Bournonville, August (1805-1879)

Danish dancer and choreographer. In 1830 he was appointed director of the Royal Danish Ballet, the company for which he both danced and created his ballets. His works, unlike that of the then prevalent Romantic era, are ebullient, warmly good-humoured, and give equal importance to both male and female dancers. His style is marked by swift, fluid footwork accompanied by patterns of arcing leaps. His works, of which only a dozen survive, include a version of La Sylphide (1836) and Napoli (1842).