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Our experience with Forsyth is mainly through foreign companies like NDT as The Royal Danish Ballet have only done one Forsyth ballet, of which I cannot remember the name, which was not succesfull at all, eventhough it was very well danced. Actually before Forsyth was a big international name, a gruop of admirers produced a performance of This pity she is a whore (it must have been in the early 80ties). Having been to the Pars Grup performance I can wouch that the piece was very well danced and was counterpointed with Giselle in a very clever setting

no I only attended the fine performance on Sunday, and i spoke to several people at the Hubbe gala who enjoyed the French group more, but each to his taste. I also enjoyed the NYCB, but I am alo aware that there was much more budget available for the Hubbe Galla which allowed as many as 24 dancers compared to the 8 French. Regarding relative star power I sincerely hope that NYCB has more goodies in the bag, espicially on the male wing. Benjamin Millepied , who happens to be French, was a nice surprice but the two other principal male dancers was frankly not up to the standards we are used to from NYCB. Regarding Hubbe, I admire and share his dedication to Ib Andersen, but would have preferred Hubbe to dance something that was more up his own street. I could have been the full Who Cares. Now that is something I will critisise, the current practise of trowing as many dancers as possible into this fine work, may I plead for the Appolisized original versin with one male and three vomen. The NYCB women were better than the men, but I certainly missed the personality factor which defined the former greater NYCB ballerinas. Save Jennifer Ringer, they had little personality to offer.

I was very surprised that Kay was so focused on decor and costumes regarding the Paris Opera Stars Galla in Copenhagen. Surely you do understand that the gala was produced independently and that every number included had to be paid copyrights, borrowing costumes, organising music, coaching etc. That is what happens when you decide to do a tour or a galla, that is not linked to a major company. The work done by the organisers allowed the Copenhagen audience a chance they would not otherwise have had to see the brilliant French dancers, who was most appriciated by the audience. Very few considereded the decors to be slim, on the contrary many felt that the got much more, than what was anticipated, a fully clad Afternoon of a faun were among the delights. We can either conclude that gallas is a bad thing, because the focus will primarily be on the dancing and you will get excepts and not the full performance or we can embrase the posibility a galla gives us to see and enjoy what would not otherwise be on offer. Living in Copenhagen it is nice to get a glimpse of the international scene and I am personaly very grateful to the dedicated organizer, Alexander Meinertz who continues to do the impossible task of bringing world class dance to Denmark and the UK despite the odds and limited finance.

I think you are right Silja Schandorff is not so well known internationally as she should be considering her talents. Having seen her from childhood and enjoyed her growth as a dancer the big momement for me was two seasons ago when she in one week danced a wonderfull La Sylphide, Giselle and Thaikowsky Pas De Deux, three parts that are not designed for her type of dancer, but she proved herself the true ballerina by making these part her own. i then knew that she could make a great impact in whatever she was handed if she wanted to. Another great moment was then Tivoli Gala where she and Hübbe danced Duo Consertante- an evening where all possible European talent danced all the standand Russian virtouso parts. silja's greatness is her combination of style, tecnique and allure. You can find dancers who are tecnically as strong or even stronger than her, but she has such a grip on the audience that you must look at her and nobody else. At Swan Lake seeing another good dancer, I find myself noting elements in the decor - I never do that when Silja Schandorff is dancing. Problem in Copenhagen this year have been lack of repetoire and the situation, that allthough favored by the audience and reviewers, management has favoured the less talented and much less alluring but constant Caroline Cavallo.

Schandorff has been dancing, although a bit infrequently. One of her problems is that she needs a tall and strong partner, so she sometimes find herself cancelled, not because of injuries to herself but to the one or two partners who are tall enough for her. The award was very much founded on her performance in la Sylphide with Hubbe last year. I think it is the same in the States as elsewhere. Merit is not reviewed on frequency, but on dancing the important performances. I once saw a book on Royal Ballet, where there was a list of how many performances each dancer has done, and the situation was that allthough Fonteyn and Sibley were on all the pictures, it was Merle Park who have done much of the dancing. I then tried to count the situation for RDB but got depressed viewing Johnny Eliasens high score, so I stopped counting and measured in quality and enjoyment.

