Royal Danish Ballet To Perform At The David H. Koch Theater 6/14-19

The Royal Danish Ballet (www.davidkochtheater.com/events.html), under the artistic direction of Nikolaj Hübbe, will present six evenings of its work June 14-19 at David H. Koch Theater (70 West 63rd Street) in New York as part of their 2011 US Tour. This is The Royal Danish Ballet's first time headlining in New York since 1988 when they performed at The Metropolitan Opera House. Hübbe triumphantly returns to New York after being a principle dancer at The New York City Ballet for more than 15 years.

The company will be dancing three programs comprised of a variety of works per night.

PROGRAM A
· The Lesson by Flemming Flindt
· Bournonville Variations by August Bournonville
· Lost on Slow by Jorma Elo
· Napoli III by August Bournonville

PROGRAM B
· The Lesson by Flemming Flindt
· La Sylphide by August Bournonville

PROGRAM C
· La Sylphide by August Bournonville
· Napoli III by August Bournonville

Tuesday, June 14th at 7:30pm - Program A
Wednesday, June 15th at 7:30pm - Program A
Thursday, June 16th - DARK
Friday, June 17th at 8:00pm - Program B
Saturday, June 18th at 2:00pm and 8:00pm - Program C / Program C
Sunday, June 19th at 3:00pm - Program B

The Royal Danish Ballet is the world's 3rd oldest ballet companies founded back in 1748 - and with its Bournonville tradition the company holds an exceptional position internationally. The Royal Danish Ballet, however, does not live in the past. During the twentieth century, the Royal Danish Ballet has developed into a company also spanning modern style: from the neoclassical works by George Balanchine via Danish choreographers like Harald Lander and Flemming Flindt to the choreographers of our time both in Europe and USA such as John Neumeier, Maurice Béjart and Jiri Kylián.

For more information on The Royal Danish Ballet and their 2011 United State tour, please visit: http://www.kglteater.dk/ustour11

"We are very excited to show New York audiences our spirited repertoire in the Danish tradition, including exciting stagings in the Bournonville style," says Artistic Director Nikolaj Hübbe. "We want to create dances that not only tell humorous, dramatic, or captivating stories, but also take the art form further and encourage the audience to see dance in a new light. I am very honored and excited to be returning to New York with my company, after performing with the New York City Ballet for 15 years. I feel like I have come full circle."

 

The Royal Danish Ballet's mixed repertory for The Koch Theater:

La Sylphide

La Sylphide is Bournonville's only tragic ballet.. La Sylphide was created in 1832 by Filipo Taglioni for his daughter the dancer Maria Taglioni at the Paris Opera. Bournonville saw the ballet in Paris in 1834, and two years later he staged his own version in Copenhagen with Lucile Grahn as the Sylph and himself as James. Bournonville commissioned the composer Herman Severin Løvenskiold to compose a new, original score.

La Sylphide is a breakthrough work in European Romantic ballet. The young Scotsman, James, is split between the world he knows and the dream of a different, more tempting and dangerous life.

Napoli, Act III
This is the gripping tale of the charming Teresina and the poor fisherman Gennaro, whose love is challenged by the seductive sea daemon Golfo and his naiads, is homage to love. Additionally, it is a timeless story about youth and dreams. Napoli is one of the most important principle works of the Royal Danish Ballet's unique legacy.

Napoli is not just Bournonville's main work, but also among the most prominent works in the entire international ballet repertoire. The celebratory dance of the third act has with time become the hallmark of the Royal Danish Ballet. This new staging of Bournonville's masterpiece takes us back to a decaying Napoli in the 1950s.

The Lesson

Flemming Flindt's The Lesson was created for Danish television in 1963, The Lesson was staged in Paris and at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen the following year. The Lesson is based on the play La Leçon by writer of absurd drama, Eugène Ionesco. The play is a demonically captivating tale about an insane teacher of mathematics and language who kills his pupils. In Flindt's version the insane teacher is a deranged, sadistic dance instructor.

Bournonville Variations

The Bournonville style has always been an integrated part of the Royal Danish Ballet's training programme and repertoire, ever since the day of Bournonville. The Bournonville style is clearly definable and is recognizable by the gracious performance of each step, the softly rounded arms, the direction of head and torso and the natural, joyous expression in the dance.

The six Bournonville Schools were created by one of Bournonville's successors, Hans Beck and the schools were handed down from generation to generation with the changes and embellishments that come naturally with an oral tradition.

Lost On Slow

Set to music by Vivaldi and danced by a stunning cast of three women and three men. With geometric sharpness and quick isolation of body parts, the dancers go through a tempest of arbitrary gestures, tightly woven motifs, and doll-like maneuvers. The soft-slippered, ornate tutu-ed ballerinas slither in and out of the arms of their male counterparts in striking stances--sometimes frozen, sometimes trembling. It is a sophisticated, macabre dialogue of tongue-in-cheek mime/modern dance and human puppetry.

 

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