Dance

Photo: Henrik Steenberg, Dansk Danseteater

Contemporary Dance

By Vibeke Wern

Contemporary dance in Denmark is a versatile and dynamic genre in constant development. Its flagship is Danish Dance Theatre/Dansk Danseteater with choreographer Tim Rushton at the helm. But contemporary dance can be everything from Kitt Johnson’s sensual, butoh-inspired works, Anders Christiansen’s absurd, minimalist dance performances and Tina Tarpgaard’s interactive multimedia choreography to Palle Granhøj’s imaginative, musical dance romps and Mute Comp.’s dynamical physical theatre. Including as well Steen Koerner’s equilibristic hip-hop fairytales and Peter Schaufuss’ flamboyant, biographical ballets, which also belong to the motley Danish dance scene. When contemporary Danish stage dance is at its best, it is on a level with the most outstanding in Europe.

Contemporary stage dance in Denmark has a short history compared to US or to European countries such as Germany, France and England. The Royal Danish Ballet and the Bournonville tradition have largely dominated Danish dance history. However, as in the rest of Scandinavia, contemporary dance has developed quite a bit in the last 35 years. Geographically, the development has been centred in Copenhagen, but dance has also taken off in Århus and Odense, as well as the home town of the Odin Theatre, Holstebro.

The first steps
Through the 1970s and 1980s, many foreign dancers and choreographers made their mark on contemporary dance in Denmark – often with a background in the techniques of Graham, Horton, or Cunningham. In 1970, two American dancers founded the Creative Dance Theatre in Copenhagen and, in 1972, the Norwegian/English choreographer Randi Patterson founded the experimental women’s group, Living Movement.

Danish dancer and choreographer Eske Holm, who left his position as a principal with the Royal Danish Ballet, became a focal point for contemporary dance in the 1970s. Especially in 1975, when he opened Pakhus 13 in Copenhagen harbour.

Many contemporary dance companies did not survive, but new ones took their place. One important step was taken at the beginning of the 1980s, when Randi Patterson, after breaking away from Living Movement, founded the Nyt Dansk Danseteater/New Danish Dance Theatre, along with Danish choreographer Anette Abildgaard and former Alvin Ailey dancer Warren Spears. The company, which is today the oldest and most prominent modern dance company in Denmark, changed its name in 2005 to Dansk Danseteater/Danish Dance Theatre. At the same time, the company got its first permanent home at Folketeatret in Copenhagen. In 2010 Dansk Danseteater/Danish Dance Theatre moved to Dansehallerne in the former buildings of the Carlsberg breweries.

International insight
Since 1978, Danish audiences have been able to gain important insight into international contemporary dance at festivals such as Fools, Vive la Danse, Dancin’ City, Images of Africa and Images of Asia, presented by the Copenhagen International Theatre, KIT, with Trevor Davies at the helm. Here, as at the Aarhus Festival, people have been exposed to the biggest names in the world of contemporary dance – often with site-specific performances scattered throughout the city.

Dance Venues
The most important venue for modern dance in Copenhagen is Dansescenen, which has been situated in Dansehallerne at Carlsberg since 2009. Dansehallerne is the largest centre for modern dance in Northern Europe. Other venues for dance performances in Copenhagen are Stærekassen, “The Starling Box”, and the various stages of the Danish Royal Theatre.

Åben Dans productions in Roskilde, which is the only regional dance theatre (egnsdanseteater) in Denmark, has since 2010 been based in a neighbourhood dubbed Musicon, where the company is responsible for the theatre called “Scenen i Laboratoriet”.

In Aarhus, the company Granhøj Dans has its own stage downtown in the former church building Klosterport, while Choreographic Centre Archauz - also in the centre of Aarhus - is an important venue for presenting Danish and European contemporary dance.

The Peter Schaufuss Ballet, which was originally established in Holstebro, is today based in Spinderihallerne in the city of Vejle, and performs all over the country.

------ Vibeke Wern (MA). Dance critic, external lecturer in Theatre Studies, Copenhagen University.