Anine Marie Magdalene Frølich, (13 March 1762 – 6 November 1784) was a Danish ballerina, one of the first professional native ballet dancers in Denmark and the first native star within the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the Ro ...

. Anine Frølich was perhaps the principal figure in the emergence of classical ballet as a distinct art-form in Denmark.

Biography

Frølich was born in Copenhagen, and was accepted as a student in the ballet school of the Court-Theater ''Hofteatret'' in 1771. The Court-Theater had been founded in 1767 at the

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

by Pierre Laurent of the French theater troupe employed there: it was to be merged with the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first ser ...

when the French troupe was fired in 1772-73. At this time, Ballet had only very recently been performed by native ballet dancers in Denmark. At the Royal Danish Theatre, native dancers had only performed since the season of 1758-59, which became the debut of

Marie Barch Marie Barch (née ''Knudsen''; 1744 – 31 March 1827), was a Danish ballerina. She was a pioneer within her profession in her country. Barch debuted at the Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national D ...

and

Carl Vilhelm Barch Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

. Frølich debuted in 1773 and became an instant success on account of her astonishing beauty, technical accomplishment and dramatic technique, which separated her from the more formal and stiff mannerisms adopted by most of contemporaries. From 1775, Frølich came under the influence of the Italian dancer

Vincenzo Galeotti Vincenzo Galeotti (5 March 1733 – 16 December 1816) was an Italian-born Danish dancer, choreographer and ballet master, who was influential as the director of the Royal Danish Ballet from 1775 until his death. Life Vincenzo Tomasselli was ...

. Having been made ballet-master of the Court Theater, he completely reformed the Danish ballet and stimulated a new enthusiasm for the art among the public. Until then, Danish ballet had been abstract and undramatic, formal and stilted. The idea of ballet as a dramatic art was introduced into Denmark by Galeotti, who made Frølich the star vehicle of his innovative choreography. With her expressive manner of dancing she complemented perfectly the new style of ballet under his direction. Under his leadership she became the ruling ballerina of the Danish ballet. One of her most famous roles was in the ballet ''Den forlodte Dido'' in 1777. She and Galeotti also became lovers, but the relationship ended unhappily. Exhausted by the intense physical demands of her art, Frohlich's health deteriorated quickly. In 1784, she collapsed during a performance and was carried home, but died shortly afterwards in Copenhagen.

References

* (In Danish
Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frolich, Anine 1762 births 1784 deaths Danish ballerinas Danish people of German descent 18th-century Danish ballet dancers Royal Danish Ballet dancers

Biography

See also

References