August Bournonville

August Bournonville, lithograph by Em. Baerentzen, 1841

August Bournonville (born August 21, 1805 in Copenhagen , † November 30, 1879 in Copenhagen) was a Danish dancer , choreographer and ballet master .

Life

Bournonville was the illegitimate son of the French ballet master Antoine Bournonville and his Swedish housekeeper Lovisa Sundberg. In 1816 he was recognized by his father when he married Lovisa Sundberg. Bournonville entered the Royal Ballet School of Denmark at the age of seven and was tutored by Vincenzo Galeotti , an Italian dancer and the founder of the Royal Danish Ballet . At the age of 15 he became a dancer of the Royal Danish Ballet, which was led by his father as Galeotti's successor. At the same time Bournonville was involved as a singer and actor, but at the age of 21 decided, despite a good tenor voice and promising early acting successes, to follow his father's example and to limit himself to a ballet career .

In 1826 he continued his studies with Auguste Vestris and Pierre Gardel in Paris and four years later returned to Copenhagen as a soloist, choreographer and ballet director, where he created numerous ballets, reorganized the ballet school and made dance one of the most important arts in the country .

Bournonville choreographed around 50 ballets, ten of which have survived. Among them the main works La Sylphide (1836), Napoli (1842), The fair in Bruges (1851) and Eine Volkssage (1854). Thoughts and ideas of his epoch are reflected in his works, such as those found in the poet Hans Christian Andersen , with whom Bournonville was good friends.

His most famous work is the fable of his La Sylphide , which was played around the world and is based on a Scottish legend - a work that he wrote especially for his student Lucile Grahn . His unhappy and enthusiastic love for the 15 years younger dancer caused scandals. So in 1841, theatrically and directly from the stage, he addressed the Danish royal family for their permission to let Lucile Grahn dance in Paris, which earned him a six-month resignation, which he used to travel to Europe.

Bournonville's life's work was to fill the dance stage with life as full as no other: with individually led people from all social classes and above all of all ages. In addition, he brought the dance into a constant flow, with incredibly nimble movements, especially of the feet and legs. The key word in Bournonville's work is harmony, both in terms of outlook and style. Like the other artists of the Golden Age in Denmark, he advocated a view of life that was shaped by belief in a meaningful world.

In 1830 Bournonville married the Swedish Helena Frederika Håkansson, with whom he had seven children. On November 30, 1879, Bournonville collapsed on his way home in a Copenhagen street and died. His grave is in Asminderød.

Choreographies (selection)

• 1829: Acclaim to the Grazes and Soldier and Peasant
• 1832: Faust
• 1835: Waldemar
• 1836: La Sylphide
• 1840: The Toreador
• 1842: Napoli (or: The Fisherman and his Bride) and Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (opera)
• 1849: The Conservatoire
• 1851: The Kermesse in Bruges
• 1853: The Wedding in Hardanger
• 1854: A Folk Tale
• 1855: Abdallah
• 1856: La Ventana
• 1858: The Flower Festival in Genzano
• 1859: Fjeldstuen
• 1860: Far from Denmark
• 1861: The Valkyrie
• 1868: The Lay of Thrym
• 1870: Wagner's Lohengrin (opera)
• 1871: The King's Corps of Volunteers on Amager
• 1872: Wagner's Meistersinger von Nürnberg (opera)
• 1876: From Siberia to Moscow

literature

• Erik Bruhn, Lillian Moore: Bournonville And Ballet Technique: Studies And Comments On August Bournonville's Etudes Choregraphiques (2005), ISBN 1-85273-107-9
• August Bournonville, Knud Arne Jurgensen: Letters on Dance and Choreography (2000), ISBN 1-85273-073-0
• August Bournonville: My Theater Life (1847), reissued by A&C Black (Publishers) Ltd (1979), ISBN 0-7136-2014-5
• Dan Fog: The Royal Danish Ballet 1760-1958 and August Bournonville. A Chronological Catalog of the Ballets and Ballet-Divertissements performed at the Royal Theaters of Copenhagen, and A Catalog of August Bournonville's Works. With a musical bibliography. Copenhagen (1961).
• August Bournonville: New Year's Gift for Dance Lovers (1829)
• August Bournonville: My dearly beloved Wife! Letters from France and Italy. Letters from France and Italy, 1841 . Introduction and notes by Knud Arne Jürgensen. Translated from the Danish by Patricia N. McAndrew. Dancebooks, Alton, Hampshire, England 2005, ISBN 1-852731060 .

Web links

Commons : August Bournonville  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Det Kongelike Teater: Auguste Bournonville Timeline (English) ( Memento from November 13, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
• BalletMet, Biography (English) ( Memento from 1 May 2011 at the Internet Archive )