The Washington Ballet Announces Dancer Exchange With The Royal Danish Ballet

The Washington Ballet (TWB) is pleased to announce the dancers taking part in this season's exchange program with The Royal Danish Ballet. TWB's Alexandros Pappajohn traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark on April 8 for two months and has been cast in Lady of the Camellias. Tobias Praetorius a member of The Royal Danish Ballet Corps de Ballet performed with TWB in the company's Three World Premieres at The Harman Center April 3-7, 2019. He had a lead role in Trey McIntyre's Teeming Waltzes.

The exchange program with the Royal Danish Ballet was initiated 2018 by The Washington Ballet Artistic Director Julie Kent. Each company exchanges one dancer to participate in performances with the other company. The program is designed to offer dancers the time to train, learn, rehearse, and perform with a major, international company. The experience offers insight into the way another company works and serves as a cultural exchange that heightens the dancer's overall ability and artistry.

It is part of an effort to expand TWB's international presence and to encourage professional and personal development. "This is a great opportunity for both Alex and Tobias to collaborate with other artists in a different country and perform new choreography and works," said Kent. "It is an enrichment opportunity that will become part of their dancing and part of their life. We plan to continue making this exchange an on-going relationship with our dancers and the international ballet community."

DANCER BIOS Alexandros Pappajohn is from New York City and began taking ballet class when he was nine years old at Ballet Academy East. In 2013, he began training at the School of American Ballet and in 2015 he joined American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company. In the three years he has been with The Washington Ballet, he has been cast in programs that showcase genre-specific

choreography such Symphonic Variations and Balanchine's Tarantella as well as works by Paul Taylor and full-length productions of Giselle, Romeo and Juliet and The Sleeping Beauty.

Tobias Praetorius was born in Denmark. He began his ballet training at The Royal Danish Ballet School in 2003 when he was seven years old. In 2012 he joined the company as an apprentice and was promoted to the corps de ballet in 2014. His repertoire includes Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Fish in Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and he has performed Rubies in Balanchine's Jewels and as a soloist in Raymonda. Tobias comes from a family of ballet dancers. His mother danced with the Hamburg Ballet, his sister Ida is a Principal dancer with the Royal Danish ballet and brother Lucas is now with the Hamburg Ballet.

The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originated in 1748, when the Royal Danish Theatre was founded. In 1771 in response to the great popularity of French and Italian styles of dance, the company was founded with the opening of the Royal Danish Theatre, which has been as its home ever since. The Royal Danish Ballet School was founded in 1771 under the French ballet teacher Pierre Laurent, then Vincenzo Galeotti developed it and August Bournonville founded his methodology for the school.

The Washington Ballet (TWB) was founded as The Washington School of Ballet by Mary Day in 1944 and incorporated as a professional company in 1976. At the helm is internationally acclaimed ballerina Julie Kent. As The Washington Ballet's Artistic Director, Kent's mission is to bring world-class ballet to the Nation's Capital, continuing the tradition of classical ballet and contributing to the evolution of the art form through contemporary works and new commissions.

As the ballet company of the nation's capital, The Washington Ballet reflects the diversity of the community and the nation through its dancers and its repertoire. Kent has introduced into the repertoire seminal works by George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins, Antony Tudor, Justin Peck and Alexei Ratmansky while embracing the work of emerging choreographers including Clifton Brown, Gemma Bond, and Ethan Stiefel, among others. Her commitment to the development of both the dancer and the art form is fulfilled through presentation of beloved classic 19th-century ballets and landmark 20th-century works while reaffirming a commitment to commissioned works that will contribute to the evolution of ballet and its relevance in our times.

TWB's three-part mission: ensuring excellence in its professional performance company; growing the next generation of dancers through its school, professional training programs, and Studio Company; and serving the community in which it resides through community engagement programs will continue to propel TWB to a more prominent place within the nation's capital and beyond.