Apollinaire Scherr on the Bournonville style
In Scherr’s Financial Times review of the Royal Danish Ballet‘s performances at the Lincoln Center, she gives a highly original account of what constitutes August Bournonville’s choreographic style:
Instead of bravado jumps and turns for the men and displays of leg for the women, lads and ladies alike skimmed the stage in flickery jumps punctuated by a foot’s swipe of the floor or sharp cut to the ankle. The dancers did not stay up or down for long; they maintained a constant lilt. The women perched on point for only an instant, like ballerinas in 19th-century woodcuts, before rolling down through supple feet. This sprightly flux induced joy – thoroughly in Napoli’s wedding dances – as did the wedging of steps in and around the beat.”
Photo: Alexander Stæger in Napoli – by Costin Radu
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
