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Silja Schandorff & Nikolaj Hübbe:
“Swan Lake”
Royal Danish Ballet
Danish Television
December 27, 2015
Schandorff’s and Hübbe’s “Swan Lake” makes the journey to television with all the qualities intact. Originally presented a live casting to cinemas, the final television production is edited to almost perfection, and both the outstanding work of the corps de ballet and the breathtaking décor arrives with all the magic still there.
George Balanchine:
”The Nutcracker”
Royal Danish Ballet
December 17, 2015
Royal Danish Ballet is rounding up its Christmas run of George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker”. With up to five casts for each role, it can look like an extravaganza of opportunities for the company talents. However, looks can be deceptive. In reality, it is more about standing still than moving forward.
Still some dancers gets golden opportunity and giving the role of Drosselmeyer to Sebastian Kloborg juvenates not only the role but also the whole ballet.
Interview with Thomas Lund, Head of Eoyal Danish Ballet School
December 16, 2015
When Thomas Lund entered the Royal Danish Ballet School he fast became a household name through a series of children’s parts in ballets by August Bournonville, John Neumeier and Constantin Patsales. To the outsider it looked like a ballet child’s dream and Thomas Lund grew to be a star in the company, based on his unique combination of classic and dramatic talents. He also created and directed several works for the company and abroad including Harald Lander’s “Etudes” and the ever-popular children’s ballet “Teddy goes Ballet”.
In 2012, he retired a few years younger than the standard retirement age to take over the post as Head of the RDB School. He faced the challenges of attracting children to the ballet school and make the school a positive and relevant education, both for the children who would later join the company and those who would leave earlier:
“It had been an issue for parents that the school only offered first and second level in the academic system. As it had become the norm in Denmark that 80% of children got a level three education, we clearly lost potential students due to parent’s hesitating in taking the chance that the company might not sign them on”, Thomas Lund explains.
George Balanchine:
”The Nutcracker”
Royal Danish Ballet
December 4, 2015
& December 6, 2015
Steen Koerner:
“The Nutcracker”
Docken
December 2, 2015
I love Balanchine. I love Tchaikovsky and I love the Royal Danish ballet. I should be ecstatically happy when an extra performance is added to the planned 17 performances in December. However, I am not quite there. Not yet anyway.
In an article this week in the Danish daily “Politiken”, it is mentioned that the Christmas run of “The Nutcracker” brings in 25% of the annual turnover for the Royal Danish Ballet and therefore represent an important contribution for The RDB, especially as there now is a cut in funding following the major cuts three years ago. Doing a Christmas run has gone from being an option to a necessity.