Danish Dance Theatre:
Summer Ballet
09-08-2018
For a significant number of years, the Danish Dance Theatre has hosted an almost free for all short summer season. For many years, the event took place in one of Copenhagen’s most beautiful architecture: The courtyard at the Police headquarters formed as a classical rotunda. However, two years ago, the venue could no longer host the event for security reasons.
Now the summer event is back at another beautiful space. The Ofelia Pier, outside the RDT drama house overlooking the harbor and some of the most beautiful buildings in Copenhagen. However, open space is not necessarily as good a frame around a dance production as a physical back wall, and especially not one as beautiful as the police rotunda.
Strong Names
At first look, it seemed like a very interesting program, where the DDT dancers performed choreography by in-house choreographers, new artistic director Pontus Lidberg and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoul together with dancers from Acosta Dancers. In addition, as a special drawing card, our own RDB star - now ABT principal Alban Lendorf, who has been out of circulation for a longer period due to injuries?
Regarding Alban Lendorf, as good as it felt, to have him back in Copenhagen and on stage, dancing a Pas de Deux from MacMillan´s “Manon”, it was also clear that he still had some way to go to get back on his usual level. He partnered RDB dancer Marina Minolu, who was a good match size wise. However, the duet clearly needed more rehearsal time.
The four other ballets on the playbill was from the light menu. Two of them “Vals” from Marcos Marou and “Faun” by Sidi Labi Cherkaoul both used scores from European classics, Sibelius and Debussy. The two Acosta dancers brought the best of their modern dance style to “Faun”, while the larger “Vals” cast was wasted on the ballet primarily focusing on mobbing.
The best thing on the menu was American choreographer Stephen Shropshire´s “Lamento Della Ninfa”, displaying some of DDTs best dancers, including the outstanding Jessica Lyall.
New Boss showing his hand
The last item on the menu, “Paysage, Sourdan , La Nuit” should have been the most important item on the menu, as it was by Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidberg, who is taking over the leadership of DDT after Tim Rushton, who had lead the company and choreographed many ballets for the ensemble. However, Lidberg´s ballet, created elsewhere, was not the best recommendation for the future. It had a big cast, but unfortunately very little originality. Even when danced well by the DDT and Acosta Dancers, it did not present any outstanding qualities.
I was left to wonder, how DDT sees its own future. Is this the level of their ambitions? Can they sustain the company with this kind of ballets? Would they have looked better in a more defined room like the Police Headquarters rotunda? Probably a yes.
Moving the performance to an open and uncontrolled space, where sailboats, tour boats and rowing boats reigns freely, left the DDT without control of the audience experience. One could easily conclude that the dramatic high point of the performance was the collusion of two big sailboat during the cultural mayor’s speech.
This was probably not the climax; the new director had planned for. The reality is that DDT must develop beyond the nice and charming to secure the future for the company. I wish them God Luck.
Photo by Henrik Stenberg (Copyright (c) Danish Dance Theatre
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