed in his responsibilities as the leader of the theatre's ballet school by not adequately ensuring a proper educational environment. Former principal dancer Amy Watson was announced as the new artistic director.


Artistic directors

*1748–1753 Des Larches *1755–1756 Neudin *1756–1763 Antonio Como *1763–1767 Antonio Sacco *1767–1768 Jean Baptiste Martin *1768–1770 Innocente Gambuzzi *1770–1771 Martini *1771–1772 Vincenzo Piatolli *1772–1773 Domenico Andriani *1773–1775 Vincenzo Piatolli *1775–1816 Vincenzo Galeotti *1816–1823 Antoine Bournonville *1823–1830 Pierre Larcher *1830–1877
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 ...
*1877–1890 Ludvig Gade *1890–1894 Emil Hansen *1894–1915 Hans Beck *1915–1928 Gustav Uhlendorff *1928–1930 Kaj Smith *1930–1932 Victor Schiøler *1932–1951
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 ...
*1951–1956 Niels Bjørn Larsen *1956–1958 Frank Schaufuss *1958–1960 Henning Rohde *1961–1966 Niels Bjørn Larsen *1966–1978 Flemming Flindt *1978–1985 Henning Kronstam *1985–1994 Frank Andersen *1994–1995 Peter Schaufuss *1995–1997 Johnny Eliasen *1997–1999 Maina Gielgud *1999–2002 Aage Thordal-Christensen *2002–2008 Frank Andersen *2008–2024
Nikolaj Hübbe Nikolaj Hübbe (born 30 October 1967) was artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet until 31 October 2024 when the American Amy Watson was appointed as his replacement. Career Since becoming artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, Hüb ...
*2024– Amy Watson


The company

The Royal Danish Ballet employs approximately 90 dancers separated into three ranks
Corps de Ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French language, French for "body of the little dance") is the group of ballet dancer, dancers who are not principal dancers or Soloist (ballet), soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and ...
, Soloists, and Principal dancers.


Current principal dancers

* Astrid Elbo * Caroline Baldwin * Emma Riis-Kofoed * Holly Dorger * Silvia Selvini * Stephanie Chen Gundorph * Wilma Giglio * Andreas Kaas * Alexander Bozinoff * Jonathan Chmelensky * Jon Axel Fransson * Ryan Tomash


Current soloists

* Camilla Ruelykke Holst * Eukene Sagues * Ji Min Hong * Lena-Maria Gruber * Tara Schaufuss * Guilherme De Menezes * Liam Redhead * Sebastian Pico Haynes * Tobias Praetorius


Notable former dancers

* Frank Andersen (1971–1985) * Ib Andersen (1972–1980) * Dinna Bjørn (1964–1987) * Valborg Borchsenius (1890s–1900s) * Antoine Bournonville (1792–1796) * Sorella Englund (1966–1988) * Vivi Flindt (1965–1980) * Vincenzo Galeotti (1775–1816) * Adeline Genée (1895–1897) * Lucile Grahn (1836–1840) * Susanne Grinder (1998–2018) * Mette Hønningen (1966–1988) *
Nikolaj Hübbe Nikolaj Hübbe (born 30 October 1967) was artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet until 31 October 2024 when the American Amy Watson was appointed as his replacement. Career Since becoming artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, Hüb ...
(1984–1992) * Lis Jeppesen (1974–1998) * Johan Kobborg (1989–1999) * Henning Kronstam (1956–1979) *
Ask la Cour Ask la Cour Rasmussen (born ) is a Danish ballet dancer. He joined the Royal Danish Ballet in 2000, then moved to the New York City Ballet in 2002, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2013. He retired from the company in 2021. Early life Ask ...
(1998–2002) * Margot Lander (1933–1950) * Toni Lander (1948–1950) * Niels Bjørn Larsen (1933–1986) * Alban Lendorf (2008–2015) * Kizzy Matiakis (2003–2022) * Augusta Nielsen (mid-19th century) * Ulla Poulsen (1913–1928) * Ida Praetorius (2010–2022) * Ellen Price (1903–1913) *
Juliette Price Elise Juliette Christiane Price, usually known as Juliette Price, (1831–1906) was a Danish ballet dancer. She studied under August Bournonville, becoming his favourite dancer. Early years Born in Copenhagen, Price was the daughter of the mim ...
(late 19th century) * Kirsten Ralov (1946–1978) * Heidi Ryom (1974–1997) * Margrethe Schall (early 19th century) * Silja Schandorff (1985–2009) * Margrethe Schanne (1942–1966) * Peter Schaufuss (1966–1979) * Kirsten Simone (1952–1985) * Mona Vangsaae (1938–1958)


See also

*
List of productions of Swan Lake derived from its 1895 revival This is a list of notable major productions of the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Throughout the long and complex performance history of ''Swan Lake'', Swan Lake (1895), the 1895 edition of Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, and Riccardo Drigo has served as the de ...


References


External links


Royal Danish TheatreBournonville websitePhotoblog by David Amzallag

Guide to the Royal Danish Ballet Photograph Album on the Premiere of Giselle.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Archival footage of the Royal Danish Ballet performing ''Konservatoriet'' at Jacob's Pillow, July 1955
{{Authority control Dance in Copenhagen 1748 establishments in Denmark Organizations based in Denmark with royal patronage Organizations established in 1748 History of ballet