Verdensballett 2022
The review
Sylt . Keitum . July 14, 2022
The VERDENSBALLETT makes a guest appearance at the BENEN-DIKEN-HOF
A magical ballet evening in Keitum on the island of Sylt
In front of the historic thatched house of the Johannsen family with its old chestnut trees, the stage was once again set up for this evening. Iana Salenko and Steven MacRae dance expressively the pas de deux they created “For the love of Dance”. The audience follows spellbound the breathtaking action on stage. White tents on the lawn next door promise delicious food for the break. A magical atmosphere lies over the scene.
For the 5th time since 2016, the BENEN-DIKEN-HOF in Keitum on Sylt presents this year the wonderful, unique VERDENSBALLETT – an extraordinary ballet performance that had to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to corona.
Since 2008, exceptional talents come together every summer to perform as VERDENSBALLETT – from the Danish “world ballet” -, in special places with an open-air ballet gala. The program: classical and modern ballet, scenes and arias from well-known operas, music for violin and piano.
In 2016, the VERDENSBALLETT will make its first guest appearance at the BENEN-DIKEN-HOF in Keitum on the island of Sylt. On the meadows in front of the historic thatched courtyard, a large stage will be erected for the occasion for one evening, with seating for up to 1,200 spectators. Next door on the lawn, an ensemble of white tents with sophisticated culinary stations awaits its guests.
Here on the area of the BENEN-DIKEN-HOF the only performances of the VERDENS-BALLETT outside Denmark took place so far. They were incomparable, almost magical evenings that captivated the audience as well as the artists. The success of this idea proves that it is possible to interpret demanding cultural themes, such as classical ballet, in a relaxed and easy-going way.
VERDENSBALLETT’s cast for this year’s tour again includes a top-class selection of world-famous dancers, including the Ukrainian prima ballerina Iana Salenko from the Staatsballett Berlin, Steven McRae, soloist at the Royal Ballet, London, and Xander Parish, who was with the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg for 12 years – the last five as principal dancer. In early March, he decided to leave Russia because of the war with Ukraine; today he dances with the National Opera Ballet in Oslo. He is joined by two of the very biggest stars in the Danish ballet world, Astrid Elbo and Alban Lendorf. Astrid Elbo dances the great roles of both classical and modern repertoire as a soloist with the Royal Ballet. Alban Lendorf has been a principal dancer in Copenhagen since 2011 and regularly appears as a guest dancer on the world’s leading stages. He is also a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater at the New York Met.
A special highlight this year and exclusively on Sylt is the guest appearance of HAMBURG BALLETT John Neumeier with 6 dancers dancing passages of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” after William Shakespeare, choreographed by him. They represent the Federal Youth Ballet from Hamburg, whose young dancers have delighted audiences in previous years with their committed performances full of elegance, courage and joie de vivre. Those who know their way around the ballet scene – the participating dancers from Hamburg are: Anna Laudere and Edvin Revazov (first soloists), Xue Lin and Karen Azatyan, Olivia Betteridge and Alessandro Frola.
The dancers are accompanied by Alexander McKenzie on the grand piano and Niklas Walentin on the violin. Andrea Pellegrini will sing. As always, the initiator of this extraordinary ballet gala, the Danish opera singer Jens-Christian Wandt, will act as host.
Quote “In a moment we will see two of the greatest ballet stars in a breathtaking and virtuosic pas de deux – Iana Salenko and Steven McRae. The two have been dancing together since 2014 and have dreamed of creating their own pas de deux all these years. They were finally able to realize this dream with VERDENSBALLETT. The title of the ballet is “For the love of Dance” – and yes, the love of dance comes through quite clearly in this stunningly beautiful homage to all that is ballet.” Jens-Christian Wandt
It was a terrific evening of ballet – very special, touching, unique.
VERDENSBALLETT . 2023
The performance of the VERDENSBALLETT next year
– again with us on the BENEN-DIKEN-HOF –
is planned for
Thursday, July 13, 2023
We expect the final decision of the Danish organizer in October 2022.
The advance sale will start on 01 December 2022.
Impressions of the construction process
VERDENSBALLETT . Denmark
https://verdensballetten.dk/
HAMBURG BALLETT John Neumeier
https://www.hamburgballett.de/
