Signe Roderik::
For a whole year the Royal Danish Ballet´s fans at home and abroad have looked forward to what they believed would be the fourth Bournonville festival.A few month ago it became clear that yes, there would be a festival, however, Bournonville was to play a limited part in the festival. Instead the focus for the festival is outreach in order to bring in new audiences. Somehow along the way it has been agreed that there is not enough pulling power in the old master. Instead we will get new ballets choreographed to rock music. It would also be possible to join the RDB for supper following a performance of Silja Schandorff & Nikolaj Hübbe´s "Swan Lake".
Making the case for Bournonville
Luckily, other forces and other artists are fighting to keep Bournonville alive and kicking.
Photographer and filmmaker, Signe Roderik followed a group of dancers at the Royal Ballet in 2015 when they performed a Bournonville programme at the The Joyce Theater in New York.
The great enthusiasm from the American audience gave her the idea of creating a film on Bournonville. The movie also includes inputs from reviewers Deborah Jovitt, The Village Voice, Alistair Macauley, The New York Times and Dane Erik Aschengreen, former reviewer at Berlingske Tidende and author of several books on ‘Bournonville and the Royal Danish ballet.
Somehow, the movie project ended up as two films. The first “Bournonville Today” focus on the current generation of dancers and Bournonville´s choreography. It includes three different Bournonville work, and each segment makes a very strong point for the quality and relevance for Bournonville then, now and in the future.
The Strengths of Youth
First out is RDB’s young stars, Ida Praetorius & Andreas Kaas in “The Flower Festival in Genzano Pas de Deux”, bringing all their youth and charm, as well as strong dancing skills. It appeared as charming and fresh as when Mette-Ida Kirk and Ib Andersen brought “The Kermis in Bruges” to live at the 1979 Bournonville Festival.
The athletic and masculine fight by Marcin Kupinski and Sebastian Haynes in the “Jockey Dance” followed. It looked as fresh as it could have been choreographed this month.
Finally, Sorella Englund and Ulrik Birkkjær performed the central confrontation of Madge and James from “La Sylphide” in practically normal clothes and no stage make up. It was mind blowing. It could have been a scene from an Ingmar Bergman movie.
In all, the three segments, supported by the reviewer´s comments makes the case for Bournonville.
He is as fresh, as talented and as indispensable as he has ever been.
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