Bournonville school

The Bournonville school comes from August Bournonville (1805–1879), the Copenhagen-born ballet master who led the Royal Danish Ballet for about half a century and made some fifty ballets, among them La Sylphide (1836), Napoli (1842) and A Folk Tale (1854). His style is known for quick footwork with beats, easy flowing arms and light, unforced jumps, and for giving men and women equal weight.

Hans Beck later arranged Bournonville's teaching into six daily classes, one for each weekday, which Danish dancers used alone until 1932. About a dozen of his ballets remain in the Royal Danish Ballet's repertoire in Copenhagen, and the company has held Bournonville festivals showing the ballets alongside demonstrations of the classes.

Sources

• Wikipedia: August Bournonville
• Pointe Magazine: Bournonville at 200
• Wikipedia: Royal Danish Ballet
• ArtsJournal (Tobias): The Bournonville Festival, Copenhagen, June 2005

Organisations connected with this dance

• The Royal Danish Ballet (Royal Danish Theatre)
• The Royal Danish Ballet School (Summer School page)

Listed as references; being listed is not an endorsement by or of the organisation.

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