Royal Danish Ballet

Royal Danish Ballet | Thursday, July 30, 2020 at 7pm

This event took place as part of Virtual Festival 2020.

Revered as the world’s third oldest ballet company, the Royal Danish Ballet most recently returned to Jacob’s Pillow for the first time in over a decade to open Festival 2018 in the Ted Shawn Theatre. The company’s Virtual Festival stream features highlights from their 2018 Pillow performance including excerpts from A Folk Tale (pas de sept), La Sylphide (pas de deux), Kermesse in Bruges (1st act, pas de deux), Giselle (2nd Act), and Napoli (pas de six and tarantella).

While the distinctive repertoire of Danish choreographer August Bournonville remains a cornerstone for the Royal Danish Ballet, in his ten plus years as Artistic Director, Nikolaj Hübbe has brought the company to an impressive technical level which masters a wide range of modern and classical ballets.

Pre-Show Talk by Jacob’s Pillow Director of Preservation Norton Owen; Post-Show Talk with Artistic Director Nikolaj Hübbe.

Royal Danish Ballet

Founded in 1748 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Royal Danish Ballet is the world’s third oldest ballet company with a school among the oldest of its kind which originated in 1771. The distinctive repertoire of Danish choreographer August Bournonville remains a technical cornerstone for the Royal Danish Ballet today. Emphasizing lightness and filigree footwork against a quiet upper body, Bournonville created a venerable tradition for Danish male dancing of the highest virtuosity, which raised the Royal Danish Ballet to an international ability and gave it the unique national quality which remains its distinctive characteristic to this day. In his ten years as Artistic Director, Nikolaj Hübbe, former student of The School at Jacob’s Pillow, has brought the company to an impressive technical level which masters a wide range of modern and classical ballets. Current repertory includes ballet by important choreographers including Jiri Kylian, John Neumeier, Alexei Ratmansky, and Christopher Wheeldon.

WATCH Royal Danish Ballet ON JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE INTERACTIVE:

• A Folk Tale from 2018

Additional Royal Danish Ballet VIDEO:

• Festival 2018 promo video
• Post-Show Talk

This event is produced in collaboration with

Nel Shelby, Producer | Loren R. Robertson, Assistant Producer/Editor
Cherylynn Tsushima, Project Manager | Vincent Vigilante, Videographer
Benjamin Richards, Videographer/Editor/Graphic Animation
Ashli Bickford, Videographer/Editor | Amber Schmiesing, Editor
Jacob Marks, Recordist | Kathryn Brodie, Intern