You could join two associations Den Danske Ballet Klub or Den kongelige Ballets Venner. eventhough I am a keene balletomane, I am not a member of either but attends some functions as a guest. Regarding the style change.YYou can get very good Balanchine in Denmark, Some of the dancers are very good in Balanchine, but the special strengh of the Danish style is in the dramatic ballets, which they do extreamly well. To meet Danish ballet fans simply show up, primarily at first nights or galas. We are usually hanging around in the major downstairs foyer.

On Saturday I managed to catch the third cast; Mads Blangstrup and Gudrun Bojesen in onegin. Blangstrup and Bojesen is the future of the RDB in a stange way, because no two dancers show so much link to the glorious period of the 50 and 60ties. They literally looks and projects like dancers of that period. Seing those two is like the Flindt æra never happened. Allthough they are in the same age group, they have not danced together frequently, and the first and most important conclusion is how well they match. One cannot help hoping that they could be paired in other works as well, Bournonville, Classics and Romeo and Juliet, actually anything else but Onegin, which they both appear to young and especially her, to innocent to do full credit. As types and ages they could more beneficially have done Olga and Lenski and been fantastic i those part before moving to the mature parts. When Onegin was first produced in Copenhagen, Nicolj Hubbe, then in his earlies twenties was second cast Onegin, where he should have been first cast Lenski. Lenski is such a great part for a young dancer. I think Mads Blangstrup may have danced it earlier, but he could have done the role credit a few years more before moving up. Bojesen is so young and innocent that tatiana appears to be the younger sister and the bedroom pas de deux becomes romantic but not erotic.

At the Reumert Theatre Awards, Silja Schandorff won the title of Dancer of the year. Other nominees were Thomas Lund and Caroline Petter, the Schaufuss Ballet. Nikolaj Hübbe won the major award (sort of Lifetime Achiwement) and Kenneth Kreutzmann won best dance perfrmance for Make up. Hübbe and Schandorff danced Apollons solo and the pas de deux. On Friday Thomas Lund danced his first and very impressive Lenskij in Onegin.

It is funny, because in Copenhagen she has been considered a very NYCB-type of dancer so far (read non-dramatic). Mai Britt Helmsbo in her review today states that Ryom and Villumsen has worked with the dancers on Onegin. If that is the case I can only say work ahead because this is the area where the RDB Onegin is superior to Royal Ballets current Reid Andersson production, individuality and dramatic intensity. The London version seem a very "standard" franchise product and I was afraid that would be ecactly what we would have had here.

Yes I totally agree, Lindstrøm has never before seems like a dramatic dancer, but she was so nuanced and expressive. I would never have though that she could handle a role like Tatiana. Now I am hoping that she will get more dramatic roles. She should definately be in Manon next year. Yes Ryom and Jeppesen was problably more expressive than Haydee, both both dancers had a tendency to go for the Disney cute poor little me expression. They both portraied Tatiana as someone with little self esteem, playing for the audiences pity, Lindstrøm managed to make Tatiana tender and strong, she was dignified in the whole proces. And the dancing was so strong, Ryom and Jeppesen was past their prime and Jeppesen has never been a strong and bold technicican. It is so nice when the dancer do not have to consider the tecnical difficulties but can concentrate on putting the story on. It make me wish that I could have seen Arne Villumsen with an equally strong partner Regarding Greve, he has so much talent and look and he is so great when he is on, but he has been so little on the stage this year.

As Onegin is one of the great hits in Danish ballet history it is with some trepadations that one attend a new staging, especially in a lack lustre season which has not shown the company as is strongest. You even have the alarming little signals, No marketing of the performance, no decision or publication of cast before the premiere date. Sign that normally tell you that all is not well with the performance. But look and behold, the casting vote falled on Gitte Lindstrøm and Kenneth Greve, who gave a mesmerising performance of such high caliber that we have not seen here in a very long time. Lindstrøm in particular was a great surprise. For the last couple of seasons she has danced well, but have not made much impact in a mainstream semi-modern repetoire and she had not earlier been very convincing in dramatic roles. But this week she establish herself as a leading dramatic ballerina, creating a Tatjana you respect rather than pity a world afar from the door mate Poor little me we have seen from Heidi Ryom and Lis Jeppesen earlier. It is also a marvel to see the role danced by a ballerina in her technical prime. Ryom and Jeppesen got the part late and made their result on star quality and stong partnering. Lindstrøm and Greve are equally strong in the pas de deux with is breathtaking dramatic and dynamic, and which create an equality we have not seen in the ballet before. Gitte Lindstrøm is a svelte stong dancer, not onlike Marcia Haydee in build, which might also be a factor in how well she does the part. Greve has to work his way around the memory of Arne Villumsen in the part. One reviewer even suggested that he should dy his blond hair black, but he handled the inheritace very well. I do not know whether Villumsen has been involved in the coaching, but Greve has borrowed a few element and makes a stong case as a ice prince finally melting and his dancing is at its prime. He is great and they dance wonderfull together, Andrew Bowman an newcomer Cecilia Lassen was Lensky and Olga a she was struggling a bit in an otherwise fine performance.

