Bournonville style, ideas, examples: The Flower Festival in Genzano PDD

[MiSi]

Hello from a newcomer: I live in Copenhagen, home town (if not by birth) of Hans Christian Andersen and his good friend August Bournonville, of whom I am an ardent admirer and - dare I say it - scholar. Anything you want to know about his art, and the city, especially the arts, just ask. If I don't know, I know someone who does

 

May I thank you for your help and interest by linking to the most perfect, the most true to the Bournonville style, that is, version of the pas de deux (nothing else is left of the ballet, alas) from "The Flower Festival in Genzano":

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRR5JODzJHI

 

The Ballerina's name is Henriette Muus - not Muss - it is a very old Danish name, dating back to renaissance or even medieval times here, and she does it credit.

 

Bournonville style is not easy - romantic ballet was the cradle and nursery for ballet as we know it - not for the lazy or the weak :-) But it must look easy, with a natural flow to it.

 I studied with her mom, Jette Muus, not at her almost legendary school, we both studied at the Cph University (ballet history and more). She was great fun and very nice, though I've heard that she was a strict teacher.

 

I'm happy to hear that you like the PDD and style.

[Jan McNulty]

That is so beautiful to watch!  Thanks for sharing the link.

 

In the 1980s, just as was beginning as a ballet-watcher, the BBC showed a television series called Dancer, presented by Peter Schaufuss.  He commented on the Bournonville style and one of the first things I saw was his production of La Sylphide for ENB (then London Festival Ballet) starring Eva Evdokimova and Peter Schaufuss himself.  I just fell in love with the style!

 

I love the very deft footwork and all the ballon and I think I like Ashton for the same reason.

 

One of the most joyous things (IMHO) to watch on a stage is Act 3 of Napoli!

[MiSi]

Thank you, Janet

 

Bonus info: When I first saw Johan on stage here in Cph he was partnering Henriette in the Peasant PDD in "Giselle". He did his solo bits beautifully, and when he was partnering he was very careful and attentive ( and quite nervous too). It was his first performance in that part. That was when I studied dance subjects at Cph Univ. and mentioned it to my professor, who said:"Yes, but he's only just turned 17".

The rest is history

[Melody]

There seems to be a similar quality to French ballet in this extract. I remember spending some time a while ago, watching a bunch of YouTube videos of the Grand Pas Classique, most of which were by Russian or French dancers. The Russian pairs seemed to be sending the subtext "look how perfectly I am executing this very difficult choreography - I might be making it look easy, but do not forget for a minute that it's actually very difficult and I've got it mastered, I hope you're impressed." The French pairs were just sailing through it, seeming to say "this is quite lovely and I'm happy to be here." I get the same feeling from those Danish dancers; they're not trying to impress the audience with their technical ability (which they obviously have in spades), they're telling their story and living the music.

[victoriapage]

Here's another from the competition in Jackson, Mississippi in 1986:

[alison]

I couldn't believe we had so few threads on Bournonville!  This seems to be the best one in which to post something which I spotted in last month's Links and then forgot about - former London Festival Ballet/English National Ballet principal, and former ballet master at the Royal Danish Ballet, Martin James, talking about teaching Bournonville (the bolding is mine!):

 

"It’s often a challenge for students because Bournonville is hard. We forget that it’s actually a technique on its own. It’s fast and it’s often good to put it into a class because it reminds us of how slow we actually are."

 

(The lack of speed in today's dancers being something of a bugbear of mine - in Ashton as well)

 

The whole interview can be found here:

Talking to Martin James … about teaching – Michelle Potter

 

 

[Emeralds]

 

On 01/09/2023 at 17:09, alison said:

I couldn't believe we had so few threads on Bournonville!  This seems to be the best one in which to post something which I spotted in last month's Links and then forgot about - former London Festival Ballet/English National Ballet principal, and former ballet master at the Royal Danish Ballet, Martin James, talking about teaching Bournonville (the bolding is mine!):

 

"It’s often a challenge for students because Bournonville is hard. We forget that it’s actually a technique on its own. It’s fast and it’s often good to put it into a class because it reminds us of how slow we actually are."

 

(The lack of speed in today's dancers being something of a bugbear of mine - in Ashton as well)

 

The whole interview can be found here:

Talking to Martin James … about teaching – Michelle Potter

 

 

Just not enough Bournonville performances nowadays! The last complete  Bournonville ballet I saw performed in the UK, was La Sylphide in January 2018 by ENB. I saw two casts, and sad to say, the cast who were actually truer to the spirit of Bournonville style and the ballet itself  (Erina Takahashi’s cast) was dancing to a half empty auditorium because it was a weekday matinee, while the sold out evening show cast on another date were good, but after seeing the other cast, you knew there was a difference in quality. But it was just nice to have La Sylphide being staged at all.

 

I also enjoyed Queensland Ballet’s 2015 performances at the Coliseum of Peter Schaufuss’s production.

 

Ida Praetorius and Francesco Gabriele Frola dancing the Flower Festival at Genzano pas de deux at the Nureyev Legend and Legacy gala at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in September last year was truly lovely and a special treat for me because it was the first time in a long time that I’d seen a Bournonville trained dancer who had risen through the ranks (albeit very speedily!) at Royal Danish Ballet dancing Bournonville here, and of course her partner is outstanding in his own way although trained in different traditions.

 

Alison McWhinney and Fernando Carratalá Coloma of ENB were also wonderful last year dancing an excerpt from La Sylphide in Cojocaru and Putrov’s Dance for Ukraine Gala-they really presented the Bournonville style and the spirit of the ballet beautifully.

 

I didn’t manage to catch the Royal Ballet School performances of Konservatoriet Act 1 at ROH this year apart from the brief YouTube clip the RBS released recently, but I’d say that’s a difficult ballet to get right, even for professionals. 

 

It’s a pity that most of our Bournonville nowadays tends to come in bits and pieces of gala style programmes, beautifully danced as they may be. A lot of written material (books, encyclopaedias, newspapers) written for the public/the layman seem to describe ballet as being about Swan Lake and Nutcracker, and then maybe Giselle, Sleeping Beauty and Romeo & Juliet, but if you ask people what appeals to them about ballet, the style that most people have in mind or enjoy the most is not multiple fouettés, promenades or athletic lifts (wonderful as those may be), but the grace, effortlessness and lightness of the Bournonville style (and more flattering long tutus and character skirts of the Romantic Era). We need more Bournonville ballets to be performed on our stages. 😊

Edited September 2, 2023 by Emeralds

[Fiz]

I have just watched the duet on YouTube. It’s an utter delight, full of lightness and joy. Thank you for sharing it, @MiSi

[MAB]

This is evoking fond memories of the last Bournonville festival and seeing so many things for the first time.  I adored Folk Tale.  Has it ever been performed in Britain?

[Jane S]

50 minutes ago, MAB said:

This is evoking fond memories of the last Bournonville festival and seeing so many things for the first time.  I adored Folk Tale.  Has it ever been performed in Britain?

 

Yes, but possibly not since the RDB season at Covent Garden in 1953.

 

(And these days they do a Hubbe version.)

[alison]