Professional background

Born in Sydney, Australia, Steven McRae won the prestigious Prix de Lausanne competition at the age of just 17, where the first prize was a scholarship to The Royal Ballet of London. Here Steven danced his way to an appointment as a principal dancer in 2009.

He has danced leading roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Manon, Romeo and Juliet and other major productions at Covent Garden.

He has had great success in the virtuoso voice role of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, which was created especially for him.

Steven is still featured in the documentary, A Resilient Man, about his extraordinary comeback after a serious injury in 2019.

Steven is also a sought-after teacher at masterclasses for young dancers and has most recently served on the jury for the prestigious Prix de Lausanne ballet competition in Switzerland.

Steven is an excellent dancer in the modern repertoire as well as the classical - many choreographers have created steps especially for him.

Steven McRae is Verdensballetten's artistic director. Together with Jens-Christian Wandt, he selects the ballet dancers, ballets and music pieces that make up the program each year.

Professional background

British principal dancer Gareth Haw trained at The Royal Ballet Lower and Upper School. He began his career with Semperoper Ballett in Dresden in 2015 and quickly stood out for his exquisite partnering skills and beautiful lines.

He has danced leading roles in most classics such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, La Bayadère and Beauty and the Beast, and has also performed works by William Forsythe, Martha Graham, George Balanchine and Pina Bausch.

Gareth Haw is a sought-after artist and has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including the Paris Opera Palais Garnier and the Royal Albert Hall.

In April, Gareth Haw was nominated for Best Dancer in England at the National Dance Awards UK, the most prestigious prize in classical ballet in England.

Professional background

English principal dancer Anna Rose O'Sullivan has been a regular with The Royal Ballet of London since 2012. She has danced leading roles in Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, The Nutcracker and Jewels.

Anna Rose has had a busy season at The Royal Ballet since last summer, starring in La Fille mal gardée, Giselle and Countess Marie in Mayerling.

Anna Rose is also involved in ballet for children and is a patron of the London Children' s Ballet. She has received several awards over the years, including Young British Dancer of the Year.

Professional background

British dancer Brandon Lawrence trained at the Royal Ballet School before joining Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2011.

Promoted to Soloist in 2019, he has danced a range of major classical roles, including Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake), Prince Florimund (The Sleeping Beauty), Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Albrecht (Giselle), Colas (La Fille mal gardée), Franz (Coppélia), and the Prince in The Nutcracker and Cinderella.

His repertoire also includes works by Carlos Acosta, Jiří Kylián, Twyla Tharp, Edward Clug, Juliano Nunes and David Bintley.

Since joining Ballet Zurich as a Soloist in 2023, he has danced leading roles in productions by Cathy Marston, Christian Spuck, Wayne McGregor, William Forsythe, Crystal Pite, Marco Goecke, Jerome Robbins and Kim Brandstrup. In 2025, he received the dance award from Amis du Ballett Zürich.

Professional background

South Korean dancer Sujung Lim trained at Yewon Arts High School and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim.

A two-time gold medallist at Tanzolymp in Berlin, she joined Ballet Karlsruhe in 2011, where she has danced as a Soloist in productions such as Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Giselle and Swan Lake, and interpreted works by Kenneth MacMillan, John Cranko, Peter Wright and Christopher Wheeldon.

Since joining Ballet Zurich in 2018, she has built an extensive repertoire in productions by Cathy Marston, Christian Spuck, Wayne McGregor, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Johan Inger, Marcos Morau, Patrice Bart and Crystal Pite.

Known for both her classical technique and her versatility in contemporary dance, she has become one of the company’s leading artists. In 2025, she received the dance award from Amis du Ballett Zürich.

Professional background

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Melissa Hamilton trained at the Jennifer Bullick School of Ballet, Elmhurst School of Dance, and privately with Masha Mukhamedov before joining The Royal Ballet in 2007.

Promoted to Soloist in 2024, she has built an extensive classical and contemporary repertoire, dancing leading roles in Manon, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter’s Tale, Mayerling, The Nutcracker, Onegin, The Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote.

She has also created a number of roles in works by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor, as well as by Robert Binet and Kyle Abraham. Hamilton has appeared as a guest soloist with Semperoper Ballett in Dresden and is the recipient of a Critics’ Circle National Dance Award, as well as a gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Seoul.

Danish soprano Dénise Beck has established herself as one of Scandinavia’s leading lyric sopranos, performing with major opera houses and orchestras across Europe.

Her appearances include the Royal Danish Opera House, the Norwegian National Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Vienna Volksoper, the Salzburg State Theatre and the Danish National Opera. Her versatile repertoire spans roles such as Pamina (The Magic Flute), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Musetta (La Bohème), Blondchen (The Abduction from the Seraglio), Leonora (Maskarade) and Gretel (Hansel and Gretel).

Alongside her opera career, she is a highly acclaimed concert soloist, performing works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Carl Nielsen and Poulenc, and she is also known for her interpretations of contemporary music.

