Sunday Sneak Peek

After a long couple of weeks rehearsing heavily for our last program, it's finally here: We premiere this week :) The girls ("kvinder") on Thursday; the boys ("mænd") on Friday. We end with a double-performance day on June 5, so please catch this program at the Operaen on Christianshavn while you can.

It's an interesting premise to end a long, wonderful season (my first; I cannot believe it's over already!). Normally, programs are pretty mixed. Take one look at this season's rep, and you won't really see anything that is totally dominated by one sex or the other. Now we have one program, with two "parts" (six shows each), giving people the option: Would you like to see girls or boys this evening? Personally, I'm curious as to who will sell more tickets...haha :) But seriously, the focus on "Ballerina" on one night and "Danseur Noble" on another piques my interest. Having been able to watch only glimpses of the boys rehearsing onstage, it has been interesting for me as a dancer to see the already-apparent differences between the ladies and the men highlighted even more than usual. There are a few moments in both programs when "the other sex" joins in the fun, but for the most part the evenings offer a chance to see the girls show of their individual technique, and the boys theirs. Not much partnering. Not many chances to see a leading ballerino sweep a leading ballerina off her tiptoes. (In our girls' program, there are six boys in Serenade, two in The Cage, one in Eid♀lon, and none in either Den døende svane or Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan. And in the boys' program? Just one girl, in Eid♂lon. No ladies in any of the other pieces: Bournonville variationer; A Suite of Dances; Les Gentilhommes; or The Unsung.) This program has also made the rehearsal process a completely different experience. I have gone several days without seeing guy friends at work because all of my rehearsals are all women. It has been interesting to see how this affects the way things run. Turns out, rehearsals have been a bit chattier and involve way more debate, but end up being slightly more efficient. I mean, the girls are professional. We chat, but always about the choreography... :)

Here, courtesy of David Amzallag's awesome Royal Danish Ballet blog, are some pictures of the upcoming end to Royal Danish Ballet's season. If you're in Copenhagen between May 20 and June 5, I can highly recommend both as wonderful ways to spend an evening.


Two good friends of mine, Alban Lendorf and Alba Nadal, rehearse Kim Brandstrup's Eid♀lon. (And yes, if you're wondering, I think the similarity of their names is fun. Except when I confuse a text message to either, since they're back to back in my phone book. Then it's annoying.)



Hilary Gusweiler as the Waltz Girl and Kristoffer Sakurai as Waltz Boy in George Balanchine's Serenade. I love love love this ballet. (Fun note: Hilary will dance Waltz Girl with Ulrik Birkkjær; while Kristoffer will return to the stage--after an injury--with Susanne Grinder.)


Fellow Yankee newbie, soloist Jodie Thomas, makes an absolutely fantastic "Novice" (new bug) in Jerome Robbins's The Cage. Plus she totally rocks the black wig :)


Soloist (and the guy who introduced me to this awesome video) Sebastian Kloborg performs José Limón's The Unsung. A tribute to Native American tribal leaders, this ballet features no music. And the bits I've been able to sneak into the wings and see look really cool--I'm very excited to watch the whole piece at Thursday's general rehearsal!

So there you have a bit of what's to come this week at the Operaen. Happy Sunday to all, and here's hoping the sun eventually makes an appearance...surely it's springtime beneath the clouds and infinite shades of grey in the sky...