Bournonville 2025

Experience the Timeless Magic of La Sylphide and A Retrospective on Bournonville

Join us for a captivating production celebrating the choreography of August Bournonville. Featuring excerpts from ballets such as Abdallah and Konservatoriet, the evening’s featured story will be La Sylphide, a classic tale of love, temptation, and the unattainable. Set in the Scottish Highlands, this romantic ballet tells the story of James, a young farmer who falls deeply in love with a mystical sylph on the morning of his wedding. Witness the tragic consequences of their forbidden love as James is torn between his earthly commitments and the ethereal allure of the sylph.

Featuring guest stars from the Royal Danish Ballet

In the week leading up to this event, workshop participants have been studiously working with professionals from around the world. This workshop will be the only one of its kind to take place in the United States. Learn about the masters below!

Dinna Bjorn began her dancing career in 1964 with the Royal Danish Ballet and had her soloist debut in 1966. She went on to perform a wide range of major roles in Denmark and abroad as a guest artist. From 1985-88 Ms. Bjorn taught at the Royal Danish Ballet School. She has choreographed many works for the Royal Danish Ballet as well for Dinna Bjorn Dancers. In 1996, she was appointed Artistic Advisor to the Royal Danish Ballet. In addition to these directorships, she was the Artistic Director of Dinna Bjorn Dancers, a company she formed with Frank Andersen, consisting of soloists from the Royal Danish Ballet, which toured extensively throughout the world. She has also created five Hans Christian Andersen ballets for Tivoli’s Pantomime Theatre for which Queen Margrethe designed the décor and costumes. In 1990, she was appointed artistic director of the Norwegian National Ballet, and in 2001, she became ballet mistress for the Finnish National Ballet.

Ms. Bjorn has been teaching and coaching the works and technique of Bournonville since 1975 and has participated in Bournonville research and reconstructions internationally. Her best-known reconstructions are the pas de trois from Soldier and Peasant (1981), the dance of the Three Graces in The Muse of the Homeland (1983) and the pas de deux from The Toreador (1989). Ms. Bjorn is much in demand as a guest teacher and lecturer and has given master classes and lectures at universities and theatres in Scandinavia, England, France, Italia, Germany, USA, Canada, China, and Hong Kong. She is the author of several articles on the technique and legacy of August Bournonville. Augmenting her numerous accomplishments, Dinna Bjørn has received the Danish Order of the Dannebrog, the Finnish Order of The White Rose, and the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.

Eric Viudes began his ballet training in Biarritz, France. At age 14, he won the first prize at the Concours de la Scène Francaise in Paris, directed by Serge Lifar, and achieved jury recognition in character dance. Thereafter he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris where he completed his ballet education. He also studied with Maitre Yves Brieux. Upon graduation he joined the Ballet du Rhin and in 1984 was engaged at the Norwegian National Ballet in Oslo, where he was promoted to Principal Dancer after two years. His leading roles include “Vaslav Nijinsky” in Ulf Gadd´s Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at the 1985 premiere in Oslo and in the Norwegian television production of the ballet in 1996. Other leading roles include the young bridegroom in Jerome Robbins´ Les Noces, the husband in Glen Tetley´s La Ronde, “Gurn” in Bournonville’s La Sylphide, “Edvard Grieg” which Sølvi Edvardsen created for him in Grieg à Jour and the Red Pas de Deux in Jiri Kylian´s Forgotten Land.

In 2003, he received the French Diploma for teaching classical ballet. He has served as guest teacher with many ballet companies including for the Aspirant classes at The Royal Danish Ballet (2003-2008). He was a member of the faculty for the Bournonville summer seminars in Tokyo, Japan and in France for Bournonville à Biarritz where he has served as Artistic Consultant since 2009.

Born in Denmark, Henning Albrechtsen was engaged as a dancer at the Royal Danish Ballet in 1985. Since 1997, he has been on the faculty at the Royal Danish Ballet School. In his career as a professional dancer he has danced a variety of soloist and principal roles in classical and neo-classical repertoire ranging from Bournonville to Balanchine.

From 2000 to 2007, he was the Deputy Artistic Director of Royal Danish Ballet. In 2007, he enrolled in the Teachers Training Program for former professional dancers at the National Ballet School of Canada where he completed the one-year educational program and in 2008 was invited back to the Royal Danish Ballet School as a full-time member of the faculty. Henning Albrechtsen has taught at various schools throughout the world including, among others, the National Ballet School of Cuba and the National Ballet School of Canada. In addition, he has taught the Bournonville technique in Australia, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, and Spain.

Karina Elver was born in 1962 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She began to dance cha-cha at the age of 3, and at 9 years old she was accepted as a ballet student at The Royal Danish Ballet School. In 1978 she was accepted as an apprentice at The Royal Danish Ballet and after 2 years she became a ballet dancer at The Royal Danish Ballet. During her time at The Royal Danish Ballet, she had many solo parts in several famous ballets by August Bournonville, Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, Clara in Nutcracker and many more.

Ms. Cuni Mancini trained at the Royal Danish School of Ballet and became an Apprentice with the company in 1991. In 1993, she joined the Corps de Ballet and was promoted to Soloist in 2001. Her roles in Bournonville ballets include “Teresina” in Napoli, “Eliza” & “Victorine” in The Conservatory, “Senorita” in La Ventana. Principal roles include “Clara” & “Princess” in various versions of Nutcracker, “Helena” in Midsummer Nights Dream and “Kitri” in Alicia Alonso´s version of Don Quixote. Her soloist roles include “The Pupil” in Flemming Flindt’s The Lesson, In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, Russian Girl in Serenade, Pas de Deux from Flower Festival in Genzano, “Effy” in La Sylphide, and various roles in Dances at a Gathering, Napoli, Folktale, Sleeping Beauty, Twyla Tharp´s The Fugue, and Balanchine’s Symphony in 3 Movements.

Diana Cuni has been teaching the Bournonville technique at the Royal Danish Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet School since 2013. She also taught at the first annual Royal Danish Ballet Summer School in 2014, and has been teaching Bournonville master classes and staging Willhelm Tell and Napoli at the Perm State Choreographic College in Russia. In addition, she has taught at the Bournonville seminars in Biarritz, France, the Inoue Ballet in Tokyo, and master classes in Paris.

Parking Information Here
The closest and most accessible parking is the garage behind theater on Kiesle Ave and costs $6. This garage is wheelchair accessible.

Due to unforeseen construction in front of the theater the ADA drop off area has been moved to the Key Bank Parking located on 25th street.

Volunteer Here!