High-spirited Danes at KenCen

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Quite an antidote for a gloomy winter season, the Royal Danish Ballet is in town, bring- ing its appealing mix of sunny dancing, charmingly old-fashioned plots and overall joie de vivre.

At its opening performance Tuesday, the company danced "Napoli," whose high-spirited third act has made it an audience favorite for 162 years.

The busy, bustling port of Naples is the setting. The streets are filled with merchants selling their wares, people strolling, children running through the crowd, young people flirting.

No one does crowd scenes like this company. The stage is alive with small dramas and jostling good spirits. Everyone is dancing all at once all over the stage -- dashing young soldiers, showing us how well Danish men can leap; young women who match their fresh energy; and the ballet's lovers -- Teresina, a lively young girl danced by Gitte Lindstrom opening night, and Gennaro the fisherman, played by Mads Blangstrup with an overabundance of nervous, stop-and-start energy.

The problematic second act takes place in a blue grotto, where Teresina has been washed up in a storm. There she is surrounded by a bevy of naiads who produce the kind of soft, feminine ensemble beloved of romantic ballets. Unfortunately in this instance, the choreography is not very interesting. The sea spirit Golfo presses his attention on Teresina, suggesting that rape is imminent before she is rescued by Gennaro, with Christian symbols and religious talismans playing an important part.

With the third act, we have infectious Danish dancing at its irresistible best. It is one of the true wonders of the ballet world, and the company danced it with considerable charm.

After four nights of "Napoli," the company switches this afternoon to "La Sylphide" for its concluding three performances. It is a universal favorite, and its popularity is easy to understand: the off-putting moralizing in some of Auguste Bournonville's other works is absent, the plot is dramatic, the choreography imaginative, and there are meaty, well-developed parts, especially for the ardent hero, James; the deliciously amorous and airborne Sylph; and the towering, malevolent figure of Madge the witch.

In 1992, when the Danish company last played a major engagement here, it introduced Nikolaj Hubbe, whose thrilling dancing and vivid stage presence brought a new vitality to the role of James. Soon after, Mr. Hubbe joined the New York City Ballet and became one of its leading dancers. Now Mr. Hubbe has returned to his home company to stage "La Sylphide."

The dancer describes himself as a traditionalist, but with a difference.