Yes it has certainly been characteristic of Aage Thordals short reign that he had never been very good at casting or building repetoire that suited the available talent. The result is that you can now devide the leading Danish dancers into four categories; they are either injured, pregnent, leaving the company or misused. The trouble is you cannot really blame Aage. The blame should rightfully rest with the powers who chosed him for the job. I think Arlene Croce once wrote that Peter Martins only got casting right 50% of the time. But I have seen many performance where I would have been pleased if aage could get as high a as 50% hit rate. I do not thik he dislike Thomas Lund or Silja. He just does now have any understanding on how to build a dancer or repetoire, and he is somehow saved by the fact that dancers like Thomas Lund is able to grow even though he does not have the right part to develop in. And he is dancing, but he is not getting the parts that would really suit him. He more or less have the same repetoire as when he was 20. Silja is down to black leotard or white tutu. Yes she is dancing, but mainly in parts that only shows a bit of her talent. Caoline Cavollo is far the most used dancer in the company, but she is also misused because she is placed in part that do not suit her and which demands styles and personality that is beyond her command

Well Franks repetoire is made public. The major productions are John Neumeier Ulysses and mcMillans Manon (with a brand new decor)Shorter works by William forsyth, Jean-Christophe Malliot and Jacopo Godany, Etudes, The Lesson and La Corvervatorie , Onegib, Folk Tale, Nutcracker and Napoli. Par Isberg will make a ballet for the Children and Tim Rushton company will perform his version op Napoli. There ara also plans for new Martins, Ratmansky, Rushton and Lærkesen ballets but these will most likely occur the following season. This will be Frank plan how to place the company among the top five companies in the world! It could be worse but it could also be a lot better!

Calling the programme new mixed bill is not quite legit marketing, as the major parts is merely recircled goods from the few last seasons, and works that do not really merit a second outing. But Alexei Ratmansky and Tim Rushton are probably as good young choreographers as you will see in any major company, but what makes a good starter is not suffficient for a main course and particulary in the case of Rushton, creating more than 5 ballets this year is bordering on spreading the strong talent to thinly. Bela to (surprise) Bela Bartok music seems a mere repetitions of ground already covered in Nomades and other recent Rushton work.Ratmansky and Rushton shares a passion for darkly lit stages, modernistic costumes, unclear narrative and heavy neo-classical music. Both makes original steps and both, like other choreographers has preferences for certain dancers, whom they tend to use and reuse in all their works. The favour type over talent and as a result as Rushton and Ratmansky are the current mainstay of new works in the company, the most talented and deserving dancers are not given the opportunity to have works created on them. Instead in order to use the recognised talent, we get a Corsaire pas de Trois instead of a Pas de deux with 3 - 4 different cast and voila, now 12 classical dancers gets on stage. However a third of a Corsaire is not really that good a deal for dancers like Silja Schandorff, Thomas Lund and Mads Blangstrup. When Silja S. danced Duo Concertante this summer at a galla, she outshone the crop of leading British and European ballerinas present. One would think that any Ballet master on seing that perfomance would move earth and heaven to get the piece included in his repetoire, but instead she is left with a piece she cannot really make an impact in. She needs something meatier and more mature. And she needs to be on stage more. Rumours has it that she will not be part of the Onegin revival next month, which sort of makes the revival irrelevant. Another great talent also in limbo is Thomas Lund. He is as good as ever, but he is also misused in doing works he has done for years or cameos. Any ballet master should make an effort to find works that could really challenge his talent or find choreographers that would create for him. Peter Martins fearfull symmetries seemed the stronger Martins work when we got the first crop of Martins four year ago. However, having served a full Martins menu regulary since, it may still be the strongest but it appear more and more like run-of-the-mill Martins. Yes Thomas Lund and Claire Still vere very good, but they were as good four years ago. The other soloists Gitte Lindstrøm, Fransico Nappa, Caroline Cavallo and Jean Lucien Massot vere capable, but did not show anything we havent seen bfore and in the case of Gitte Lindstrøm, allthough she is a stong dancer, she has not been able to fullfill her potential, and looks more and more stereotype without any other facial expression than that of a smiling cat face. She needs coaching and attention, which she is not getting. I did not catch Gudrun Bojesen, whom unlike Lindstøm can build a connection with the audience and infuse any work with her personality and charm. I did not catch Mads Blangstrup either, bot allthough he has three different parts in the programme, neither I fear is using his specific talents very well. For the nth time in the last ten years the Royal Danish Ballet is again in the unproductive periodeof a ballet master finishing his last season and it looks like the only artistic ambition is to make the clock move

