Flemming Flindt (30 June 1936 – 3 March 2009) was a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
choreographer born in Copenhagen. He studied at 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 ...
and
Paris Opera Ballet schools, joined the Royal Danish Ballet and was promoted to soloist in 1955. He guested with the
London Festival Ballet
English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottis ...
in 1955, the
Ballet Rambert in 1960, the
Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
1963 and the
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...
in 1968, becoming an ''étoile'' at the
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...
in 1961.
His first ballet was ''Enetime'', a 1963 adaptation of
Ionesco's ''
La Leçon'', original English title of the ballet ''The Private Lesson'',
to a score by
Georges Delerue
Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for '' A Little Romance'' (1980), three C ...
and was commissioned by Danish television, later being adapted for the stage, making its premiere with
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 ...
on tour in Paris in 1964; Flindt returned to the Royal Danish Ballet as artistic director from 1966 to 1978. Other ballets he made on the Royal Danish Ballet include ''Gala Variations'' Music:
Knudåge Riisager
Knudåge Riisager (6 March 1897 in Kunda, Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia follow ...
first performance was 5 March 1967, ''Ballet Royal'' Music:
Knudåge Riisager
Knudåge Riisager (6 March 1897 in Kunda, Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia follow ...
first performance was on 31 May 1967, ''
The Miraculous Mandarin
''The Miraculous Mandarin'' ( hu, A csodálatos mandarin, translit= ˈt͡ʃodaːlɒtoʃ}, ; german: Der wunderbare Mandarin) Op. 19, Sz. 73 (BB 82), is a one act pantomime ballet composed by Béla Bartók between 1918 and 1924, and based on the ...
'' to
Bartók (1967), ''Swineherd'' Music: Knudåge Riisager first performance was on 11 March 1969 ''
The Nutcracker
''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...
'' to
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
in 1971, ''
Jeux'' to
Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
in 1973 and ''Dreamland'', to a score by
Herman David Koppel
Herman David Koppel, known in Denmark as Herman D. Koppel, (Copenhagen, 1 October 1908 – Copenhagen, 14 July 1998) was a composer and pianist of Jewish origin. Born in Copenhagen, he fled the Nazis with his family to Sweden in 1943. He wrote 7 ...
in 1974.
In 1978 he formed his own dance company. Its first work, ''
Salome'', premiered on 10 November 1978, at
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
's ''
Cirkusbygningen'' (The Circus Building). It featured music composed by
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music.
As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Musi ...
, performed by the
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
Radio Concert Orchestra and conducted by
Janos Fürst
János or Janos may refer to:
* János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John
Places
* Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua
** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico
** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua
* Jano ...
. The principal dancers were
Vivi Flindt, his wife, as Salome; Jonny Eliasson as John the Baptist; and Lizzie Rhode as Herodias. Flindt danced the role of Herod, and Vivi danced her final scene completely nude. This caused less of a sensation than the couple's previous nude ballet ''
Dødens triumf (The Triumph of Death)'', a television ballet in which the whole cast danced naked to a 1971 score by
The Savage Rose
The Savage Rose is a Danish psychedelic rock group, formed in 1967.
Career
The band was founded in 1967 by Thomas Koppel, Anders Koppel, Alex Riel, Jens Rugsted, Flemming Ostermann, and singer Annisette Koppel. Ilse Marie Koppel was also part ...
(its stage premiere at 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 s ...
was in 1972). ''Salome'' was filmed and shown on national television.
From 1981 to 1989 he became artistic director of the
Dallas Ballet
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wit ...
, after which he continued to work as a freelance choreographer, especially with the
Cleveland Ballet
The Cleveland Ballet was founded in Cleveland in 1972 by Dennis Nahat and Ian Horvath as a dance school, the School of Cleveland Ballet. It was the second incarnation of the Cleveland Ballet, having been preceded a ballet company of the same name ...
. In 1991 he returned to the Royal Danish Ballet to make ''
Caroline Mathilde'' to another
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music.
As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Musi ...
score and ''Legs of Fire'' in 1998 to a score by
Erik Norby.
Flemming Flindt was made a
Knight of Dannebrog
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in 1974 and received the
Carina Ari Medal in 1975. He was married to the dancer
Vivi Flindt, who created leading roles in a number of his ballets.
Flemming Flindt works continue to be performed as part of the extensive repertoire of
Ballet San Jose
Ballet San Jose was a ballet company based in San Jose, California, US, operating from 1985 to 2016.
History
The company was founded in 1985 as the "San Jose Cleveland Ballet," a co-venture with the ten-year-old Cleveland Ballet which offered to ...
. He was present in November 2008 to personally stage Ballet San Jose's production of his work, ''
The Toreador
''The Toreador'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Harry Nicholls, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. It opened at the Gaiety Theatre in London, mana ...
''. Flindt died on 3 March 2009 in
Sarasota
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...
, Florida in the United States.
References
External links
Profile on Flemming FlindtDictionary of Dance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flindt, Flemming
1936 births
2009 deaths
Danish choreographers
Danish male ballet dancers
Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog
Paris Opera Ballet étoiles
20th-century ballet dancers