Bournonville’s: «La Sylphide»

The 200th anniversary of August Bournonville‘s birth prompted two companies on either side of the Atlantic last autumn to stage new productions of the revered Danish choreographer‘s most widely seen ballet, “La Sylphide.“
Each company turned to a Dane nurtured in the Bournonville tradition at the Royal Danish Ballet but now dancing outside his homeland. For its first ever staging of “La Sylphide“ Britain‘s Ro­yal Ballet engaged 33-year-old Johan Kobborg, one of its most accomplished principal dancers.

The National Ballet of Canada first presented “La Sylphide“ 42 years ago in a production by the great Danish dancer, Erik Bruhn. For its new staging the Toronto-based troupe commissioned 38-year-old New York City Ballet star Nikolaj Hübbe. Hübbe first staged “La Sylphide“ in 2003 in Copenhagen. The Royal Danish Ballet revived this production for its magnificent Bournonville Festival last June. Hübbe‘s National Ballet production is essentially the same, although it deploys generally more attractive sets created originally for Boston Ballet by Peter Cazalet.Although the credit in the Toronto house program read “Choreography: Nikolaj Hübbe, after August Bournon­ville,“  the production is ...