30. AUGUST 2025

Balletgalla

PART 1

Hamburg Ballet ♦ Spring and Fall

“In a ballet set to Dvǒrák's music, a specific story isn't important. What's more important is the theme of movement, and I see this in the constant alternation of tension and release within the music, a musical line that repeatedly collapses, only to be rebuilt. The title is borrowed from a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, because "spring" means not only spring, but also leap, and "fall" not only autumn, but also fall. And that, for me, is the content of the ballet: leap, in which all forces are gathered to ascend, and fall in the sense of a release of all forces, of relaxation that leads back to earth. When I think about the ballet today, it seems to begin with the combined power of three men in one man. It ends with the division—the fusion—of this power (yin and yang) into man and woman... its finale is then open to all possibilities, and they storm toward the audience...” - John Neumeier

Musik: Antonín Dvořák 
Koreografi: John Neumeier 
Akkompagnement: Tivoli Copenhagen Phil

Hamburg Ballet

Olivia Betteridge

Born in Westmead, Australia, Olivia Betteridge received her early training at the Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy before continuing her studies at the School of the Hamburg Ballet.

Freelancer (former principal dancer of Hamburg Ballet)

Alexandr Trusch

Alexandr Trusch, a native of Ukraine, studied at the School of the Hamburg Ballet and joined the company in 2007.

Kammerballetten ♦ Closer

Closer is an intense and sensual pas de deux that explores the physical and emotional intimacy between two bodies.

The choreography is set to Philip Glass’s Mad Rush, which supports the piece's rhythmic and lyrical movements. In Closer, Millepied works with a minimalist and expressive language of movement, where the motions seem to arise organically and in close dialogue with the music.
The piece exemplifies Millepied’s ability to balance classical and modern styles, inviting the audience to experience dance in a fresh and vibrant way.

Music: Philip Glass, Mad Rush
Choreography: Benjamin Millepied
Accompaniment: Trio Vitruvi

Freelancer (former principal dancer San Francisco Ballet)

Maria Kochetkova

Maria Kochetkova, born in 1984 in Moscow, is an internationally acclaimed freelance principal dancer. 

Freelancer (former soloist Royal Danish Ballet)

Sebastian Kloborg

Sebastian Kloborg, born in 1986 in Copenhagen, is an award-winning Danish choreographer, director, and dancer. 

Kammerballetten ♦ Unravel 

Kristian Lever’s Unravel is an intense and emotional pas de deux that explores themes of separation, longing, and connection.

The piece moves in a minimalist and expressive movement language, where the dancers seem to be bound by invisible forces that both create closeness and separate them.
The music, Maurice Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte, supports the work’s melancholic and dreamy character and intensifies the feeling of longing and loss. Unravel is a poetic and visually powerful piece that invites the audience to reflect on the emotional bonds that connect and divide us.

Music: Maurice Ravel
Choreography: Kristian Lever
Accompaniment: Trio Vitruvi

Former soloist Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe

Alba Nadal

Alba Nadal was born in Zaragoza and brought up in Catalonia, first with Olga Roig in Manresa and later on, at Institut del Teatre in Barcelona.

Soloist Royal Danish Ballet

Tobias Praetorius

Tobias Praetorius was born in 1996 in Copenhagen. He is a soloist and choreographer with the Royal Danish Ballet. 

Kammerballetten ♦ Oenothera

Tobias Praetorius’ Oenothera was first performed in 2021 as part of The Chamber Ballet program at The Royal Danish Theatre and was praised for its spontaneous and musically intuitive choreography, which radiated a distinctly feminine and immediate expression.

In Oenothera, Praetorius works with a minimalist and expressive movement language, where the choreography seems to arise organically and in close dialogue with the music. This approach creates a piece that is both sensual and present — a work that draws on the aesthetics of classical ballet while simultaneously challenging and renewing its conventions.
The piece is accompanied by Trio Vitruvi, and the interplay between music and movement is central to Oenothera. It is a work that showcases Praetorius’ ability to balance the classical and the contemporary, inviting the audience into an open, vibrant, and poetic dance experience.

Music: Franz Schubert
Choreography: Tobias Praetorius
Accompaniment: Trio Vitruvi

Principal Dancer Royal Danish Ballet

Astrid Elbo

Astrid Grarup Elbo is a Principal Dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and a choreographer. Trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School (2001–2010), she joined the company in 2010 and was promoted to principal in 2023.

Hamburg Ballet

Ida Praetorius

Ida Praetorius completed her dance training at the Royal Danish Ballet School and joined the Royal Danish Ballet in 2010, where she was promoted to soloist in 2014 and first soloist in 2016. 

Soloist Royal Danish Ballet

Ji Min Hong

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Ji Min Hong began her ballet training in her hometown 
at Yewon Art School.

National Ballet of Canada ♦ On the Nature of Daylight

In On the Nature of Daylight, Dawson explores the idea of love as both something ordinary and extraordinary.

The piece portrays two individuals who pass each other without meeting at first, and later find one another in an intimate moment where they let go of their identities and reveal their deepest emotions. This narrative reflects on the serendipity of encountering a soulmate and the love that can arise when it is least expected.

Music: Max Richter
Choreography: David Dawson
Accompaniment: Tivoli Copenhagen Phil
Stage Manager: Alex Wommack

National Ballet of Canada

Genvieve Penn Nabity

Genevieve Penn Nabity was born in Casco, Michigan and trained at Main Stage Center for the Arts in Armada, Michigan and Canada’s National Ballet School. 

National Ballet of Canada

Ben Rudisin

Ben Rudisin was born in Woodbridge, Virginia and trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem and Houston Ballet II in Texas. 

