Kim Brandstrup (born 9 January 1957, Aarhus , Denmark) is a Danish-born, British-based choreographer . He received a degree from the University of Copenhagen in Film and Media Studies and the London Contemporary Dance School where he studied choreography with Nina Fonaroff . He began working as a choreographer in 1983, and in 1985 founded his own dance company, Arc Dance Company. He has worked with a number of companies including New York City Ballet , The Royal Ballet , The Royal Danish Ballet , English National Ballet , and the Rambert Dance Company among others - as well as extensive work in theatre, opera and film, drawing on his cinematic training to forge his unique narrative style.
30-419: Over the last two and a half decades, Brandstrup has established his name as one of the leading narrative choreographers of his generation, a dance maker with a natural instinct for telling stories. For Brandstrup telling stories and addressing serious subjects has always been combined - “telling stories connects us” as he has once said “to our shared humanity”. When he decided to switch his studies to dance, at
60-636: A Laurence Olivier Award for the 'Best Dance Production of 2009'. Described variously by critics as ‘a mini-masterpiece’ and ‘a choreographic gem’, Goldberg was commissioned by ROH2 and staged at the Linbury Theatre of the Royal Opera House . Invitus Invitam (2010) for Leanne Benjamin and Ed Watson was based on Racine's play, Berenice ; music by Couperin orchestrated by Thomas Ades . Machina Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 , created in collaboration with Wayne McGregor , and Ceremony of Innocence (2013)
90-1028: A dance/opera staging of Edgar Allan Poe 's The Fall of the House of Usher , commissioned by the Bregenz Festival. The following year he worked with Deborah Warner and the English National Opera , choreographing the Games of Apollo section for Benjamin Britten 's Death in Venice , as well as staging for the dance theatre classic Seven Deadly Sins for the Greek National Opera & Ballet in Athens. Further collaborations with Deborah Warner includes Messiah , La Traviata , Eugene Onegin and Between Worlds . Johan Kobborg Johan Kobborg (born 5 June 1972)
120-420: A duet for Alina Cojacaru and Johan Kobborg and a solo for Zenaida Yanovsky . However, for Rushes , commissioned by The Royal Ballet in 2008 and revived in 2010). Arguably this work pulls together many of the strands of his long career. For his literary source Brandstrup has again turned to Dostoyevsky, using the author's preliminary character studies for the 1868 novel, The Idiot in order to weave together
150-524: A freelance choreographer has also been prolific. Alongside the many dance companies who have performed his repertory (including London Contemporary Dance Theatre, English National Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Norwegian Ballet, and Birmingham Royal Ballet). Brandstrup has worked extensively in opera at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, The Met, La Scala, La Monnaie. In 2006, he collaborated with Phylida Lloyd on
180-554: A full-length ballet for Royal Danish Ballet, Rystet Spejl ( Shaken Mirror ) set to the poetry of the Danish poet Søren Ulrik Thomsen with music by Hans Abrahamsen . Premier on the 28 May at Skuespilhuset in Copenhagen . He has over the years established a strong link with The Royal Danish Ballet creating Mysterier (1993), the full length ballet Cupid and Psyche (1997), Ghosts in 2007 and most recently Eidolon (2011). His career as
210-561: A series of obliquely stated relationships and dramatic themes. The influence of cinema remains equally strong, not only in the title (which refers to the raw, unedited scenes screened after each day's filming) but also in Brandstrup's choice of music, composed by Prokofiev for a film version of The Queen of Spades . Goldberg: The Brandstrup-Rojo Project, which he created in September 2009 with Royal Ballet Principal Tamara Rojo , and which won
240-729: Is a Danish ballet dancer , choreographer , director and visual artist. He is most noted as a ballet dancer, having been a principal dancer with both the Royal Danish Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London, as well as making guest appearances with other ballet companies. Following his departure from the Royal Ballet in 2013, he was the artistic director of the Romanian National Ballet Company until 2016. Kobborg trained at
270-537: Is a French-born Spanish ballet dancer and a former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Yanowsky was born in Lyon , France, where her parents, Russian ballet dancer Anatol Yanowsky and Spanish ballet dancer Carmen Robles, were both dancers with the Lyon Opera Ballet . She is the sister of former Boston Ballet principal dancer Yury Yanowsky and Royal New Zealand Ballet dancer Nadia Yanowsky . Later,
