Lise la Cour was a Danish ballerina, choreographer and dance teacher. After training at the company's ballet school, she premièred at the Royal Danish Ballet in 1961 and went on to star in a series of ballets including Bournonville's Napoli, Balanchine's The Four Temperaments and Flemming Flindt's The Young Man Must Marry. From the late 1970s, she was principally a choreographer, creating ballets based on the fairy tales ofHans Christian Andersen's, starting with Hyrdinden og skorstensfejeren in 1988. She was Viceballetmester of the Royal Danish Ballet from 1988-1995 and was involved in several large theatre productions in the following years until she was appointed Administrative Director of the Royal Danish Opera from 1999 to 2001, ensuring a smooth transition between the former opera directorElaine Padmore and newcomer Kasper Holten. In 2002, she moved to San Jose, California, where she was appointed school director of the Ballet San Jose until she established her own school, Lise la Cour's LaCademy of Ballet, in 2012.
Biography
Born on 21 August 1944 in Copenhagen, Lise la Cour was the daughter of Mogens la Cour and Elga Gurli Nielsen. When she was nine, she entered the Royal Danish Ballet School where she received support from Børge Ralov. In 1961, she made her début as Anne Frank in Kenneth MacMillan's The Burrow, after which she performed a series of significant roles, including the young girl in Léonide Massine's Le beau Danube, the pas de six in Napoli and Balanchine's The Four Temperaments. She went on to partner her husband-to-be Peter Martins in Hans Brenaa's Stemninger. They married in December 1965 and had one child together: Nilas Christian. She played Elisa in Bournonville's Le Conservatoire and performed in Flemming Flindt's The Young Man Must Marry. In the late 1970s, she turned to choreography with Daniel Bohr's Kurt Weill Cabaret. The first of her own works was the western ballet Gry. Six years later, in collaboration with the composer Bent Fabricius-Bjerre and the artist and scenographer Bjørn Wiinblad she developed the choreography for various fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, starting with The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweeper. It was followed by Den Grimme Ælling, Klods Hans, Den Lille Havfrue and Fyrtøjet. In 1988, she accepted Frank Andersen's invitation to become Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Ballet. In 1999, she was appointed Director of the Royal Danish Opera, a post she held until 2001. She also chaired Ballettens Private Pensionskasse, contributing to the funding of retirement pensions for elderly dancers. In 2002, she moved to San Jose, California, where she was appointed school director of the Ballet San Jose until she established her own school, Lise la Cour's LaCademy of Ballet, in 2012. She died in San Jose on 13 August 2016.
Personal life
Lise La Cour was divorced from Peter Martins in 1969. In 1981, she married the conductor Frans Henrik Rasmussen, with a divorce in 1994. They had two children together: Ask and Mikkel. In 1998, she married the singer Bengt Göran Torsten Bjernhager, who died in 2009. Her fourth and last husband was Roger Lyness of San Jose who survived her. Her son Ask la Cour is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.
