ERIK ASCHENGREEN

Photo © Paul Kolnik

Erik Aschengreen, Ph.D., is a Danish dance critic and professor. Since 1964, he has been a dance critic for the daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende in Copenhagen. As a professor at the University of Copenhagen from 1969 to 2000, he was head of the Dance Department and founder of the program in Dance History and Aesthetics. From 1971 to 1993, Mr. Aschengreen was also a lecturer on ballet history at the school of the Royal Danish Ballet. In addition, he has given lecture-demonstrations with the Royal Danish Ballet throughout the world and has spoken on dance at the University of Chicago, Mills College, Sarah Lawrence College, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and the American Dance Festival, among other venues. Mr. Aschengreen has been a correspondent to international magazines and serves on the advisory board of Dance Chronicle in New York. He has written a series of books including The Beautiful Danger (1974), which is about the romantic ballet in France and Denmark, and Jean Cocteau and the Dance (1986). His latest publication, Der går dans, is a 700-page book about the history of the Royal Danish Ballet between 1948 and 1998. Mr. Aschengreen is currently working on a biography of the Danish choreographer Harald Lander.