Frank Andersen (born 15 April 1953 in Copenhagen) is a former

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 ance ...

ballet dancer who was twice artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet. He has been an influential supporter of the Danish choreographer

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nep ...

Biography

Andersen was trained at the Royal Danish Ballet from the age of seven. He also studied under Vera Volkova,

Stanley Williams Stanley Tookie Williams III (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005) was an American gang member and spree killer who co-founded and led the Crips gang in Los Angeles. He and Raymond Washington formed an alliance in 1971 that established the ...

and Nora Kiss. He first danced with the company in 1971 and became a solo dancer in 1977. In 1976, supported by

Dinna Bjørn Dinna Bjørn (born 14 February 1947) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. She has specialized dancing and directing the ballets of August Bournonville. Bjørn has also created five Hans Christian Andersen ballets for the Pantomime Theatre ...

, he was the originator of the Bournonville Group which danced around the world presenting Bournonville's ballets. His first term as artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet was from 1985–1994. From 1995–1999, he was the artistic director of the

Royal Swedish Ballet The Royal Swedish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in Europe. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, King Gustav III founded the ballet in 1773 as a part of his national cultural project in response to the French and Italian dominance in this fi ...

and from 2002–2008 he was again artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet. He has directed several productions of August Bournonville's ballets. Since 1997, he has been an advisor to the National Ballet of China, visiting the People’s Republic on many occasions. His dancing has been qualified as conveying love of life, humour and charm in roles such as Geert in ''

The Kermesse in Bruges ''The Kermesse in Bruges, or The Three Gifts'' is a burlesque ballet in three acts created by the Danish ballet master and choreographer August Bournonville to music by Holger Simon Paulli, first performed by the Royal Danish Ballet on 4 April 1 ...

'', Gurn in ''La Sylphide'', Frants in '' Coppélia'', and Puck in John Neumeier's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' (1980). In 2010, Andersen, together with his wife Eva Kloborg, also a ballet dancer and choreographer, instructed a group of Vietnamese dancers from the Vietnam National Opera & Ballet in Bournonville's ballet. This culminated in major presentations at the Hanoi Opera House on 29 and 30 May 2010 with performances of '' Conservatory'' (1849) and ''Flower Festival in Genzano'' (1858). In 2015 he Frank Andersen held a lecture at the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation.

Bournonville productions

*'' Napoli'',

Monte Carlo Ballet Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

(1988) *'' A Folk Tale'', Royal Danish Ballet (1991) *'' La Sylphide'', National Ballet of China and

(1999)

Honours

*Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

, first grade *Prize of Honor, Berlingske Foundation (2000) *The Dance Magazine Award (2002) *Margot Lander's Grant of Honor (2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Frank 1953 births Living people Danish male ballet dancers Ballet masters Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 20th-century Danish ballet dancers