Flemming Flindt

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Flemming Ole Flindt (born September 30, 1936 in Copenhagen , † March 3, 2009 in Sarasota / Florida ) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer and ballet director.

dancer

Flindt studied at the ballet school at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen and the Paris Opera .

In 1955, at the age of eighteen, he became a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet. As a guest he appeared u. a. with the London Festival Ballet (1955), the Ballet Rambert in August Bournonville's La Sylphide (1960), the Royal Ballet in Frederick Ashton's Sylvia (1963) and the Bolshoi Ballet (1968). In 1961 he danced as a solo dancer at the Paris Opera in La Sylphide , in Harald Landers Études and choreographies by George Balanchine .

Choreographer and ballet director

In 1963 he designed his first own choreography with Enetime ( La Leçon ), a ballet originally designed for television based on Eugène Ionesco , conceived by Georges Delerue . The stage version had its premiere with the Royal Danish Ballet at the Paris Opera in 1964. It was also part of the private tour that Flemming Flindt designed for Rudolf Nurejew from 1975 to 1978 .

From 1966 to 1978 Flindt was artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet. Having already enjoyed success as a dancer in pieces of contemporary choreographies such as Lander, Birgit Cullberg and Roland Petit , he has now performed works by Paul Taylor , Jerome Robbins , Glen Tetley and Ron Field with the Royal Ballet . As his own choreographies he brought u. a. The wonderful Mandarin ( Béla Bartók , 1967), The Triumph of Death ( Anders Koppel , 1971), The Nutcracker ( Peter Tchaikovsky , 1971), Jeux ( Claude Debussy , 1973) and Traumland (Anders Koppel, 1974) on stage.

In 1978 he founded his own dance company and separated from the Royal Ballet. His first job with his free troupe was Salome . The choreography took place in a famous historical circus building in Copenhagen, Copenhagen's Cirkusbygningen. The music was composed by Peter Maxwell Davies , played by the Danmarks Radio Orchestra and conducted by János Fürst . Flindt danced himself in the role of Herod, the title role his wife Vivi Flindt . Jonny Eliasson danced in other roles as John the Baptist; and Lizzie Rhode as Herodias. Vivi was completely naked in the last scene, which caused quite a stir at the time, especially since this scene was broadcast on Danish television.

From 1981 to 1989 Flindt was artistic director of the Dallas Ballet Theater , after which he worked as a freelance choreographer, often with the Cleveland Ballet . For Rudolf Nurejew he created Der Mantel after the novella by Nikolai Gogel and in 1991 Death in Venice after Thomas Mann (with Nurejew as Gustav Aschenbach).

In the 1990s he worked again with the Royal Danish Ballet: in 1991 he performed the full-length two-act work Caroline Mathilde (music by PM Davies), named after a Danish queen. His last work was Legs of Fire in 1998 (music by Erik Norby ).

Flemming Flindt worked continuously with the Ballet San Jose of Silicon Valley , California, USA. In 2004 he choreographed Out of Africa there , an adaptation of the book Jenseits von Afrika by Karen Blixen , which was published under her pseudonym Isak Dinesende. In November 2008 he was personally present for the performance of his work, The Toreador .

He died on March 3, 2009 in Sarasota, Florida, USA. He was buried in Denmark, Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård.

Private

Flemming Flindt was married to the Danish solo dancer Vivi Flinth, better known as Vivi Gleker, from January 28, 1970. Daughter of the solo flutist of the Royal Theater Copenhagen Ellton Groth Gelker and Else Margrethe Freundlich. The marriage was divorced in 1995. He left behind a stepdaughter Tina (born 1964) and two biological daughters: Bernadette (born 1970) and Vanessa (born 1974).

Honors

Flemming Flindt received the Dannebrogorden (Ridder 1st degree) in 1974 and the Carina Ari Medal of Honor in 1975.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Flindt, Flemming
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flindt, Flemming Ole (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish ballet dancer and choreographer
DATE OF BIRTH September 30, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Copenhagen
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 2009
Place of death Sarasota