Royal Ballet London ♦ Romeo og Julie - Balcony pas de deux

MacMillan’s Balcony Pas de Deux from Romeo and Juliet is an intense and emotional moment in which the young lovers meet in secret.

The choreography combines lyrical, flowing movements with an underlying tension that reflects both the longing of love and the danger surrounding their encounter.
With a fine balance between classical technique and dramatic expression, the pas de deux conveys tenderness, hope, and uncertainty.
Set to Prokofiev’s passionate music, MacMillan unfolds a moment of beauty and vulnerability, with Romeo and Juliet’s love at the center — caught between dream and reality.

Music: Sergey Prokofiev
Choreography: Kenneth MacMillan
Accompaniment: Tivoli Copenhagen Phil

Royal Ballet London

Fumi Kaneko

Japanese dancer Fumi Kaneko is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. She joined the Company during the 2010/11 Season and was promoted to First Artist in 2012, Soloist in 2013, First Soloist in 2018, and Principal, 2021.

Royal Ballet London

Vadim Muntagirov

Russian dancer Vadim Muntagirov is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. He trained at The Royal Ballet Upper School and joined the Company from English National Ballet as a Principal in March 2014.

PART 2

Tivoli Balletteater ♦ On Down the Road

On Down the Road reflects on the journey—not as a path to a destination, but as the destination itself.

To arrive is to realize you have been arriving all along. The road, with its turns and returns, is where meaning lives.

Music: Fanfare Ciocarlia, Shantal
Choreography: Kevin O'Day
Accompaniment: Recorded music

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Anna Zavalloni

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Claire Gillard Lestan

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Francesco Capasso

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Ida Marie Krings

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Lauréline Epaulard

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Lilou Coulaud

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Louka Do Vale Tinoco

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Maïa Gastal

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Maxime le Gal

Tivoli Ballet Theatre

Vincent Vernal

National Ballet of Canada ♦ islands

Emma Portner’s islands is an innovative ballet duet for two women that challenges classical norms and explores physical and emotional intimacy.

In this piece, the two dancers share a single pair of trousers, creating a visual illusion of entwined bodies that twist and interweave in a complex choreography. Portner, making her debut as a ballet choreographer with this piece, brings her background in contemporary dance and commercial choreography into the classical form, resulting in a dynamic and expressive style without the use of pointe shoes. The music, an electronic composition, supports the work’s modern aesthetic and emotional depth.

Music: Brambles, Guillaume Ferran, Forest Swords, Lily Konigsberg, and Bing & Ruth
Choreography: Emma Portner
Accompaniment: Recorded music
Stage Manager: Alex Wommack

National Ballet of Canada

Genvieve Penn Nabity

Genevieve Penn Nabity was born in Casco, Michigan and trained at Main Stage Center for the Arts in Armada, Michigan and Canada’s National Ballet School. 

National Ballet of Canada

Heather Ogden

Heather Ogden was born in Toronto and trained at the Richmond Academy of Dance in British Columbia before joining The National Ballet of Canada in 1998. 

New York City Ballet ♦ Diamonds pas de deux

Diamonds Pas de Deux is part of George Balanchine’s ballet Jewels from 1967, created for the New York City Ballet.

This pas de deux is the highlight of the Diamonds section, which is inspired by The Russian Imperial ballet tradition. Set to music from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3, the piece combines classical elegance and technical precision in a magnificent tribute to the language of romantic ballet.

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: George Balanchine
Accompaniment: Tivoli Copenhagen Phil

New York City Ballet

Sara Mearns

Columbia, SC, principal dancer New York City Ballet since 2008. 

New York City Ballet

Tyler Angle

Tyler Angle joined New York City Ballet in 2004, and was promoted to Principal dancer in 2009.

Dutch National Ballet ♦ Don Q pas de deux

The pas de deux in Alexei Ratmansky’s Don Quixote is a technically demanding and dramatic sequence that takes place during the work’s central romantic moment between the two main characters, Kitri and Basilio.

Ratmansky preserves the classical structure from Marius Petipa’s original choreography but adds modern nuances that highlight both the passionate and humorous sides of their relationship. The pas de deux features dynamic lifts, impressive pirouettes, and a playful, flirtatious interaction that underscores the characters’ lively personalities and their intense love.
The music by Ludwig Minkus, which accompanies this sequence, is filled with rhythmic drive, enhancing the dramatic intensity of the scene.

Music: Ludwig Minkus
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky, after Marius Petipa and Aleksandr Gorsky
Accompaniment: Tivoli Copenhagen Phil

Dutch National Ballet

Anna Tsygankova

Anna Tsygankova, born in Novosibirsk, Russia. Graduated from Novosibirsk Ballet Academy and joined The Bolshoi Ballet in 1997. 

Hamburg Ballet ♦ Adagietto

Adagietto was originally choreographed in 1975 by Neumeier as an independent pas de deux titled Epilogue, created for Natalia Makarova and Erik Bruhn and premiered at the New York State Theater. This Adagietto later became part of Neumeier’s full choreography to Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, which premiered with Hamburg Ballet in 1989.

Music: Gustav Mahler 
Choreography: John Neumeier 
Accompaniment: Tivoli Copenhagen Phil

Hamburg Ballet

Ida Praetorius

Ida Praetorius completed her dance training at the Royal Danish Ballet School and joined the Royal Danish Ballet in 2010, where she was promoted to soloist in 2014 and first soloist in 2016. 

Hamburg Ballet

Matias Oberlin

Born in Santa Fe, Argentina, Matias Oberlin began his ballet training at the Seminario Provincial de Ballet in his hometown before continuing his studies at the School of the Hamburg Ballet. 

ProgrammeTheatreBallet Gala programBalletgalla 0830