Johan Kobborg
| Johan Kobborg | |
|---|---|
 Kobborg takes a curtain call at the 2006-05-15 performance of Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Ballet. |
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| Born | 5 June 1972 Odense, Denmark |
| Residence | United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
| Website | |
| http://www.kobb.org.uk | |
Johan Kobborg (born 5 June 1972 in Odense, Denmark) is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.
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[edit] Early Life
Johan Kobborg was born in Odense, Denmark into an artistic family; his mother is a former showgirl and actress and his brother is an actor. From a young age, he trained as a tenor, but left singing to take up dancing.
[edit] Training
Kobborg began his professional training at the late age of 16, attending the Royal Danish Ballet School, where he was tutored in the Bournonville method of classical dance. He graduated in 1991.
[edit] Professional career
After his graduation, Kobborg joined the Royal Danish Ballet and was promoted to the rank of principal dancer in 1994, following his debut in the role of James in La Sylphide. He joined the Royal Ballet in 1999,[1] and has danced most of the leading parts in the repertory — among them, the Prince (The Nutcracker, Cinderella), Sigfried, Romeo, Onegin, Albrecht, Oberon, Rudolf, Des Grieux, Désiré and Prince Florimund. His guests appearances include dancing with the Mariinsky Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, La Scala Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Hamburg Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Vienna State Opera Ballet and Teatro San Carlo, Naples. Despite media speculation that Kobborg would retire from the stage to replace Dame Monica Mason as Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet in 2012, it was later announced that Kevin O'Hare would be her successor. Kobborg previously declined an invitation to bid for the Directorship of the Royal Danish Ballet, but in an article for the Daily Telegraph he stated that he would definitely accept such invitation to run the Royal Ballet. Since the announcement of O'Hare's appointment, press speculation about Kobborg's long term future with the company has intensified. [2]
[edit] Awards
Kobborg has also been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Nureyev International Competition (Grand Prix 1994), USA International Competition, Jackson, USA (Grand Prix 1994) and the Erik Bruhn Competition (1993) and received a 2006 Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his production of La Sylphide.
[edit] On DVD
Kobborg's performance as Albrecht in Giselle, alongside Alina Cojocaru as the title role was recorded in 2006 and aired in England on Boxing Day. It was released on DVD the following year.
[edit] Personal life
Kobborg fell in love with his most frequent partner, Romanian dancer Alina Cojocaru and it was officially confirmed in 2005 that the two were having a romantic relationship off-stage.[3] In May 2011, whilst Cojocaru was making a guest appearance with the American Ballet Theater, her dance partner was injured so Kobborg flew to New York City unexpectedly to fill in and surprised Cojocaru when he proposed to her on her 30th birthday at the Metropolitan Opera House. Their engagement was announced shortly afterwards. [4]
[edit] References
- ^ Sulcas, Roslyn (2007-02-07). "A Star Dancer Looks for a New World to Conquer". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/arts/dance/07kobb.html. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ Brown, Ismene (17 March 2008). "Johan Kobborg: I'd jump at the chance to run the Royal Ballet". Daily Telegraph, 19 March 2008 (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/03/17/btkobborg117.xml. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- ^ Deeley, Laura (2007-02-10). "Not just anybody: Alina Cojocaru". London: Times Online. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article1360241.ece. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ Sulcas, Roslyn (31 May 2011). "At Ballet Theater, Popping the Question After the Plié". The New York Times. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/at-ballet-theater-popping-the-question-after-the-plie/.
[edit] Interviews
- Ballet Magazine, Jane Simpson, October 2005
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