New light on Bournonville

Abstract

Although much research has been done on August Bournonville in recent years, especially in preparation for the centenary of his death in 1979, there still remains to be investigated a body of important material that can shed new light on significant, but thus far unexplored, aspects of the great choreographer's work. This material, preserved in various libraries, museums, and archives in Denmark and Sweden, has in many cases remained unnoticed and unexplored, as it has only been partially catalogued. But it contains many documents that will make it possible to study his work in far greater detail than heretofore. The main part of this unfamiliar material is preserved in the Library of the Royal Theatre and in the Royal Library in Copenhagen.1 The study of Bournonville's work occupies a significant position in dance research because it is possible to confront the historical material with the unique living ballet tradition maintained in Copenhagen. Although the roots of this tradition can be traced to the eighteenth century, it is based primarily on the work of Bournonville, who created both the repertory and the style that remain the foundation of the Royal Danish Ballet. This body of source material on Bournonville and his theatre can be divided into four main groups. The first, preserved in the Library of the Royal Theatre, consists of documents relating to the actual staging of the ballets. Here are the old stage-director's records,