300-660: Is frequently viewed on YouTube. She created the role of Paulina in Christopher Wheeldon's 2014 ballet The Winter's Tale . She is featured in the short dance films Duet and the Sandman (directed by The Brothers Quay and Will Tuckett and Choreographed by Will Tuckett for Channel 4 ). In 2005, she starred in the BBC2's film 'Riot at the Rite' as Maria Plitz, who danced as the Chosen One in
330-406: Is the way it reflects his creative relationships within the studio. Brandstrup develops his material in close collaboration with his dancers, not only working with their particular strengths and characteristics, but also giving them some freedom in the way they phrase the choreography. There is nothing improvised in Brandstrup's work but there is, he says, “a nice possibility of misinterpretation, of
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#1733086188229360-518: The Mariinsky Ballet , Bolshoi Ballet , La Scala Ballet , National Ballet of Canada , Hamburg Ballet , Stuttgart Ballet , Vienna State Opera Ballet and Teatro San Carlo , Naples . Despite media speculation that Kobborg would retire from the stage to replace Dame Monica Mason as Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet in 2012, it was later announced that Kevin O'Hare would be her successor. Kobborg previously declined an invitation to bid for
390-1209: The ' Prom at the Palace ', an event held to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II . In 2003, she won the Best Female Dancer award at the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards and in 2005 was voted Dancer of the Year by readers of the magazine Dance Europe . She retired as a permanent company member at the end of the 2017 season. She has performed many roles in the 19th century classical repertory, including: Odette/Odile in Swan Lake , Lilac Fairy & Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty , Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker , Nikiya & Gamzatti in La Bayadère and Myrtha in Giselle . She has also performed in many ballets choreographed by
420-693: The Royal Ballet's 2006/07 season, she created a role in Christopher Wheeldon 's DGV: danse a grande vitesse and Anna II in the new production of The Seven Deadly Sins by Will Tuckett . In the 2007/08 season, she worked with Wheeldon again and created a role in Electric Counterpoint . Her role as the maniacal Queen of Hearts in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Christopher Wheeldon , drew thunderous applause from both critics and audiences alike and
450-1043: The Royal Ballet's most important choreographers, Sir Frederick Ashton and Sir Kenneth MacMillan . Her Ashton roles include: the title role in Sylvia , Lady Elgar in Enigma Variations , Natalia Petrovna in A Month in the Country , Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand , Josephine in Wedding Bouquet and Monotones II . Her MacMillan roles include: the title role in Manon , Empress Elisabeth in Mayerling , The Chosen One in The Rite of Spring and First Sister in My Brother, My Sisters . She has also performed in many ballets by Balanchine , including
480-681: The Royal Danish Ballet School. After his graduation, Kobborg joined the Royal Danish Ballet and was promoted to the rank of principal dancer in 1994, following his debut in the role of James in La Sylphide . He joined the Royal Ballet in 1999, and has danced most of the leading parts in the repertory — among them, the Prince ( The Nutcracker , Cinderella ), Siegfried, Romeo, Onegin, Albrecht, Oberon, Rudolf, Des Grieux, Désiré and Prince Florimund. His guests appearances include dancing with
510-956: The Siren in Prodigal Son , Terpsichore in Apollo , Jewels , Agon , Symphony in C , Serenade , The Four Temperaments and Stravinsky Violin Concerto . Her other roles include the Hostess in Les Biches and the Bride in Les Noces (both choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska ) and the Black Queen in Checkmate (by Dame Ninette de Valois ). She has also created roles for and worked with many contemporary choreographers. In
540-689: The company that year. In 1993 she won the gold medal at the Eurovision Young Dancers Competition and in 1994 the gold medal at the Jackson International Ballet Competition . In the autumn of 1994, having left the Paris Opera Ballet earlier on in the year, she joined the Royal Ballet . She was promoted to the status of Principal Dancer in 2001. In June 2002 she performed the "Black Swan" pas de deux with Roberto Bolle at Buckingham Palace as part of
570-489: The dancers doing something I didn't expect. It’s the feeling with which they attack movement that makes it expressive or narrative. The shape of the body is not expressive - it is how you move , it’s how you get there, how you mould the journey , that matters.” Brandstrup's association with The Royal Ballet began in 2005 when he was invited to contribute a work for the Ashton centenary season. The resulting Two Footnotes to Ashton ,