"Verdensballetten is a holistic experience for me. The art on stage, the atmosphere among the audience, the community in the tour bus, summer Denmark and the 'challenges' of our open-air concept - it's all the best experiences," says Jens-Christian Wandt.

Professional background

Danish tenor Jens-Christian Wandt graduated from the Hamburg Conservatory and has for decades distinguished himself as a versatile and present artist on both concert and theater stages. He made his concert debut in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw in 1992 as a soloist in Mozart's Mass in C minor and his stage debut in 1995 as Doktor Falke in The Bat at Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen.

Since then he has performed in a wide range of productions and concerts at home and abroad, including at venues such as Sydney Opera House, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Gran Liceu in Barcelona and Berwaldhallen in Stockholm. In Denmark, he has sung with all the country's symphony orchestras and had engagements at Det Ny Teater, Aarhus Teater, Aalborg Teater, Hamletscenen at Kronborg, Gladsaxe Teater, Nørregade Teatret in Maribo and Herning Opera Festival.

He has also participated in communicating opera to children through the DR programs Sigurd & the Opera in collaboration with Sigurd Barrett and the DR Symphony Orchestra.

As a recording artist, Jens-Christian Wandt has released several albums of Danish songs in collaboration with Andreas Brantelid, Jakob Lorentzen and Holmens Vokalensemble. He gives a large number of concerts across the country every year and is known for his warm communication and close contact with the audience.

In 2020, he returned to Det Ny Teater as Mr. Bumble in the musical Oliver, a performance that earned him a CphCulture nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2008, Jens-Christian Wandt initiated Verdensballetten, which has since grown into one of Denmark's largest classical tours, gathering around 16,000 audience members each year for performances across the country.

"Verdensballetten throbs with a truly unique and wonderful atmosphere that is rare. When Verdensballetten welcomes its artists, it is always with the most poetic Danish summer as the stage and a wonderfully expectant audience.

To do this alongside some of the greatest artists the world has in song and ballet is well worth the year-long wait," says Walentin & McKenzie.

Professional background

The acclaimed duo Walentin & McKenzie have performed around the world in venues such as Wigmore Hall in London, the Danish Radio Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall in New York and Salle Cortot in Paris, among others, with their program Jorden Rundt, which received great praise when it was released on vinyl.

Both musicians have won several prestigious awards and recorded several critically acclaimed albums.

Alexander McKenzie and Niklas Walentin each have extensive musical careers with solo concerts, compositions, recordings, master classes, etc.
Alexander McKenzie is also the artistic director and founder of Kammerballetten, and Niklas Walentin serves as the first concertmaster of the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra and founder of the classical music festival Soundscape - Møn summer concert.

Professional background

Born in Sydney, Australia, Steven McRae won the prestigious Prix de Lausanne competition at the age of just 17, where the first prize was a scholarship to The Royal Ballet of London. Here Steven danced his way to an appointment as a principal dancer in 2009.

He has danced leading roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Manon, Romeo and Juliet and other major productions at Covent Garden.

He has had great success in the virtuoso voice role of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, which was created especially for him.

Steven is still featured in the documentary, A Resilient Man, about his extraordinary comeback after a serious injury in 2019.

Steven is also a sought-after teacher at masterclasses for young dancers and has most recently served on the jury for the prestigious Prix de Lausanne ballet competition in Switzerland.

Steven is an excellent dancer in the modern repertoire as well as the classical - many choreographers have created steps especially for him.

Steven McRae is Verdensballetten's artistic director. Together with Jens-Christian Wandt, he selects the ballet dancers, ballets and music pieces that make up the program each year.

Professional background

Iana Salenko is undisputedly Ukraine's most famous ballet dancer and is the prima ballerina of the Verdensballetten.

She grew up in Kyiv, trained in Donetsk and since 2007 has danced at the Berlin State Ballet, where she was appointed Berliner Kammertänzerin - a rare recognition that only the very best ballet dancers in Germany receive.

She is a regular on all the major ballet stages around the world, enjoying resounding success in Romeo and Juliet at The Royal Ballet of London in 2024 with principal dancer Steven McRae as her partner, La Bayadére at Opera Roma in Italy and Nureyev at Staatsballet Hamburg in 2025.

Iana Salenko has just danced the iconic role of Giselle in Paris.

In her private life, she is paired with ballet dancer Marian Walter, who also dances with Verdensballetten.

Professional background

German principal dancer Marian Walter hails from the former GDR and trained at the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin. After a period at the Bayerisches Staatsballett, he returned to Berlin in 2002, where he became a key member of the soloist ensemble at Staatsballett Berlin.

Over more than a decade as a principal dancer at Staatsballett Berlin, he built up an extensive repertoire and established himself as one of the company's leading forces. He has danced many leading roles in the classical repertoire, including Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Romeo in Romeo & Juliet, and the title role in John Cranko's Onegin.

