Photo courtesy of the Pacific NW Ballet. Christian Hammeken and Sigmund with PNB instructors.

In February of 2006 the Northwest Danish Foundation and the Pacific Northwest Ballet Company announced a two year partnership working together to bring Danish artists and works to the region. We also sponsored a student exchange between the Royal Danish Ballet School and the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. We are excited to see our partnership in action with the first two Danish exchange students who attended the PNB School’s 2007 Summer Course.

The two talented students were Christian Hammeken and Sigmund Hegstad. Christian is 19 years old and lives in Frederiksberg. Sigmund Hegstad is 20 years old and is from Copenhagen. Both students were in level VIII this summer, which is the highest level of training before reaching the professional development program. The two Royal Danish Ballet students were well liked by the PNB School faculty, who noted their beautiful training and diligence. One staff member also noted that they were both “tall and blonde…just what we’d expect from Denmark!”

The PNB School’s 2007 Summer Course was 4 weeks long, lasting from July 9–August 10. Over that month, nearly 200 students invade the Phelps Center, PNB’s state of the art training facility. From Monday through Friday and on Saturday mornings, they take intensive classical ballet classes as well as supplementary classes in a number of other dance styles. They can also take seminars on a wide variety of topics including nutrition, dance history, music, foot health, production and pointe shoe care.

While at PNB’s Summer Course, the students age 12-18 can choose to dorm at the Seattle Pacific University campus, where counselors organize free time activities like scenic ferry rides on Puget Sound, trips to the Experience Music Project museum, a Seattle Mariners baseball game, Wild Waves & Enchanted Village amusement parks, Puget Sound and lakeside beaches and the Woodland Park Zoo.

The Northwest Danish Foundation would like to thank the Scan|Design Foundation by Inger and Jens Bruun for their generous donation and continued support of our partnership with the Pacific Northwest Ballet.