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Miracle in Copenhagen: Bournonville Festival '92
| Article
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20303 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
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6 / 1992 |
2,229 Words |
| Author
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Camille Hardy
Camille Hardy is a New York-based critic who publishes and
broadcasts on the arts internationally. |
I have many dreams, and I know that they will come true," revealed Frank Andersen, artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, in the afternoon before opening the company's Bournonville Festival '92. Presented in Copenhagen from March 28 through April 4, it honored Denmark's great nineteenth-century choreographer and celebrated the 150th anniversary of Napoli, his signature work in the international classical repertoire.
Nine days later--following a series of brilliant performances, special lectures, and the dedication of a new book, Bournonvilleana--a few of those dreams had already been fulfilled.
More than 140 ballet critics, historians, and artistic directors had come from across Europe, Asia, and the Americas to attend the festival. Danish dance fans applauded with uncharacteristic thunder and vocal exclamations. Nearly every performance was sold out. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, herself part of the production team for A Folk Tale, appeared in the royal box each evening to receive the bows that the dancers traditionally direct to her before acknowledging the audience. Set beneath the glittering chandeliers in Copenhagen's exquisite Kongelige Theater, or Royal Opera House, events unfolded like a contemporary fairy tale.
Appropriately, the essence of fairy tales--good versus evil, blending the real with folk traditions and the supernatural--were at the core of every festival activity. August Bournonville (1805-1879) was both a genius as a classical choreographer and a gifted artist whose aesthetic was centered on wholesomeness, beauty, and fidelity. He invented not only the libretti for his productions, but also a fiendishly challenging technique, intricately wrought compositions, and an attitude about performance that mingles bonhomie with generosity and virtuosity with modesty.
How to keep the breath of this tradition alive while also making it relevant to a contemporary audience is the task Andersen has faced since taking over the ensemble's artistic leadership in 1985. "With the Bournonville repertoire, we are a museum," says Andersen. "He is our great force, and our supreme good luck to have ten ballets intact from the last century makes this company very special. We also dance other things. But we have to make sure that we don't just dust Bournonville off when we perform his ballets. He was to live. That's why our heritage is dynamic here. We work within it and the tradition changes, shaping the time we live in and reaching out to touch the
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