KRONSTAM, HENNING

born June 29, 1934, Copenhagen, Den. died May 28, 1995, Copenhagen Danish dancer and associate director of the Royal Danish Ballet. Kronstam was trained as a dancer at the Royal Danish Ballet School and joined the Royal Danish Ballet in 1952. He was one of the first Danish male dancers to be trained by the Russian teacher Vera Volkova after she emigrated to Denmark. In one of Kronstam's early performances he created the role of Romeo in Frederick Ashton's successful Romeo and Juliet (1955). This was a particular honour for the young dancer because it was the first full-length Romeo and Juliet to be produced outside of the Soviet Union. He danced all the great parts in the ballets of the 19th-century Danish choreographer August Bournonville. Kronstam specialized in demi-caractre roles (particularly known in Roland Petit's Carmen and Cyrano de Bergerac). He was the first to star in the leading roles of Flemming Flindt's The Three Musketeers (1966) and Dreamland (1974) and was considered an outstanding dancer in the classical repertory. Kronstam was artistic director of the world famous Royal Danish Ballet from 1978 to 1985, succeeding the retiring director Flemming Flindt. He was also director of the Royal Danish Ballet School.