Dancing Bournonville

At danse Bournonville is a portrait of the Bournonville tradition at the Royal Danish ballet that has survived for 150 years on the basis of a few notes and the memories of the dancers and is the basis of the special nature and global reputation the company enjoys. The film was created in continuation of, and drawing on, Leth and Holmberg's experience in making Peter Martins - en danser. It primarily concentrates on the work of the charming, affected Hans Brenå in rehearsal and on stage with two young dancers in a production of Bournonville's Kermessen i Brügge. The film focuses on learning the steps and the gestures as the Bournonville tradition emphasises the combination of the two. The film also includes excerpts from Conservatoriet and Napoli. The camera work is attentive, mobile and occasionally very close to the dancers. Frontal wide shots are also used, often with pans, to show the dance as a whole, especially on stage. Leth's narrative describes the Bournonville tradition in a sober, poetic tone; for example "A new landscape, a new sky, different moods are lowered from the flies". The Royal Danish Ballet is described as "a workshop for dance where the quality of the old steps needs honing and refining every single day".