June 15, 2017
If there is one thing the Royal Danish Ballet is known for, it is the tradition of producing outstanding male dancers. The linage is impressive and includes names like Erik Bruhn, Henning Kronstam, Peter Martins, Adam Lüders, Peter Schaufuss, Arne Villumsen, Ib Andersen, Nikolaj Hübbe, Kenneth Greve, Johan Kobborg, Mads Blangstrup, Thomas Lund etc. In addition, both Nilas Martins and Ask la Cour have made it to principal status at NYCB.
Looking at the present generation the linage is equally impressive. Alban Lendorf, Jon Axel Fransson, Andreas Kaas and Sebastian Haynes all born with in five years are a confirmation of the linage. Then add Gregory Dean and Jonathan Chmelensky, both foreign dancers who have managed to break the code and excel dramatically as well as technically.
Because Denmark is a small country, we cannot expect a current stream of first-rate talent each year. Looking back, the pattern is an outstanding generation will appear with a gap of 5 – 8 years. Somehow, whenever the stream is fading, a new strong generation will emerge.
Bringing in New Blood
Since Frank Andersen’s first tenure as Artistic Director, it has been normal practice to recruit young foreign talent to fill the gap, and some of the intake has been outstanding. The need to bring in more dancers was not only based on the small country syndrome, but also a consequence of changing the pension age from 48 to 40. Instead of serving the company for 30 years + two aspirant years, the dancer’s working life is now down to 21 year + three aspirant years, with the significant change that the apprentices have very limited company duty. Instead, they will receive a second level academic education as well.
There are pros and cons to this new system. The benefit is that the dancers is better prepared for a life outside the company. It also assures parents that their child will not be without an education, should they not be hired as dancers. However, the young dancers will get less stage time during the aspirant year than before and their focus will be split.
Last week was the graduation week for the first batch of the new program. Of the six third year apprentices, all girls, one was offered a fulltime contract, two was offered a half-year contract, and three girls was not hired. The second year group of five girls was reduced by one and the first year group was reduced by two boys out of three, including one boy, who was generally considered the strongest contender and the one who had picked up the honorary prices and been touted on the international scene.
The consequence will be, as the upcoming first year apprentice class is all girls that the RDB can as best recruit one boy from its own school in a four-year period.
Over the last five years, the RDB School has only been able to supply five dancers to the company.
Luckily, the draught followed a very strong year, with six dancers accepted into the company. That group included company stars Ida Praetorius and Andreas Kaas.
Where are the Boys?
Next season Soloist Sebastian Haynes will dance in Netherlands Dance Theatre, Principal Ulrik Birkkjær will join San Francisco Ballet; Alban Lendorf is enjoying great success at ABT and although he will spend part of the year with RDB, we cannot expect him to do more than 10 performances at home, judged by last season.
So looking at the top group, RDB still has a very strong male line up. However looking at the corps and the apprentice classes, the Royal line looks very slim and seem close to dying out. Actually, the corps the ballet now only includes four male dancers educated at the RDB School: Benjamin Buza, who has been out injured for a significant period, Magnus Christoffersen, who has taken leave to dance at The Los Angeles Ballet, Oliver Starpov, whose career is turning toward choreography and finally Tobias Praetorius an outstanding dancer and mime.
However, it is not only the apprentice class that cannot produce. The school have lost a significant amount of boys during the last years. It is not the school who has dropped them. It is more the boys deciding to pursue other possibilities.
The RDB ballet culture has always been a male culture, but now the boys do not buy into it. The same is happening in most sport. Adding an academic level to the mix presents new challenges. It also demands that the school and the exam jury must adjust their expectations. You cannot expect the same level of a student doing double duty as you could when dancing was all that mattered.
Does the Danish ballet needs Danish Dancers?
Over the last four decades, RDB has supplemented the school’s outlet with many foreign dancers. Some has flourish in the company and reached principal status. Others have left after one or two seasons. However, when looking back and looking at the present, some patterns seems to repeat.