Nicolaj Hübbe was a guest as James in La Sylphide given a more forcefull than elegant rendering of every Danish dancers dream role. He was keen, but playing everything maximum volume was more effective than moving. The pairing with Silja Schandorff was not as great as one would expect from their brilliant Duo Consertante in Tivoli. She is bacically to tall for him in a part like this, and as James he did seem rather self oriented. Sorella Englund was Madge, but neither did she do as much with the part as she can when se is really on. One got the feeling that the principals was so eager to make an impact and create art that they missed the boat to a great performance. Hubbe did considerably well in the solos, double tours vere fine, if a little low and he used his arms more in jumbs than is standard Bournonville, but you could tell it meant a lot to him and the audience, hungry a we might be, was appriciative. Before La Sylphide a new Anna Lærkesen piece was premiered without much effect. Gudrun Bojesen dance the lesd in this rather thin affair.

I think we need to consider that there are different types of companies. There are a handfull of classical companies with a historic tradition, Royal Danish Ballet, Bolshoi, Kirov, Paris Opera, Royal Ballet (London), NYCB and perhabs a few more. Any ballet master in charge must take care of tradition and make certain that the family silver is kept intact, as well as developing the companies. Then there are another group of ballet companies like Nederland Dance Theater, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Ailey, Roland Petit, and other which are dominated by a resident choreographer. When he dies or leaves the company, they face a different task and depending on the legacy may move up to the first group. Then there is a group of Wannabe Classical companies ABT, San Francisco, Boston, Harlem, Canada, Australia, National Ballet, Swedish Royal Ballet etc, that do not have a specific legacy to preserve but it constantly trying to build a platform an gain a personality au pair with the true classical companies. Each type of company needs a different type of artistic management. You cannot be a new broom at NYCB and swep out all the Balanchine and Robbins inherency. As the inventor creator in group two companysyou build accordingly to your own needs as choreographer. In awannabe company your job is to build identity and take risks. But if that is your background you may not be suited to the other groups. Do not get me started on the consequences of putting four in a row of those into a classical company

I think you are absolutely right on target, and is has to do with the fact that the larger companies have not been very good in forseing their management needs. The culture is an autocratic leader, but that was based on a genius autograt, not just someone pulled out of the corps or from a foreign continent. What is needed is a carefull guide who can teach, direct and cast and who can find choreographic talent to build on. But the autocratic model put the fragile companies in dire straits because the autocratic leader is able to place all responsibility on himself, like Aage Thordahl or Peter Schaufuss commisioning works from themselves, eventhough they have hardly done any original chorography prior to be appointed ballet master. But all may not be lost in Copenhagen, Arne Villumsen, our greatest James have come back from retirement to direct La Sylphide. I cannot tell yet ,as I have not seen the performance yet, whether Arne is as great a director as he was dancer, but at least Thomas Lund and the other new cast members have the posibility to learn from ad ancer who knows every detail and who was taught by Kronstam and Brenaa, thereby reestablishing the missing link. These last few years have seen directors who had never danced the leading parts themselves May the Royal Ballet dancers keep their link to the tradition as well.and may we in Copenhagen see more productions where the living history is a present part of the production team.

My concern for the Royal Ballet and the consequences of new management is fulled by our experience in Copenhagen from the last 10 years where we have experienced 5 new ballet masters of short reigns but negative results. One thing was they did not bring much but between them they managed to drive away several highly talented dancers, shorteneds carriers, dismiss teachers and directors with experience and links to the "golden years" and the heritage in order to bring in repetoire from their former and lesser tradition, friends and associates as teachers and directors which little knowledge and taste. When you are taking over a company with tradition, it is important that you value the tradition and keep it alive and the only way you can do that is to ally with the people who are part of the tradition not by allinating them. I am sure that Dowell had his mistakes as well, but he was a part of the company tradition and have worked with Ashton, McMillan and de Valois first hand. It is a very critical stage for a new broom o take over. Please sweep gentle.

