Royal Danish Ballet Star to Guest at OBT

Royal Danish Ballet star Amy Watson will perform as a guest artist in Oregon Ballet Theatre’s fall production of Amore Italiano, which will include Act III of the Bournonville ballet Napoli, and the world premiere of Sub Rosa by James Kudelka.

OBT has gone to great lengths to study the Bournonville style in preparation for this production. Frank Andersen, a Bournonville expert and the former artistic director of the RDB, set Napoli on the company and helped organize a sponsored trip for six OBT dancers to study at the Bournonville Summer Academy in Copenhagen. The dancers spent a week intensively studying Bournonville repertoire and technique.

This year alone, New York City Ballet premiered its production of La Sylphide and Bournonville Divertissments, Ballet Arizona performed Napoli in its entirety (a rarity) and principals and soloists of the Royal Danish Ballet toured to the Joyce Theater in NYC. It’s safe to say the U.S. is experiencing a Bournonville boom, with dancers dedicated to studying the master’s subtle and buoyant style.