Eva Kistrup

The Right Attitude

 

Interview with Principal Amy Watson

December 15, 2017

 

Six years ago, I did an interview with Principal Amy Watson in relation to the Royal Danish Ballet’s US tour in 2011. I was then much impressed by the way she handled her career. For instance knowing that with three cast as the Sylph, the change of her getting the role was limited, she then decided to get as much out as possible out of the Sylph sequence in “Etudes”.

Now six years later, Amy Watson has had her shot of “La Sylphide”, but as importantly created an outstanding Raymonda in Nikolaj Hübbe’s production of the Petipa classic. An impressive achievement for a ballerina, who do not hide her age and proudly presents herself as 36, 5 years old.

My review read:

Outstanding Ballerina

“It took the second cast Amy Watson and Gregory Dean to really show us the nuances and strengths of “Raymonda”. Gregory Dean had no problem in placing Otto as the key male figure. His partnering was outstanding and he looks and acted every bit the officer and gentleman. Dean is known as a very good partner who really supports his ballerina. He did offer good support for Amy Watson, without carrying her through the part. Raymonda does much of her dancing herself. Where Watson was really outstanding was in the ability to create a strong and likeable character who also happened to present beautiful dancing in all three acts in all the different styles, without compromising the character. That was all that was needed to change the opinion of “Raymonda” as an incoherent ballet with no real dramatic context.  It was Amy Watson´s finest hour of the RDB stage”.

Show me the Way

 

 

 

Dance2Go:

Nikolaj Hübbe:

”Weimar”

 

George Balanchine:

”Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux”

 

Akram Khan:

”Vertical Road”,

 

Royal Danish Ballet

The Old Stage

October 24, 2017

 

This season’s Bringing in a New and Younger Audience programme combines two successes from last season, ”Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux” and “Vertical Road” with a new work from Artistic Director Nikolaj Hübbe.

Like other Artistic Directors, Nikolaj Hübbe has over the years contributed to the repertoire, primarily with news versions of the standard repertoire like “Giselle”, “La Sylphide”, “Napoli”, “Swan Lake” and “La Bayadére”. His production of “Raymonda” will has its first night next month. For these productions, he has choreographed some solos and divertissements. However, he has not made much original choreography.

“Weimar” is the first big scale work by choreographer Nikolaj Hübbe, with 27 dancers. The aim of the ballet, as explained by character dancer Morten Eggert in the filmed intro, is a tale of the Europeans enjoying the freedom after the First World War only to find themselves lured into the dictatorships of the 1930ties. Eggert descripts his own role as the major domo, leading and luring the cast into the dark and evil future. It is easy to see a parallel to “Cabaret”.

Hübbe has chosen the music and lyrics of Kurt Weill and Bert

olt Brecht, the great team of left wing German theatre. Choosing the title “Weimar”, he indicates that Germany will be the location. However, he chooses the soundtrack as a combination of songs, sung in German, French and English. Thereby indicating that it is not the German reality, he shows but the European scene, where there really is no historic basic.

Changing the Odds

 

 

 

Interview with Thomas Lund & Charlotte Falkentoft,

Royal Danish Ballet School

November 17, 2017

 

As the director of the Royal Danish Ballet School Thomas Lund is fighting a hard battle. He is responsible for the primary feeding line for Royal Danish Ballet at a time where parents are bend on high-level academic educations for their children.

In order to continue the supply. RDB School started a three-year high-level education program, which will bring the school´s apprentices on level with their non-dancing contemporaries. Now the first batch of the programme is out. Academically it has been success. The dance students more than passed the academic exams. They are all in the top of the class. However, only one student were offered the full standard contract. Two were offered 6 months contracts. The other three will have to find employments elsewhere.

 

Attracting more students

It may look like a failure. However, if you look back in the records, as I have done, you will see that Thomas Lund’s track record in producing dancers for the company is a little bit ahead of the average for the last 28 years.

However, Lund has a few more battles to fight. The most important of this is a draught in the production of male dancers. Royal Danish Ballet has always been celebrated for the high quality of male dancers, a feat often linked to the famed Bournonville tradition.  Over the last decade, the school has produced over the high-level dancers like Alban Lendorf, Ulrik Birkkjær, Sebastian Kloborg, Jon Axel Fransson, Sebastian Haynes and Andreas Kaas. However, at present, three of this group is currently on leave and dancing at ABT, San Francisco Ballet and Netherlands Dance Theatre and Kloborg has left to pursue a career as choreographer. At present, the corps de ballet only include four male dancers produced by the school, of which one is on leave.

 

Copenhagen City Ballet

 

George Balanchine:

”The Nutcracker”

December 1 -2 2017

Royal Danish Ballet

The Old Stage

 

The fourth turn in six years of George Balanchine’s “Nutcracker” confirms that the company is in good shape with strong performances by leading dancers. However, all is not well in Copenhagen. Last year it was decided to let go of the company’s character actors and instead bring them in when needed.

Instead of bringing in the characters dancers in for the “Nutcracker”, the mature roles were handed by young dancers, and two of the leading male dancers, had to dance the role of Drosselmeyer as well a Sugar Plum Fairy’s Cavalier. In many ways a bad decision, and a decision that could lead to the downfall of one of RDBs strongest contribution to the ballet scene.

Caroline Baldwin appointed Principal Dancer

 

 

December 1, 2017

 

Tonight Nikolaj Hübbe appointed Soloist Caroline Baldwin to Principal dancer, following her performance as Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine´s “The Nutcracker”.The appointments follow a strong streak from Baldwin in roles in her primary employ: Balanchine, Petipa and Tchaikovsky.

 

Following her very fine “Diamonds” in Jewels I wrote, “During this season, Baldwin has gone from strength to strength as Odette/Odile, The peasant Pas de deux in “Giselle”, the title role in “Alice”, Victorine in “La Conservatoire”, “Theme & Variations” and finally a very fine “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux”. The three word defining her as a dancer is Petipa, Tchaikovsky and Balanchine. It may be a niche, but it is a very attractive niche.”

 American Caroline Baldwin is born in USA and educated privately at The Faubourg School of Ballet in. Chicago. As her parents wanted her to follow a normal School education, she attended summer school at School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, Houston Ballet and Royal Ballet School in London. Following participation in Youth America Grand Prix in New York, she earned a stay at the Royal Danish School, which lead to an apprenticeship with RDB under the tutelage of the late great teacher, Truman Finney. In August 2009, she became a member of the corps and four years later appointed soloist.

Caroline Baldwin is a very good example of good integration in the RDB repertoire and company life. She has managed to make an almost perfect mix of her American schooling and the RDB repertoire. Her most recent role is Clémence in Nikolaj Hübbe´s new production of “Raymonda”.

Together with Ida Praetorius and Holly Jean Dorger, she will be the next generation of Danish Ballerina, taking over more and more roles from the senior team of ballerinas, who are all in their mid-thirties.  

Her repertoire includes: Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, The Ballerina in Theme & Variations,  Terpsichore in Apollo,  Aurora in Christopher Wheeldon´s Sleeping Beauty, Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine´s Nutcracker, Hilda in August Bournonville´s: “A Folk´s Tale”.

 

Photo by Costin Radu from "Theme & Variations" (Copyright(c) Royal Danish Ballet)