August 21
Born Today:
August Bournonville
Choreographer August Bournonville’s (1805-1879) father, Antoine Bournonville (1760-1843), studied dance with Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), a radical choreographer and writer who felt wigs, masks, heeled shoes and restrictive clothing kept the audience from appreciating the actual dancing. August Bournonville created a version of the ethereal La Sylphide ballet in 1836. Amazingly, audiences loved it even though the dancer wore a gauzy dress instead of 50 pounds of brocade.
Dance Event: Today in 1979, Soviet ballet dancer Alexander Godunov (1949-1995) defected to the United States. He also starred in movies Witness (1985) and Die Hard (1988).
-----
Movies: Sun Valley Serenade released in 1941, and Down to Earth released in 1947