Danish Design
Choreography by René Vinther
Bellevue Theater
August 17, 2019
In Denmark, we are particularly proud of two trades, our ballet dancers and our architects. Being a small country, we enjoy whenever one of our ones, gains applause and respect on the international scene.
So in combining the two trades in “Danish Design”, Bellevue Theatre had put the first foot right. However, what look good on paper may not necessarily function on stage.
The Great Past
Bellevue Theatre is designed by Arne Jacobsen, one of our most successful architects and furniture designers, so when choreographer René Vinther suggested the idea of making a ballet on an architect for Bellevue Theater, it look like a good idea. Especially when casting Alban Lendorf, our Danish star, who left Royal Danish Ballet and joined ABT for the leading role, it looked like a very good idea.
Alban Lendorf has been missing in action with a prolonged injury. What better comeback than a custom-made small-scale ballet on his home ground?
The Small Stage
Just one important factor was overlooked. The stage at Bellevue Theatre is not only very small. It is formed as a trapez that is significally smaller at the back of the stage.
In recent year´s , when former RDB star Alexander Kølpin was running Bellevue Theatre, he presented a few ballets at the theatre, including “ The Elephant Man”, starring himself and Nikolaj Hübbe, and “Lolita” starring Ida Praetorius and Mads Blangstrup. Although both ballets hat merits, it was clear that the stage is too small for ballet.
The Bellevue Theatre has done an incredible effort and presenting not only Arne Jacobsen furniture in the lounges, they also showed several film on the great architects, their designs and international success.
However, as soon as the dancers entered the stage, it was a totally different story and environment.
Every Trick in the Book
Alban Lendorf was surrounded by “The Materials” six white-painted dancers, who all representing the elements in his designs. On top of that there was heavy use of computer generated effects, light features and physical boxes.
Alban Lendorf also spend a significant time suspended from the roof. When nor crawling up and down the boxes, he did show some of his usual moves, arabesques, pirouettes and jumps, enough to show us that he still has the capacities after the prolonged injuries. He communicated with the audience. At the end, the Materials finally fall into place and the architect had reached his goal.
The message overlooked
As nice as it was to see Lendorf back on stage, this was not a production on his level. Although there clearly have been invested a lot in this production, plot, choreography and execution was not on the level, neither Lendorf or the audience deserved.
Bellevue has ended up with a substandard production. There are other choreographers available in Copenhagen, including Oliver Starpov, Gregory Dean, Sebastian Kloborg, Pontus Lidberg, Alessandro Sousa Pereira, Kristian Lever and several others who could have choreographed a coherent ballet on the subject.
Whether they could have done it on the small and problematic scene at Bellevue Theatre is a question, I cannot answer. Celebrating the architects was a chance worth trying.
In the film shown before the ballet, the designers all preached the gospel of quality on the highest level. That was the only message overlooked.
Photos by Emilia Therese. Copyright (c) Bellevue Theatre
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