The Tightrope between Classical and Modern

Tim Rushton (born 1963 in England), choreographer and former ballet dancer. Educated at the Royal Ballet in London. Since 1987, affiliated with the Royal Danish Ballet as dancer and choreographer. In 2001, named artistic director of Danish Dance Theatre (formerly, Nyt Dansk Danseteater/New Danish Dance Theatre).

Artistic Profile
Danish Dance Theatre puts on dynamic and innovative modern dance productions with strong roots in the aesthetics of ballet.  The company is distinguished by its ability to contain much that is poetic and even more that pushes the envelope.
With its establishment in 1981 by the English/Norwegian choreographer and modern dance rebel Randi Patterson, the dance monopoly of the Royal Danish Ballet was broken. Since then, Dansk Danseteater has been the flagship of contemporary Danish dance.

Stories and literary sources have often played a central role. The company collaborates with leading authors, visual artists, and composers. The music varies from classical masterpieces to jazz, beat, and entirely new compositions. These are the traits that have distinguished the theatre under Patterson’s leadership and, later, under the direction of American Warren Spears and Dane Anette Abildgaard.
Under Rushton, the company’s aspiration to connect the classical with the modern was in full flower, garnering new international recognition. In his very aesthetic, almost airy choreographies and his weightier dance explosions, he demonstrates a unique ability to reflect the nuances of human relationships. 
With his 11 dancers from all over Europe, the company constantly mounts large stage productions as well as smaller, more experimental performances.

In 2005, the company moved into the beautiful, old, traditional theatre space of Folketeatret in central Copenhagen.  During the summer, the company performs free outdoor dance concerts, featuring the works of Rushton and other leading companies and choreographers from Scandinavia, in the architecturally unique courtyard of Copenhagen Police Headquarters.

Current Productions

Animal Park
(2006)
Animal Park circles around the fear we have to admit – and acknowledge – our own weaknesses. The performance is a cry for attention, a human chaos. Each individual dancer has a specifically defined character to explore, and the performance shows every one’s egoistic trip and their own personal idiosyncrasies.

Silent Steps
(2005)
A dancing homage to Bach. A direct, joyous and playful dance interpretation, based on Bach’s music, which is also a description of the complex mechanisms that govern human behaviour as we relate to each other.  The main inspiration is a recent award-winning recording of J.S. Bach’s Cembalo Concertos. Choreography for up to 10 dancers.

Kridt / Chalk
(2005)
Draws the contours of a man, standing at the edge of his grave. In a split second – balancing between life and death – life passes by: Doubt, trust, solidarity, loneliness, encounters that took place and meetings that never materialized…
Based on Peteris Vasks’ string quartet Musica Adventus and texts from Ecclesiastes. Received the prestigious Danish Reumert Award in 2005. Choreography for up to 10 dancers.

Shadowland
(2001)
A choreographic Speakers Corner. A bombardment of intensity.  An explosion of dance and words.  As words roll across the screen of the stage floor, the dancers create their own non-verbal landscape with their deeply-felt, ironic or fiery statements. Based on the beat generation’s poetry with Allen Ginsberg’s legendary Holy! Holy! at the centre. As pas de deux and in a version with 6 dancers.

Review Extracts

“Mr. (Allen, ed.) Ginsberg found all things holy, and this encompassing universality of existence is what Mr. Rushton captures in a plotless suite that peaks in energy and then resolves into acceptance of the world as it is. For all its potential retro nihilism, Shadowland evokes the lust for life of the Beat writers”..."Mr. Rushton knows how to make things happen.”
The New York Times (US), Shadowland

”Silent Steps embraces the beautiful and flirtatious joy of dance, sexual desire, and the intense, consuming longing for love… With its blend of abstract dance and implied stories, Silent Steps looks like exciting and modern bid for a ballet classic.  You almost cannot ask for more.”
Jyllands-Posten (DK), Silent Steps

“A sensual and gripping ballet, suffused with images containing beauty and pain …”
Jyllands-Posten (DK), Kridt

“Tim Rushton has a movement language that is controlled, unhurried and precise.” 
The Australian (AU), Shadowland

International Tours

2007
September: On tour in China; Beijing, Shanghai og Guangzhou
November: Moscow

2006
Dance Salad Festival (Houston/US)
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (Becket/US)

2004
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (Becket/USA)
Superdanish, Toronto Harbourfront Centre (Toronto/CA)
Sydney Opera House (Sydney/AU)