Erik Bruhn

Erik Belton Evers Bruhn, born in Copenhagen, Denmark on 3 October 1928 and died 1 April 1986, was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author. The fourth child of Ellen Evers, who owned a hairdressing salon, and the first son of Ernst Bruhn, he began training with the Royal Danish Ballet at the age of nine. His stage debut came in 1946 at Copenhagen's Royal Opera House, where he danced the role of Adonis in Harald Lander's ballet Thorvaldsen.

The Royal Danish Ballet admitted Bruhn permanently into the company in 1947, when he was eighteen. That same year he took the first of several sabbaticals, spending six months with the Metropolitan Ballet in England, where he developed his first major partnership with Bulgarian ballerina Sonia Arova. Returning to the Royal Danish Ballet in the spring of 1948, he was promoted to soloist in 1949, the highest rank attainable within the Danish company. Later that year he joined American Ballet Theatre in New York City, where he would dance regularly for the following nine years while maintaining the Royal Danish Ballet as his home company.

A decisive moment in Bruhn's international career arrived on 1 May 1955, when he made his debut as Albrecht in Giselle opposite Dame Alicia Markova at Ballet Theatre in New York, following only three days of rehearsal. The performance drew widespread critical attention. New York Times dance critic John Martin described it as a date to record in ballet history, characterizing Bruhn as likely the greatest Albrecht of tomorrow receiving a sacred trust from the greatest Giselle of the day. Writing in Dance News in June 1955, P. W. Manchester called Bruhn probably the most completely equipped male dancer of the day, citing his flawlessly clean technique and his exceptional partnering of Markova. In May 1961, Time magazine published a major profile of Bruhn, noting his fine dramatic sense, his high-arching leaps, his quickness and fluidity in turns, and his ability to project emotion through vivid movement of arms, legs, and body.

Bruhn formally resigned from the Royal Danish Ballet in 1961, though he continued to appear with the company as a guest artist. Over the following decade he established long guest relationships with most of the major ballet companies in Europe and North America, including the New York City Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Paris Opera Ballet, and London's Royal Ballet. He was best known in lead roles in La Sylphide, Giselle, Frederick Ashton's Romeo and Juliet, and Swan Lake. John Cranko created Daphnis and Chlöe on him in 1962 at the Stuttgart Ballet, a work Bruhn considered his favorite among ballets made specifically for him. He was also acclaimed in dramatic roles including Jean in Birgit Cullberg's Miss Julie, the Moor in José Limón's The Moor's Pavane, and Don José in Roland Petit's Carmen. Beyond Arova, his significant dance partnerships included Americans Cynthia Gregory, Nora Kaye, Allegra Kent, and Maria Tallchief; Russian ballerina Natalia Makarova; Danish dancer Kirstin Simone; British dancer Nadia Nerina; and, most famously, Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

In 1968, Bruhn published Beyond Technique, in which he discussed his philosophy of partnering and his belief in complete identification with a role while maintaining complete control, arguing that losing oneself entirely makes communication with an audience impossible. In 1963, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, one of Denmark's highest honors, and received the Nijinsky Prize in Paris that same year. He served as director of the Swedish Opera Ballet from 1967 to 1973 and was twice offered the directorship of the Royal Danish Ballet, declining both times. After retiring as a danseur noble in 1972, he took on character roles such as Madge the Witch in La Sylphide, Dr. Coppelius, and Petrushka. In 1974, he performed a leading role in the stage play Rashomon alongside Susse Wold in Denmark, earning critical acclaim for the performance. His Broadway credits include an appearance in 1975 with Ballet Theatre.

Bruhn became director of the National Ballet of Canada in 1983, a post he held until his death in 1986. His productions of full-length classical ballets, including La Sylphide, Giselle, Coppélia, and a Swan Lake for the National Ballet of Canada that generated some controversy, were well received, as were his stagings of pas de deux from the Bournonville repertoire. Bruhn met Rudolf Nureyev after the Russian dancer's defection to the West in 1961, and the two maintained a close relationship until Bruhn's death on 1 April 1986. He was born on 3 October 1928.