600-485: The directorship of the Royal Danish Ballet , but in an article for the Daily Telegraph he stated that he would definitely accept such invitation to run the Royal Ballet. Following O'Hare's appointment, press speculation about Kobborg's long-term future with the company intensified. In June 2013, he announced that he and Cojocaru would leave The Royal Ballet at the end of 2012/13 season. Their last performance in London
630-562: The family settled in Las Palmas , Gran Canaria , where her parents set up a dance school. Although Yanowsky, along with her siblings, took dance classes at her parents' school, it was not until she turned 14 that she decided to become a professional dancer. After winning the silver medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1991, she received an invitation to audition for the Paris Opera Ballet , and joined
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#1733086188229660-524: The late age of 19, what motivated him was the belief that this new art form offered him a language with an even greater immediacy and universality than film. In 1980, Brandstrup left his native Denmark to study at the London Contemporary Dance School, and it was in London that he founded his own company, Arc Dance Company in 1985. From the start of his career his commitment to narrative was unmistakable with works based on Othello and Hamlet,
690-478: The myth of Orpheus, even the novels of Dostoyevsky. Works for Arc includes Les Noces (1983), The Dybbuk (1988), Peer Gynt (1990), Othello (1993), Saints and Shadows (1994), Crime Fictions (1996), Elegy (2001), Hamlet (2003) and Anatomy of the Storyteller (2006). Over the years, too, Brandstrup has developed an increasingly rich and supple language of expression. Early on in his career his choreography
720-677: The show won overwhelming praises. One critic wrote, Another wrote: Kobborg has also been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Nureyev International Competition (Grand Prix 1994), USA International Competition, Jackson , USA (Grand Prix 1994) and the Erik Bruhn Competition (1993) and received a 2006 Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his production of La Sylphide . Kobborg's performance as Albrecht in Giselle , alongside Alina Cojocaru as
750-410: The subtleties of melody and phrasing within the 19th and early 20th century classical repertories. In performance this merging of traditions appears fluent, almost seamless, perhaps because the choreography remains so focussed on its expressive motivation. In Brandstrup's mature work we see through the dancing to the music and the scenarios that inspire it. Another hallmark of Brandstrup's mature style
780-457: The theatre. Kobborg's Romeo & Juliet, premiered in the Arena di Verona on 26 August 2019 and attended by more than 10,000 members of the audience from all over the world was considered a great success. Music by Sergei Prokofiev (but shorten to one and half-hour), scenography by David Umemoto and with performers such as Sergei Polunin , Alina Cojocaru , Valentino Zucchetti, Nikolas Gaifullin,
810-480: The title role was recorded in 2006 and aired in England on Boxing Day. It was released on DVD the following year. He choreographed the dance scene in the film The White Crow (2018), a Rudolf Nureyev biopic directed by Ralph Fiennes . Kobborg is married to his former dance partner, Alina Cojocaru . They have two children. Zenaida Yanowsky Zenaida Yanowsky, Lady Keenlyside (born 23 December 1975),
840-935: Was in Mayerling on 5 June, his 41st birthday, followed by scheduled performances on 10 and 12 July with the company in Tokyo. In December 2013, Kobborg became the Artistic Director of the Romanian Nation Ballet Company in Bucharest, for which he was given a four-year contract. Cojocaru also joined the company as a principal dancer. However, in 2016, actions by new leadership at the Bucharest National Opera House resulted in both Kobborg and Cojocaru resigning, triggering protests by dancers. The new management then apparently banned them from even setting foot in
870-615: Was part of the Benjamin Britten Centenary. He also created the dance film Leda and the Swan – starring Zenaida Yanowsky , Swedish dancer Tommy Franzen and actor Fiona Shaw – for Deloitte Ignite 14. His most recent work includes : a new version of Debussy's Jeux for New York City Ballet, premiered in October 2015. And Verklaerte Nacht for Rambert Dance Company premiered at Sadlers Wells on 2 November 2015. Currently working on
900-411: Was rooted in the solid, weighted language of modern dance. Musically he preferred the strong, rhythmic propulsion of early baroque or 20th century minimalism. But as Brandstrup began working with ballet-trained dancers he started to absorb some of their movement vocabulary, along with their qualities of lyricism, lightness and speed. He also began to widen his range of scores, attracted increasingly to
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