enjoying denmark's art and ballet

at louisiana museum of art ("the invisible museum"):

the new opera house:



things continue to go very well here! two afternoons last week were spent wandering around vesterbro, the once-seedy but now-trendy working class district just west of the old city, with my classmate/friends kristy and alex. the houses we were looking at, although built for the poor laborers during the era of rapid industrialization, are still stately and mostly neoclassical in style. there are blocks and blocks of these uniform five-story-tall stone structures, with little space between or around them. it’s hard to fathom this area (or anywhere in copenhagen, for that matter) as poor or “ghetto”-like (danes seem to love throwing that word around), but apparently about 100 years ago it was very grungy. i would have enjoyed completing the scavenger-hunt-style assignment more if the light but constant drizzle had lifted and we hadn’t gone lost so many times, but it was still enjoyable to acquaint ourselves with another part of the city.

it’s been another busy and cultured weekend, which i am happy about. friday evening’s ritual has become watching “x factor,” the equivalent of american idol for denmark. there are some lively contestants, including 15-year-old conor oberst wannabe lucas and his fellow babyfaced 15-year-old named mohamed, who is quite a ham. (on youtube: mohamed-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt3ks9mkvtk&feature=related or of lucas-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amkq9pj3iss). they mostly sing in english but sometimes i can’t understand them. i can’t understand what the judges have to say either, which makes it all the more entertaining. each week has a theme: last week’s was abba and this week’s was “big band.” i think the theme is pretty open to interpretation because under the big band umbrella were songs by beyonce and britney spears…

yesterday i made it to the louisiana museum of modern art, which is highly acclaimed and for good reason! often called “the invisible museum” because it blends in so organically with its natural surroundings— the green, sculpted hills of the northern coast— it is an architectural wonder of glass and wood. their collections are awesome, very much the type of art i’m in to. their temporary retrospective on max ernst was thorough and thought-provoking. a beautiful museum, a great location, a lot of money but a worthwhile experience!

after taking the train back to town (louisiana is about 45 minutes north) i wandered around the upscale residential neighborhood of osterbro with my friend alex. we didn’t really have an agenda and had a good time (despite the rain…again) seeing a big public park made from what used to be copenhagen’s defensive bastions and ramparts, a quiet cemetery, the lakes, and the extremely ugly american embassy.

the evening was rounded out with yet another awesome cultural experience: the royal danish ballet!! that was definitely on my list of things to do in copenhagen because i have been a big fan of theirs since i watched a documentary about them in elementary school. my friend meggie told me she was going to the premiere of “b for balanchine” this weekend and i jumped at the opportunity to go with her. i bought my ticket online and went for the cheapest possible (about $20 usd)— without realizing that “ståplads” meant standing room…luckily the usher let me sit in an empty 3rd-balcony seat right before the show began! the show was at the brand new opera house, commissioned by the wealthy old man who owns the shipping company maersk. this was a scandal because usually the danish state provides such buildings, not private investors. it lies directly across the harbor from the queen’s residence at amalienborg, which means it is lovely to regard but kind of a pain to get to. i walked from the metro station on my own, which took about 40 minutes because i got lost. taking the bus back with my friends was a much wiser choice! nonetheless, the building is spectacular. i’ve heard it described as looking like a buick because of the horizontal grill across the front, but i quite like it. it is simply enormous and the huge, spherical, orange-hued wood orb containing the theatre itself reminded me of a giant piece of fruit. the scale of the windows and walkways and skybridges made me feel like i was standing in an architectural sketch, not reality. the interior is lined with mahogany wood and thousands of tiny lights. hard to describe but really striking! right before the show began everyone stood up and became silent. i thought this was to honor the conductor as he walked into the pit, but learned it was for the beloved danish queen margrethe ii! she sat in the first balcony and watched the show with the rest of us! she is an artist who often designs sets and costumes for the ballet. the whole idea of a working but still honored royal queen is pretty cool, and pretty danish.

the program consisted of three movements by balanchine, one of my favorite choreographers of all time. they began with one of his signature no-frills, pure movement-type of pieces. (i don’t know the exact name because you had to pay for a program and i didn’t have enough money on me!) the principal and soloist dancers were amazingly crisp and precise, had enormous stage presence and were an absolute joy to watch. there was a large corps part as well but they seemed to be a little off in terms of unison. perhaps this was intentional, as balanchine sometimes likes to throw off your expectations, but it wasn’t danced with enough confidence to convince me of that. the second movement was an excerpt from the story ballet “la sonnambula” and although a world apart from the minimalism of the first piece, also well-executed. the dancer who played the part of la sonnambula had supreme grace as she boureed her tiny pointed feet across the stage without even a twitch of her upper body. the final piece, symphony in c, was a joyful abstract-but-classical ballet (i.e. there was no story but they still wore tutus and tiaras) which demonstrated the royal ballet’s world-class talent. the combination of the clean choreography, the dancers’ meticulous technique, the harmonious live orchestra, and this beautiful building made for a memorable night at the ballet!!