Of the foreign educated dancers, only few of them develops into strong dramatic dancers, Lloyd Riggins, who was part of the first batch still remains the poster boy for good company integration.
Another fact is that only a few of the foreign intake handles modern works well.
Very few of the foreign dancers actually sticks it out for the long run. Very few has stayed until pension age.
When I interviewed Ib Andersen, former RDB and NYCB star, now director of Ballet Arizona, he was sorry to see the breaking up of the link between national companies and national ballet schools. In his view, the companies lost the uniqueness. I do agree with him. RDB will not be the same company without the school. For the recent production “Liasons Dangereux”, Choreograph Cathy Marston picked an almost totally RDB School educated cast that could play the characters as well as dance them.
The Cost of a Double Focus
Changing the ballet school to include an academic level makes a lot of sense. However, the management must accept that the dancers´ development will need more time. The apprentices are forced to have a double focus and to have in the puberty years, normally a difficult period. It is easy to explain that the less than stellar output is a result of the little country syndrome. We have never produced outstanding dancers each year anyway.
However, this is too important to rely on that argument.
What’s needs to happen is an analysis and review on the current model. As it is, it is the ballet school that adjusts to the second grade schools demands.
The dancers takes their academic classes at the school, thereby spending at least an hour a day in additional transport. Moving the classes to the ballet school will free that time.
As the ballet school take children in at the age of six, it could be considered to start primary school at that age. In Denmark, we normally start at the age of seven. An earlier entrance age, would free a year so the ballet students could start the schooling earlier and spread the second level academic education over four years which will free more time to dancing. Late entries could have extra classes or work with a teacher to reach the groups level.
Being Part of the Company
Earlier the apprentices took class with the dancers, and participated in the running repertoire and had special classes as well. With the current systems they misses the opportunity to learn and study with the professional dancers. At present, they are cocooned, with only each other to rely on. They may miss important learning from the established dancers.
The double education may also induce the dancers to split their goals. As it is, they have to apply to two very different systems.
Another important factor is what should be expected of an apprentice doing double duty? The expectations seems to be that if we add an extra year the apprentices will reach the entry level at three years. However, they are actually losing six month compared to the earlier model, if we use the premises that school and ballet takes up an equal amount of time.
The current system also work on the premises that girls and boys are alike in their development. Maybe the boys needs more time. Or maybe the girls do as well?
Who will ford the Bill?
What the RDB cannot afford is to continue this system without analyzing it deeply. There has been a significant period where the school had not produced quantities’ although still a few standouts. Some of the teachers who created dancers like Alban Lendorf, Jon Axel Fransson, Ida Praetorius and Andreas Kaas are not working at the RDB School anymore.
The schools owes it to the apprentices, ballet children, ballet school teachers, parents and the audience to review the system and maybe turn the clock back to proven solutions. It may include keeping apprentices and pupils longer. It may include looking at how the education functions socially. It may include expelling annual exams until the school and company management really understands what levels they can expect when ballet is made a part-time commitment.
Otherwise, the company and the school may be in trouble. If the Danish ballet cannot develop Danish dancers, the political and economic commitment from parliament may face cuts.
Looking at RDB at present is pure joy. Looking into the future of the company and school is not such a pretty picture. The management of the company and school needs to fix this educational mess. Moreover, they need to start now. A ballet school that cannot produce a significant number of dancers can easily be cut from the state budget. RDB needs to solve this situation. Maybe a ballet education cannot function as part of a second school education. The result so far of the new system do points in that direction.
Photos:
- Photo byJonathan Cmlelensky and Nicolai Hansen "In Føling" by Christian RadilCopyright(c) Royal Danish Ballet)
- Jon Axel Fransson and Alban Lendorf in "Swan Lake" Photo by Costin Radu (Copyright(c) Royal Danish Ballet)
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