31 replies to this topic

[Effy]

I am attending a performance in Aarhus, our second largest city on monday with the followwing programme:

Apollon: Hübbe, Schandorff, Gad, Cavallo
Don Quicote Pas de Deux: Alina Cojacaru, Johan Kobborg
Kopano? Ballet I never heard about with dancers I never heard about
In the middle somewath elevated pas de deux, Schandorff, Greve
Romeo & Juliet (MacMillan) Cojocaru, Kobborg
Napoli Act Three: Thomas Lund, Schandorf, Cavalo,Gad, Greve

Mads Blangstrup is also on the cast list but not assigned to any of the ballets (?)

[jorgen]

Effy, could you please give some more details about time and location of this event!

[Effy]

I found a little note in Jyllands-Posten but do go to www.musikhusetaarhus.dk there is more information. You can also boy tickets online the max price is 310 DKK. There is a train going back to Copenhagen at 23.00 h, so it can be done as a one day trip.

[jorgen]

Thank you Effy. I do love Alina Cojocaru, but for me it means totally 8-9 hours  on  trains for 20 minutes of her. It's a tough choice...

[Alexandra]

But you'd also get Schandorff and Gad (she adds, helpfully).  I do know how you feel.  I once drove to a city only 2 and a half hours away (but we did have to start at 7:00 in the morning) to see a dance that Ruth Andrien (one of Paul Taylor's finest dancers, IMO) had choreographed for students.  It was six minutes long.

If anyone does go (to Arhus, of course) I hope you'll report.

[jorgen]

Alexandra, you are right about Schandorff and Gad but I see them all the time in Copenhagen. I very seldom miss a performance when my beloved Schandorff is on. She was wonderful as usual last night in "In the Middle, somehwat elevated" with Kenneth Greve. I will see Gad tomorrow in "Manon" and Schandorff in "La Sylphide" on Saturday. I was lucky to see Alina Cojocaru in her Onegin performances here last year.

[Alexandra]

I would love to see Gad in "Manon" -- I would expect her to be very good in that, because she could get at the greed as well as the goodness (and I find her dancing very musical). I do hope you'll tell us about all of these.  Gad and Schandorff, and Greve, too, aren't well known enough here.  Had the gods been kinder (meaning had all the political turmoil not happened), Gad and Schandorff would have been counted among the great European ballerinas.  Whatever did happen to Michelle Larsen?  

[Nikolaidenmark]

I really wanted to see that but I cant...      :angry:
its seems to be a great program soo if anyone goes please tell about it...

[glebb]

If anyone goes to Aarhus (home of DaneRadio), please let me know if they still have that wonderful poodle show at the small Tivoli Gardens Amusement Park.

[Effy]

Responses - Michelle Larsen left to join The Schaufuss ballet. I am not certain that she still dances.

Re. Manon This is the first major role Rose Gad have done since returning from maternaty leave. She is good of certain parts,but she should have had the part, when Frank Andersen first considered the work. As the story goes he has scheduled a metting with MacMillan on the very day of his death. No she is a bit on the mature side, and as is the case with many of her parts, Schandorff does it better. Rose is dancing with Mads Blangstrup, who on paper should be our ideal de Grieux, but he is somewhat overwhelmed by the Dowell specialities in the solos. What it would really like is to see the younger ballerina Bojesen and Lindström as Manon, both espicially Lindström was great in Onegin.

I never seen the poodles, but I am certain that the season is over as TIVOLI Friheden is only open during the summer season.

[Effy]

Back from Aarhus, I hasten to bring my report. It was a night of superb dancing. It was a night of mediocre dancing. It was a night of masterpieces. It was a night of awfull choreography. It turned out to be a programme produced by Peter Bo Bendixen and build around a group of South African dancers, with financial support from a cultural exchange programme.  How someone ever got the idea that by setting the SA dancers ,including a piece of awfull local choreography, in the middle of some of the best dancers of RDB, NYCB and Royal Ballet would benefit them or indeed the audience puzzles me.

The evining began with a glorious Apollon with Hübbe, Schandorff, Gad and Cavallo. Although it was evident that Hubbe is losing power, he still possesses personality and a third dimention in his dancing paired with a good understanding of the part. Of the women, Schandorff was classes above the other two. Yes she does have the meatier part, but everything was done surperbly and she almost dominated Hubbe in the pas de deux. I question the decision of Cavallo and especially Gad to share the stag with Schandorff, as she so clearly out dances them. Gad in particular look far from her best. She had battled injuries, as shown in a tv special, and she is very dedicated and hard working, but at present she could hardly hold an arabesque.

Next number was Don Q. with Kobborg and Alina C. She was fantastic and he was good, with out dazzling. He is a dancer, whom I have almost found it difficult to admire mostly due to lack of line. I have seen better from other Danish and international dancer, but she really managed to make a Kitri, that was neither vulgar nor external. Quite a feat.

Second part started with the local SA ballet, danced to African drums, then Mozart, and then Mozart and African drum together. Although the piece only lasted 18 minutes, that cast had four full costume changes. Do not ask me to interpret the ballet. It was just awfull, and the dancers were bland and not very suited to each other. It was followed by Scandorff and Kenneth Greve in a pas de deux from In the Middle Somewhat Elevanted, Dynamic and very well danced. Alina C and Kobborg then did the pas de deux from MacMillan Romeo & Juliet. Again she was the better dancer and actor of them    

Producing any ballet gala in Denmark, it seems to be obligatory to end the programme with Napoli III act and also this programme. I wish they had not. The SA dancers were dancing the pas de six with Cavallo and Gad  and one of them was also put in charge of second male solo. The girls were ok, The men awful. Thomas Lund did first male solo, but without his usual aplomb. Kenneth Greve, who may harbor a desire to dance Gennaro, tried energitically to fill the part. I am an ardent admirer of his, but it was evident that Gennaro neither suited his type or size (he stands almost two meter or 6.6). Hubbe and Kobborg was left to beat the tamborines and dance a small tarantella version.  It was evident that the hope was to made some kind of fusion, but the result showed why a director, rather than dancers should take care of casting.  

Could we make a national request for a supplementary final ballet for mixed programmes in Denmark. I love Napoli III but I am so tired of seing thes mixmatched, underrehearsed versions. In all I felt the trip well spent, and it left me admiring more than before, opended my eyes on certain limitations.

[Helene]

Quote

Second part started with the local SA ballet, danced to African drums, then Mozart, and then Mozart and African drum together.

Must be a trend -- Val Caniparoli choreographed a ballet to a mixture of Bach and African drums called "Lambarena," which is also the name of the musical piece.  It premiered at San Francisco Ballet.  Pacific Northwest Ballet also performed it, and it's listed in the repertoire of American Repertory Ballet, in Princeton, NJ.

[Alexandra]

There's a Danish-South African connection these days.  I believe Thomas Lund has staged some Bournonville for a company there (I'm forgetting which one) and Greve was to choreograph a ballet this year.

Thank you for the report -- glad it was worth the trip.  Mostly   (I love your opening lines -- very Dickensian!)

[aspirant]

Greve did stage Hamlet this year for Ballet South Africa.

[Alexandra]

Thanks Aspirant -- that's what I'd heard as well, although I didn't hear anything about it.  Did you see it, or read any reviews or reports?