Anna Lærkesen

Anna Lærkesen was a Danish dancer and choreographer born in Copenhagen in 1942. After six years training as a private pupil of Edite Feifere Frandsen, she entered the Royal Danish Ballet as an aspirant in 1959, debuting that November as the first sylph in Bournonville's *La Sylphide*. She rose through the company's ranks, becoming a solo dancer in 1964 and first solo dancer in 1966. Her classical repertory spanned the Bournonville and Romantic tradition—*La Sylphide*, *Giselle*, *Swan Lake*—alongside twentieth-century works including Balanchine's *Symphony in C*, *Apollo* and *Serenade*, and Tudor's *Lilac Garden*.

After leaving the Royal Danish Theatre in 1984, Lærkesen shifted her focus to choreography, building a substantial creative practice. Her works include *Når jeg er i luften*, *Manhattan Abstraction*, *Kindertotenlieder*, *Polacca*, *Hvisken og svæven* and *Quasi una Fantasia*, created for the Royal Danish Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, New York City Ballet and the Stockholm opera. In 1988 she won the Danish section of the first Nordic choreographic competition with *Når jeg er i luften*. Her 1990 Bach ballet *Partita* was recorded by Danmarks Radio. Lærkesen's choreography became known for its musicality, original movement patterns and psychological depth, particularly in the creation of male roles.