Twenty-one year-old Luke Schaufuss was never in any doubt about what he wanted to do. Born into one of the great ballet dynasties – his grandfather Frank and his father Peter were both internationally renowned dancers – Luke started training at six in his home town of Holstebro, in Denmark. “I was constantly being thrown out of ballet class for misbehaving,” he remembers. “And I was always climbing up trees. My mum [former English National Ballet soloist Zara Deakin] would practically have a heart attack, but I never fell. My dad tried to teach me ballet, but with my teenage hormones and his perfectionism, we couldn’t get on. We were both too passionate.”
By 14, Luke was dancing in his father’s company. At 16 he performed the title role in a ballet version of the Who’s rock opera Tommy. At just 17, like his father and grandfather before him, he joined the Royal Danish Ballet, dancing in the corps de ballet. The company is known for the distinctive style imprinted on it by the 19th century choreographer August Bournonville, who introduced the springy leaps and fast, exuberant footwork which, to this day, mark out the Danish classical dancer. “I loved those Bournonville ballets – Napoli, A Folk Tale, La Ventana – and I feel very lucky to have danced them. But after a time I was hungry to see what ballet was like elsewhere.”
In 2013, Luke auditioned for Birmingham Royal Ballet. “I did class with the company, and it felt like the right place.” Before taking up the contract, he danced Romeo with his father’s ensemble, and had an experience that still makes him wince. “I’d just finished my first duet with Juliet, when the recorded music stopped. We froze, then went into a kind of slow-motion version of the choreography in total silence. It was like a bad dream. Finally, the curtain came down.”
No such mishaps at BRB, where Luke’s streamlined technique has seen him cast in a diverse range of roles, from Kenneth MacMillan’s ragtime-inspired Elite Syncopations to Alexander Whitley’s cutting-edge Kin. “It’s a close, friendly company, with a great vibe and atmosphere. The pace is fast, and I’ve got some really inspirational colleagues.” And, he adds, a beautiful girlfriend in the person of BRB colleague Laura Day. That a lustrous career in classical ballet awaits a third member of the Schaufuss clan seems increasingly likely.
THREE MORE TO WATCH
• Eleesha Drennan, a fine and assured new choreographic voice, poised for breakthrough.
• Corey Culverwell, live-wire hip-hop dancer, outstanding in ZooNation’s The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
• Cree Barnet-Williams, beautiful and expressive contemporary danseuse, on all the best cast lists.
