Classic Ballet for Everyone

Artistic director Peter Schaufuss trained as a ballet dancer and choreographer at the Ballet School of the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. He was the artistic director of the English National Ballet, Deutsche Oper and the Royal Danish Teatre before creating his own ballet company in 1997 in Holstebro in western Jutland. In 2007 the company will move into The Theatre of Dance (Dansens Teater) - a new venue in Holstebro.

Artistic Profile
Peter Schaufuss’ trademark is putting on ballets with strong appeal to people who are not connoisseurs of ballet.  His blend of chiselled choreography, visual show and catchy music speaks to a broad audience. Peter Schaufuss has been able to make classic ballet popular – without compromising artistic quality.
Since 1997, Peter Schaufuss has created 16 very different productions, all of which are in the repertoire and can tour internationally.  As a source of inspiration, Schaufuss has used Shakespeare’s dramas (Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet) and the greatest classics from the world of ballet (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and The Kermesse in Bruges). In addition, Schaufuss works within the genre of “dansicals” – i.e., a fusion of dance and musicals. These dansicals often take their starting point in well-known personalities from Elvis Presley and the Beatles to Princess Diana and Hans Christian Andersen.
The company consists of 20 classically-trained dancers from all over the world.  This formidable ensemble is the only ballet company in Denmark other than the Royal Danish Ballet. With a base in the alternatively-thinking cultural city of Holstebro (in western Jutland), Peter Schaufuss has also started a classical ballet school for children, under the auspices of the Royal Danish ballet. 

Current Productions

Satisfaction
(2006)
Under the heading “sex, drugs and rock & roll,” Peter Schaufuss presents his newest work, which is a dance concert based on the music of the Rolling Stones.  The dance concert is the third part of the Peter Schaufuss Ballet’s rock trilogy of which the first part, The King, dealt with Elvis Presley and the second part, She Loves You, was based on the songs of the Beatles.

Diana the Princess – Charles the Prince
(2003 / 2005)
These ballets constitute the first and second parts of Peter Schaufuss’ royal trilogy of which the last part has yet to premiere. The choreographies are based on the choreographer’s acquaintanceship with Princess Diana, when she was patroness for the English National Ballet in London, where Peter Schaufuss was ballet master. The ballets provide an insight into the emotional lives of royal personages and their idolization in pop culture.

The King
(1999)
This piece is inspired by Elvis Presley’s short, dramatic life and is an account of the price stars must pay for their talent and subsequent fame. Elvis Presley lends his voice and music to Schaufuss’ “dansical”, which elegantly fuses the songs and text of the musical with the choreography and steps of the ballet.  The press called it a “rockin' ballet success”.

Romeo & Juliet
(1998)
An elegant and contemporary version of Romeo and Juliet, the ballet of love and hate. Peter Schaufuss reinterprets the classical ballet, so it becomes living, chic and sexy.  His Romeo & Juliet realizes Shakespeare’s universal drama about the strongest and deepest of human feelings.

Tjajkovskij-Trilogien / The Tchaikovsky Trilogy
(1997)
The trilogy consists of three ballets, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, which are presented as linked in one long dramatic tale.  The modern staging has many unforgettable moments and focuses on how Tchaikovsky’s fate is mirrored in music and story.  An impressive example of how classical music can be made pertinent today.

See descriptions of the other ballets in the repertoire at www.schaufuss.com

Review Extracts

“Schaufuss is one of our major classical ballet creators.”
Sunday Telegraph (UK), The King

“Peter Schaufuss’ Tchaikovsky Trilogy for his new ballet company has generated excitements where ever it is performed. Schaufuss stages the ballets well with enough provocative ideas to set audiences buzzing.”
The Observer (UK), Tjajkovskij-Trilogien

International Tours

2007
August
Apollo Theatre (London/UK)

September
Apollo Theatre (London/UK)