Midway through Harald Lander’s one-act ballet Etudes, part of the Royal Danish Ballet’s Giant Steps mixed-bill this season, a ballerina wearing a white, romantic tutu enters the Old Stage at the Royal Danish Theatre. The corps, which has been demonstrating classroom steps, disperses as she performs delicate and understated choreography: skimming bourrées, lilting port de […]
Royal Danish Ballet principal Ida Praetorius shares how she personalizes her pointe shoes. First up, she goes into her unique darning technique, followed by an explanation of the extra special ribbons she loves. Click here for more on what’s in Praetorius’ dance bag.
Ida Praetorius ‘ dance bag is filled with hand-me-downs. The Royal Danish Ballet principal likes her warm-ups to come with a backstory. “It’s what I wear all day. I never wear my normal clothes, so I like bringing the people I love with me,” she says. Like most of what Praetorius carries, her striped legwarmers […]
Wonder what’s going on in ballet this week? We’ve pulled together some highlights. Royal Danish Ballet Dancers Take New York https://youtube.com/watch?v=eMVEm4By-NI Ballet takes center stage at New York City’s Joyce Theater this summer. The July 9–14 program brings international stars to the Big Apple. Dancers from the Royal Danish Ballet present The Bournonville Legacy, a […]
While dancing excerpts of August Bournonville’s Napoli this summer at the Massachusetts-based Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the artists of the Royal Danish Ballet were in perfect sync. The dancers exuded pure cheer, from their buoyant, clear footwork to the precise angle of their épaulement. This seemed fitting for a national company where most members train […]
The Royal Danish Ballet’s Ballet Festival in Copenhagen this June could have doubled as a showcase for corps dancer Liam Redhead, 23. On opening night, Redhead demonstrated his Bournonville mettle with a floating ballon and effortless charisma in Napoli‘s Act I ballabile. Then he delivered dazzling jumps as the Jester in artistic director Nikolaj Hübbe’s […]
On June 20, Royal Danish Ballet will open the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival with a weeklong run in the historic Ted Shawn Theatre. The celebrated relationship between the Copenhagen-based company and the Pillow dates back to 1954, when leading RDB soloist Inge Sand stepped in to replace a dancer from another company at the last […]
What do you enjoy most: performing, or being in the studio? The moment right after performing. It’s never a perfect show, but however you feel about it, there is a satisfaction, a sense of fulfillment. What qualities do you admire most in other dancers? Openness. We’re all afraid of being ourselves: Like actors and singers, […]