Tillykke med fødselsdagen til Dronning Margrethe :)

Happy 70th Birthday to Queen Margrethe! If you have telly here in Copenhagen (I do not, desværre), tune into DR tonight at 8pm for her birthday festivities broadcast live from Gamle Scene. Royal Danish Ballet is involved, along with the Opera and Playhouse.
Meanwhile, as I left work today before the performance, I was met by Dronning Margrethe's guards. Yes, I left my workplace amidst a sea of men in uniform. Nice gig I've got ;)

Letting Our Hair Down...

Ballet dancers traditionally have a reputation for being graceful, prim, possibly uptight people offstage. This is a myth, for while we generally possess good posture and of course polite manners, the group of people I work with and have come to befriend are some of the funniest, warmest, most creative people, and they certainly know how to have a good time. In our profession, free time is rare--this week, for instance, I know I will not get home to my little studio apartment before 11pm on any night. So we tend to take any and every opportunity to relax and enjoy "normal" life (whatever that is; if anyone has the answer, I beg of you, let me know). Without further ado...

We bring charisma to the table at Masken.

Quick trips to Paris (yes I know how spoiled that sounds) provide more entertainment.


A night out at Eiffel Bar involves the YMCA and dice games. The cups for which prove excellent for telephone photographs.

When good American friends are in town, we go to my favorite weekend place--in Kødbyen, a little joint called Mesteren & Lærlingen, where the music is fantastic, the beer is affordable, and all is hyggeligt.

To finish up this post of frivolity...sometimes we attend masquerade balls, and cannot believe the fabulousness of each other's outfits, and make appropriate facial expressions/hand gestures to express this disbelief.

Inspiration of the Day.

Royal Danish Ballet recently had Alina Cojocaru, of the Royal Ballet, guest with us to perform Titania/Hippolyta in John Neumeier's En Skærsommernatsdrøm. Not only was she absolutely, incredibly fantastic--a seriously jaw-dropping ballerina--but she was incredibly humble and extremely nice to everybody. I don't gush about many people, I'm not your typical bunhead ballerina, so when I go a little overboard waxing poetic about someone's dancing, it's really something for me to see. So consider me a superfan of Ms. Cojocaru. A little sampling of her rare gift:

Sunshine and Nostalgia.

A year ago, I was living in a much sunnier place across the Big Pond, prepping for life in Denmark. And today, I find myself in love with the little big city of Copenhagen, mangling a completely new language, forming close wonderful new friendships with all sorts of people, and building a little 21-year-old life for myself, all while maintaining my characteristic level of sarcastic general messiness and tendency to laugh far too loud (complete with the occasional snort). Going through my photos from the past seven months(!), I feel like I've only somewhat managed to capture the excellence of this place. And so, people-free photos of "lovely Copenhagen" in all seasons, for your viewing pleasure. Or not. Either way, a humble ode to Copenhagen:

It's All About Me.

As previously edited to mention, the Designer Forum event is taking place a month from now. After discovering this, I went to the fantastic flea market in Østerbro, and emerged with two Mickey Mouse mugs; a Louis Armstrong record; skinny black pants; a white blazer; and a weird vaudeville-themed oversized tshirt. A very successful Sunday ended with tacos and A Beautiful Mind at a friend's house. And now, some lovely bedtime music, courtesy of Lars and the Hands of Light...

Godmorgen, Gamle Copenhagen.

Kongens Nytorv and Det Kongelige Teater's Gamle Scene, in golden olden days of yore...(according to Wikimedia, between 1890 and 1900)
Fun fact: According to Wikipedia, the theatre was founded in 1748, which makes the organization older than my native country.

SUN + Saturday + Scandinavia = Weekend Fun

After a long week of ballerina dancing, rehearsing for the final program of this season, I find myself staring ahead at a blessedly long (for me) weekend. With a "fridag" Monday, I have this evening plus tomorrow plus the aforementioned fridag for fun, shopping, and general relaxation. This is a good thing. And for once, I have actual plans. I feel like I possess something of a social life. Again: good thing.
Tonight, for instance, I am having dinner with good friends at a restaurant I haven't tried before, but have heard many excellent things about--a little place called Khun Juk. I love me some Asian cuisine, so I feel an excellent meal is in my near future. Followed by drinks with ballet friends, and an evening of widespread merriment. Ballerinas do know how to enjoy a rare Saturday evening off...
And Sunday brings me a magical event of designer fashion at Forum, in Frederiksberg. For a mere 65DKK, I will enter a world of designer fashion, available for sale, at this event. It promises to be possibly detrimental to my bank account, but entirely encouraging to my self-esteem account.
To round off my weekend of planned happiness, I'm thinking I will take advantage of my one hour massage birthday gift on Monday. Add to this the fact that the sun has begun to shine on a regular basis here in Copenhagen, and you have a very happy foreign ballerina child living in Scandinavia.
So--har en god weekend, København! Vi ses om mandag :)

[*Note: The Designer Forum event is actually a month from now. Not April. MAY.]