Jane Simpson Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 The RDB has recently updated the dancers' list on its website to show 5 dancers promoted from aspirant (apprentice) to corps de ballet: Emma Håkansson Josephine Berggreen Stephanie Sahlgren Benjamin Buza Jón Axel Fransson There are 9 new aspirants, more than I can remember in the last few years: Astrid Elbo Benita Bünger Ida Praetorius Stephanie Chen Gundorph Møller Viktoria Falck-Schmidt Jeppe Banke Lukas Hartvig-Møller Luke Schaufuss Magnus Christoffersen All of them are Danish. David Amzallag recently posted photographs of several of them, and those who were at the 2005 Bournonville Festival will probably remember Ida Praetorius as the little girl, Fanny, in Conservatoire. They join 2nd year aspirants Andreas Kaas and Oscar Nilsson. Claire Ratcliffe and Aurore Casanova have left the company, and as previously known, Nehemiah Kish has also left to join the Royal Ballet in London. Link to comment
Mashinka Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 and those who were at the 2005 Bournonville Festival will probably remember Ida Praetorius as the little girl, Fanny, in Conservatoire. Yes I certainly do remember her as Fanny; I also remember an adorable little boy called Tobias with the same surname who was marvellous in the Kenneth Greve version of Nutcracker: is he her brother? Link to comment
rg Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 thanks, Jane. is Luke Schaufuss related the Schaufuss name we know from Frank and Peter fame? Link to comment
Jane Simpson Posted July 9, 2010 Author Share Posted July 9, 2010 I also remember an adorable little boy called Tobias with the same surname who was marvellous in the Kenneth Greve version of Nutcracker: is he her brother? Yes, I think so - I've certainly seen a review from 2005 which referred to them as brother and sister. thanks, Jane. is Luke Schaufuss related the Schaufuss name we know from Frank and Peter fame? Yes, he's the son of Peter Schaufuss and Zara Deakin. I think he was at one of the RDB schools outside Copenhagen for a time but he left and danced with his father's company in some quite big roles. But I think he's still only about 17. (Love this 'multiquote' reply feature!) Link to comment
Anne Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 It is great to see, that the school is able to produce so many new dancers, and four of them being male! Maybe the large number of apprentices is a new strategie: to let the talented ones have a go at it and see if they can fly. Or maybe it is a direct result of Hübbe's intensions about upgrading the effort of the school, and it is therefore actually beginnnig to produce more talent. In an interview by Jane Simpson in Ballet.co.uk Magazine in December (there is a link to it somewhere else on this board) he says explicitely, when asked if he cares, that "of the 93 dancers currently listed, just over half are Danish": "I do care. I do care, because I love the school - I think our education is everything - but I don't think the school produces enough. It's a big problem, and I have to do something about it - it's my next big quest. I love dancers, OK? - I LOVE this dancer, that dancer, I don't care what their nationality or their background is, or for that matter their schooling - I love a French dancer as much as a Russian - if it's a good dancer it's a good dancer - but I for pride, I guess, some strange national pride, I am concerned. And also - I guess this has to do with the tradition - I want the school to produce dancers I like, dancers I can agree with. And I pay money to the school so it can exist - five and a half million people pay tax to the upkeep of this school - and for that plain pragmatic reason, I want something for my money!" Link to comment
Jane Simpson Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 The list of corps de ballet dancers on the RDB site now also includes Tara Schaufuss, who was listed as an aspirant for a time last season. Link to comment
Anne Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Do you know, if Tara Schaufuss is a member of the famous family too? Link to comment
Alymer Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Do you know, if Tara Schaufuss is a member of the famous family too? Yes, she's the younger of Peter Schaufuss's two daughters from his marriage to Janette Mulligan who was a dancer with English National Ballet. Link to comment
Jane Simpson Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 David Amzallag has added some photos of two of the new aspirants - Benita Bünger and Ida Praetorius - to his photoblog pages. (There are also some nice shots of Bojesen and Lendorf and of Carling Talcott, all in Swan Lake, on adjacent pages.) Link to comment
Rosie Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 Do you know, if Tara Schaufuss is a member of the famous family too? Yes, she's the younger of Peter Schaufuss's two daughters from his marriage to Janette Mulligan who was a dancer with English National Ballet. Are you really sure about that?! On her CV it says that she´s from Brisbane, Australia Link to comment
JMcN Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Janette Mulligan is Australian. Perhaps she returned there after her break-up from Peter Schaufuss? I well remember Janette Mulligan from my early ballet-watching days. She was a particularly wonderful Tatiana in Onegin amongst many other roles I saw her perform. Link to comment
Joan Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Do you know, if Tara Schaufuss is a member of the famous family too? Yes, she's the younger of Peter Schaufuss's two daughters from his marriage to Janette Mulligan who was a dancer with English National Ballet. Are you really sure about that?! On her CV it says that she´s from Brisbane, Australia I know for sure, that she is the daugther of Peter Schaufuss Link to comment
Joan Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 David Amzallag has added some photos of two of the new aspirants - Benita Bünger and Ida Praetorius - to his photoblog pages. (There are also some nice shots of Bojesen and Lendorf and of Carling Talcott, all in Swan Lake, on adjacent pages.) On facebook there is a groupe called blueballet - the almost all Royal Danish Ballet photography page Here you can see a lot of the pictures from david amzallag Link to comment
bart Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 OFF TOPIC: I love the closeup shot of Ida Praetorius as a black swan, taken from the wings. It's a very interesting and intelligent face. Based on her facial expression alone -- and those eyes -- I'd like to see more of her. Thanks, Jane, for the link, and Joan for the additional information. And, Joan: welcome to Ballet Talk. Link to comment
Natalia Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Practically all of the Aspirants listed in the first post, above, were in Washington, DC, this past weekend dancing 'B is for Bournonville' at the Kennedy Center. Ida Praetorius was especially lovely in her solo segments and, yes, I remember seeing her at the 2005 B'ville Festival in Copenhagen, as the little girl in Konservatoriet. Link to comment
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