Erik Aschengreen, RIP

[dirac]

The Danish critic Erik Aschengreen has died at age 88.

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Over the ensuing decades he built up expertise and authority. While Danish dancers like Erik Bruhn, Peter Martins, Ib Andersen and Nikolaj Hübbe enjoyed long careers in America, bringing renown to the Danish tradition, and while the Royal Danish Ballet brought its treasured 19th-century Romantic and neo-Classical ballets by August Bournonville to American cities, the larger historical context of Danish ballet became better understood internationally thanks in particular to the work of Mr. Aschengreen, who wrote and lectured in Denmark, the United States and elsewhere.

An appreciation by Marina Harss.

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Not surprisingly, Aschengreen was recognized the world over as possibly the greatest authority on, and spokesman for, the works of Bournonville. His affable and mischievous presence were familiar from countless panels, lectures, seminars, and documentaries on the subject. Many critics fondly remember his participation in the now legendary Bournonville Festivals held in Copenhagen in 1979 and 2005, which introduced so many dance lovers from abroad to the Danish style.  He was their charming, always enthusiastic guide. But Aschengreen also worked behind the scenes, aiding in the preservation of Bournonville's ballets, philosophy, and style, assisting in video-recordings of technique classes and the digitization of photographs and texts. Over the years Aschengreen's name became inseparable from Bournonville's work.

A tribute by Anne Middelboe Christensen (in Danish)

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Åh, Aschengreen. Dit elskelige væsen og din enorme viden har gjort dig til en kærligt opmuntrende mentor på tværs af generationer. Du var en inspirator og et forbillede: Et renæssancemenneske med hjertet i guldalderen, men altid med fokus på nuet og den seneste forestilling. Det bliver tungt for os andre at skubbe dansen videre uden dit lette sind og din tindrende balletviden. Må du danse videre med ordene dér, hvor du er nu. Gerne til Chopins længselstoner fra Kameliadamen.