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Kiran West
Program → Ballet

ROMANTIC EVOLUTION/S

Bournonville / Martínez
La Sylphide is considered the epitome of romantic ballet, with its premiere in 1832 marking the birth of the art form. Since then, ballet has continued to evolve: for almost 200 years, world premieres by enterprising choreographers have served to renew and expand a universal language that requires no words but is nonetheless highly eloquent. The double bill ROMANTIC EVOLUTION/S combines La Sylphide with a world premiere called Äther (engl. Ether) by principal and choreographer Aleix Martínez. Commissioned by Interim Artistic Director of the Hamburg Ballet Lloyd Riggins, Martínez will draw inspiration from this romantic classic for his new piece.

Work specs

La Sylphide

  • World premiere: November 28, 1836, Royal Danish Ballet, Copenhagen
    Premiere at the Hamburg Ballet: Hamburg State Opera, December 7, 2025

Äther

  • World premiere: Hamburg Ballet, Hamburgische Staatsoper, 7 December 2025

    Premiere of the mixed bill ROMANTIC EVOLUTION/S: Hamburg Ballet, Hamburgische Staatsoper, 7 December 2025

Cast

La Sylphide − +
  • Choreography
    August Bournonville
  • Music
    Herman Severin Løvenskjold
  • Production and Staging
    Frank Andersen
    Eva Kloborg
  • Stage and Costumes
    Mikael Melbye
  • Light
    Jesper Kongshaug
  • Ballet Master
    Sebastian Kloborg
  • Ballet Mistress
    Anne-Marie Vessel-Schlüter
Äther − +
  • Choreography
    Aleix Martínez
  • Stage design
    Aleix Martínez
  • Costumes
    Lennart Radtke
  • Music
    Peteris Vasks
    Arvo Pärt

The Production

  • Venue Main Stage
  • Age recommendation From 12 years
La Sylphide revolves around James, a Scottish farmer who falls in love with a sylph on his wedding day. This ethereal spirit of the air – whom he cannot capture – enchants him so much that he leaves his home and his fiancée to follow her into the forest. With the help of the witch Madge, he finally manages to capture the Sylph, only for her to die as a result.

This romantic ballet has survived for almost two centuries not only because of its graceful, floating sylphs, moonlit glades and its picturesque, folkloric dances in James’ manor, but also because of its timeless themes: the relationship between humans and nature, the fascination that the supernatural exerts on us, and the dichotomy between our mundane earthly lives and the spiritual world. Martínez will examine some of these themes in his new piece.

The choreography for La Sylphide is by August Bournonville, whose name is inextricably linked with that of the Royal Danish Ballet. Bournonville's 1836 version is considered one of the most definitive in the international ballet repertory. The production in Hamburg is being staged by Frank Andersen, former director of the Royal Danish Ballet, together with Eva Kloborg. Both are among the world's leading Bournonville specialists. At the invitation of Lloyd Riggins, himself a former principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet, Andersen and Kloborg will teach the dancers of the Hamburg Ballet the special style and charm of Bournonville's world-famous ballet.

ROMANTIC EVOLUTION/S

Bournonville / Martínez

  • Age recommendation From 12 years

All Dates