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In this section you can read more about August Bournonville.
Chronological Table of August Bournonville Bournonville and the Music Bournonville and the Fine Art of the Golden Age
It is a fine art because it strives for an ideal, not only in plastic but also in lyrical respect. The beauty to which the Dance ought to aspire is not dependent upon taste or pleasure, but is founded on the immutable laws of nature. The art of Mime encompasses all the feelings of the soul. The Dance, on the other hand, is essentially an expression of joy, a desire to follow the rhythms of the music. It is the mission of art in general, and the theatre in particular, to intensify thought, to elevate the mind, and to refresh the senses. Consequently, the Dance ought above all to beware of indulging a blasé public?s fondness for impressions which are alien to true art. Joy is a strength; intoxication, a weakness. The beautiful always retains the freshness of novelty, while the astonishing soon grow tiresome. The Dance can, with the aid of music, rise to the heights of poetry. On the other hand, through an excess of gymnastics it can also degenerate into buffoonery. So-called "difficult" feats can be executed by countless adepts, but the appearance of ease is achieved only by the chosen few. The height of artistic skill is to know how to conceal the mechanical effort and strain beneath harmonious calm. Mannerism is not character, and affectation is the avowed enemy of grace. Every dancer ought to regard his laborious art as a link in the chain of beauty, as a useful ornament for the stage, and this, in turn, as an important element in the spiritual development of nations. Translated by Patricia N. McAndrew, 1979
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