Lene Thiesen
Encyclopedia
Lene Thiesen is the former director of the Copenhagen International Theatre . Thiesen was named 'Woman of the Year' by a Danish magazine.
in French
at the University of Copenhagen
, with a thesis on the Armenia
n, Russia
n-born Theatre of the Absurd
playwright Artur Adamov, who wrote in French after moving to Paris
. She worked as an EU
translator in Brussels
for a time, but left to return to Denmark. Thiesen worked with KIT for a number of years before becoming its director.
KIT has had a pioneering role in bringing a wide range of performers to Denmark; it is considered a cultural festival with global influences as much as it is a theatre. Thiesen edited a book of essays and reviews on KIT, published in Danish as FOOLS 25 : 25 års teater, dans og performance med Københavns Internationale Teater (English: Fools 25: 25 years of theatre, dance and performance with the Copenhagen International Theatre). The book includes photographs of some of the performers, among them innovative dance companies, 'extreme' circuses such as Archaos, musicians, theatre companies, etc.
Thiesen took a particular interest in finding circus
acts from around the world, some of which placed unusual demands on her as a director; at one point she found herself in sole charge of a team of circus horses which turned up at the Copenhagen railway station without their handler. Thiesen improvised by placing them, with the consent of the Queen, in the royal stables.
She later headed a cultural programme in which the Nordic governments set up cultural exchanges with African performance groups, particularly in Johannesburg
and its Soweto
community. The Nordic Council of Ministers' programme ran for a two-year period in 1998 and 1999, and encompassed more than 50 exchange projects in dance, theatre, music, literature and photography. It was followed by Shuttle 02, a Danish initiative which concentrated on dance and music as two vital art forms in the South Africa
n cultural heritage.
Thiesen lived in England
for several years before taking up an appointment in 2005 with the Danish Arts Agency, an arm of the Ministry of Culture. She left the agency in 2007 but as a consultant helped to organise a significant theatre exchange with China. It involved 52 performances in eight theatres, three seminars on Danish children's theatre, four workshops and 4,300 km by bus, rail and plane crossing China. This was part of a programme in which three Danish children's theatre companies initiated a two-week long tour to China, with visits to Beijing, Shanghai, Hefei and the old cultural capital Xi'an.
The title of the project was ‘Real Tales from Denmark’, linking contemporary issues and subjects to Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. It was the first time that China had officially invited an international programme of travelling children’s theatre to visit China to give performances, workshops and seminars.
History
Thiesen earned a Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
, with a thesis on the Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born Theatre of the Absurd
Theatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work...
playwright Artur Adamov, who wrote in French after moving to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. She worked as an EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
translator in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
for a time, but left to return to Denmark. Thiesen worked with KIT for a number of years before becoming its director.
KIT has had a pioneering role in bringing a wide range of performers to Denmark; it is considered a cultural festival with global influences as much as it is a theatre. Thiesen edited a book of essays and reviews on KIT, published in Danish as FOOLS 25 : 25 års teater, dans og performance med Københavns Internationale Teater (English: Fools 25: 25 years of theatre, dance and performance with the Copenhagen International Theatre). The book includes photographs of some of the performers, among them innovative dance companies, 'extreme' circuses such as Archaos, musicians, theatre companies, etc.
Thiesen took a particular interest in finding circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
acts from around the world, some of which placed unusual demands on her as a director; at one point she found herself in sole charge of a team of circus horses which turned up at the Copenhagen railway station without their handler. Thiesen improvised by placing them, with the consent of the Queen, in the royal stables.
She later headed a cultural programme in which the Nordic governments set up cultural exchanges with African performance groups, particularly in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and its Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
community. The Nordic Council of Ministers' programme ran for a two-year period in 1998 and 1999, and encompassed more than 50 exchange projects in dance, theatre, music, literature and photography. It was followed by Shuttle 02, a Danish initiative which concentrated on dance and music as two vital art forms in the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n cultural heritage.
Thiesen lived in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for several years before taking up an appointment in 2005 with the Danish Arts Agency, an arm of the Ministry of Culture. She left the agency in 2007 but as a consultant helped to organise a significant theatre exchange with China. It involved 52 performances in eight theatres, three seminars on Danish children's theatre, four workshops and 4,300 km by bus, rail and plane crossing China. This was part of a programme in which three Danish children's theatre companies initiated a two-week long tour to China, with visits to Beijing, Shanghai, Hefei and the old cultural capital Xi'an.
The title of the project was ‘Real Tales from Denmark’, linking contemporary issues and subjects to Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. It was the first time that China had officially invited an international programme of travelling children’s theatre to visit China to give performances, workshops and seminars.