San Francisco Ballet in Copenhagen
August 22 2010
Helgi Thomasson:
Prism and Chaconne
Christopher Wheeldon:
In the Golden Hour
Jorma Elo:
Double Evil
Royal Danish Ballet
Peter Martins: Swan Lake
September 15 & 18
San Francisco Ballet was this season's international guest company in TIVOLI Gardens Concert Hall. In a way SFB is a more natural choice than many other companies. Helgi Tomasson had his professional debut in the small TIVOLI Ballet company performing pantomimes and small ballet at the old Peacock Theatre. And Helgi Tomasson was indeed also the candidate of choice to follow Henning Kronstam as ballet master in 1984 at the RDB but ended up in San Francisco instead.
Peter Martins likewise left Copenhagen for an international career and like Helgi Tomasson, following a brilliant career at NYCB, ended up as Ballet Master of a leading US company. Both have choreographed a string of works for their companies. And both have produced works for the Royal Danish Ballet, Tomassons "Sleeping Beauty" will now give way for a new production by Christopher Wheeldon, while Peter Martins "Swan Lake" gets another turn this season. But if we for a moment forgets their achievements as ballet masters in keeping these big institutions running, how do they score as choreographers?