If English press is to believed the new broom, Ross Stretton, has already swept Mukamedow and Sara Wildor out of the company. As Carlos Acosta is heading West as well, one may want to ask What can Stretton bring to justify the "sackings" and to avoid other talented dancer to take their talent elsewhere? When Frank Andersen was first appointed Ballet Master in Copenhagen he announced that it would be his policy to build on the young dancers, which immidiately led to a situation where the young talents fleed the company, because they now knew that they could only expect a short career if age was the guiding factor. By dropping older, established stars Stretton likewise sent the message to the young ones he wants to keep, and I suppose Acosta being one of those that RB is not a good career choice for the long run.

Being part of the state system a post like Ballet Master should be announced. However depending on whether The Royal Theatre is considered a part of the state or as an independant company, owned by the state the legislation would be different. A lost of jobs on the Royal Thetre is not posted, like actors, singers and dancers. Likewise the board has the autority to prolong a contract without calling for appliacants. this has been done previously with Flemming Flindt, Henning Kronstam and Frank Andersens position. likewise the Board could have given Aage four more years.

Living in Copenhagen is always interesting, and if you have a feel for the Machiavellian touch, the actions of Theatre director Michael Christensen is a true masterpiece in the art of staying in power. Nobody, I think would have suspected that instead all the promised research, that Christensen simply would turn the deck of failed ballet masters and start all over again with Frank Andersen, whom he dumped rather ungracefully in 1993. What may have set this scene is a wish to duplicate the succesful pairing at the opera with experienced musical director Michael Schoenvandt and whizz kid Kasper Holten. Likewise is our national soccer team headed by a duo of an old experienced hand and a young popular star. but ballet is neither football nor opera. What Frank bring to job, second time around, is more or less what he had the first time, entusiam, political flair, a will to endure hardship and that is about it. Frank is not qualified for the full ballet master role, as he cannot teach, direct or choreograhs,(well neither could Aage, but Frank has at least spared us the coreography) and it is vital that he is backed on all three functions. Potential house coreographers could be Tim Rushton and Alexei Ratmansky, both of immens promise, and I suppose that Lloyd is supposed to fll the other voids. Lloyd has allways been very popular in Copenhagen, both among the dancers and the public, trading on his Ib Andersen "light" qualities and he is the last dancer to be developed by Henning Kronstam. He is obiously the sugar on this new cake and I suppose the plan is to groom him and let Frank step aside when Lloyd is ready to take over. Will Lloyd be ready and does he have the qualifications or is it his and Frank tight personal ties to John Neumeier,that is the attraction. That is the questions that need to be answered. But chosing Frank we get a known factor, we do also get a lot of old animousities. It was not so much that Frank was disliked, it was more the question of him not being respected. Like Aage and much more than him, when chosing Frank the first time, the post went to the solo dancer considered the less talented dancer in the bunch and it was hard for dancers with more talent to be bossed by someone they did not consider their equal. and then he made a lot of beginners mistakes like agreing to dismiss Sorella Englund. A mistake he was never forgiven. The one thing management can be certain about is that Frank will never abandom the ship. The late great Danish Critic Henrik Lundgreen wrote 10 years ago: Frank is not the cause of the Royal Danish Ballets problems, but neither is he the solution`". That still stands. In an way it should be easy because there is so much talent in the company, but it is not used right. Silja Schandorff last week outshone a group of leading interational ballerinas at a galla in Tivoli, but unfortunately casting was never one of Franks better qualities. What is left for us is the hope, and so far it cannot be more than a hope for Lloyd has only shown his flair as a performer that he really is the Messias we need. Perhaps it was a good omen that he dance the title role in Neumeiers Messias last week in Copenhagen. As far as Aage goes, I do not think any of us will miss him as he never made much impact. I am sorry for the dancers wrongfully cast as difficult, childish, spoiled. This is not true and their spokes person Christina Olsson has shone with dignity and intelligence in the press. One positive thing about Aage regime was her Sylph, showing us the dept of the talent in the company. May it shine a little bit brighter.