In 2018, Marian Walter was honored with the prestigious title of Berliner Kammertänzer - a recognition of his many years of artistic achievement at the highest level.
Known today for her technical strength, dramatic flair and ability to bring depth and personality to classic roles, Marian Walter is an experienced artist with a strong stage presence.

Since 2023, he has worked as a freelance dancer and is a resident artist with Berlin Ballet Company.

Marian Walther is married to principal dancer Iana Salenko, who also dances with Verdensballetten.

Professional background

Danish principal dancer Alban Lendorf trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School and was appointed principal dancer at the Royal Danish Ballet at the age of 21 - a rare testimony to an exceptional talent. With his technical strength, stage charisma and artistic courage, he has danced leading roles in some of ballet's most beloved works throughout his career, including Swan Lake, Giselle, Romeo & Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote and The Sylph.

His talent led him to an international career as a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre in New York, where he established himself as one of the most distinctive male dancers of his generation. Lendorf has been honored with a number of prestigious awards, including the Benois de la Danse and several Reumert awards for Dancer of the Year.

Alban Lendorf has moved on to the performing arts as an actor, director and teacher. Today, he continues to work creatively with movement and narrative, bringing his artistic experience into play across genres - always with the same intensity and presence that characterized him on the ballet stage.

In 2024 he returned to Det Kgl. Theater when he jumped into the all-important lead role of Billy Elliot.
Most recently, he starred in the intense works Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and Enetime at Bellevue Teatret. Performances that have prompted reviews to highlight that Alban Lendorf "dances better and more focused than ever".

Professional background

Scottish principal dancer Reece Clarke is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, where since joining the company in the 2013/14 season he has developed into one of the leading male dancers on the international ballet scene.

Born in the mining town of Airdrie in Scotland and trained at The Royal Ballet School, he progressed quickly and was appointed principal dancer in 2022. With his impressive height, strong classical technique and stage authority, he has made a name for himself in the large classical repertoire.

Reece Clarke has danced many leading roles, including Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Prince Florimund in Sleeping Beauty, the Prince in Cinderella and Des Grieux in Manon. He has also co-created roles in recent works by choreographers such as Christopher Wheeldon and Liam Scarlett.

As a guest soloist, he has performed with international companies such as La Scala in Milan and The Tokyo Ballet and has received several awards including Young British Dancer of the Year (2012) and Emerging Artist Award at the National Dance Awards (2016).

Fun fact: Off stage, he is an ambassador for the Guide Dogs organization, where he is committed to working with guide dogs.

Today, Reece Clarke is one of the most distinctive classical dancers of his generation - an artist who combines strength, elegance and technical brilliance with a natural stage presence.

English principal dancer Anna Rose O’Sullivan has been with The Royal Ballet of London since 2012. She has danced numerous leading roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, The Nutcracker and Jewels.

Anna Rose has had a busy season at The Royal Ballet since last summer, starring in La Fille mal gardée, Giselle and Countess Marie in Mayerling.

Anna Rose is also involved in ballet for children and is a patron of London Children's Ballet. She has received several awards over the years, including Young British Dancer of the Year.

Norwegian-American soprano Lina Johnson impresses with her natural stage presence and her clear, lyrical, and virtuosic coloratura voice. Since her opera debut at the Royal Danish Theatre in 2019, she has sung a wide range of notable roles on both Danish and international opera stages, including at the Norwegian National Opera and venues in, among other places, Scotland, Spain, Italy, and China.

As a sought-after concert soloist, Lina Johnson has performed with several of Europe’s leading orchestras and has a broad repertoire featuring works by, among others, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Strauss. She has also released the critically acclaimed albums Face to Face (2019) and A Quiet Beauty (2020).

Lina Johnson trained at the music conservatories in Oslo and Copenhagen and has received several prestigious awards and accolades throughout her career.

A voice and artistic personality that captivates audiences around the world.

"Verdensballetten is a holistic experience for me. The art on stage, the atmosphere among the audience, the community in the tour bus, summer Denmark and the 'challenges' of our open-air concept - it's all the best experiences," says Jens-Christian Wandt.

Professional background

Danish tenor Jens-Christian Wandt graduated from the Hamburg Conservatory and has for decades distinguished himself as a versatile and present artist on both concert and theater stages. He made his concert debut in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw in 1992 as a soloist in Mozart's Mass in C minor and his stage debut in 1995 as Doktor Falke in The Bat at Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen.

Since then he has performed in a wide range of productions and concerts at home and abroad, including at venues such as Sydney Opera House, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Gran Liceu in Barcelona and Berwaldhallen in Stockholm. In Denmark, he has sung with all the country's symphony orchestras and had engagements at Det Ny Teater, Aarhus Teater, Aalborg Teater, Hamletscenen at Kronborg, Gladsaxe Teater, Nørregade Teatret in Maribo and Herning Opera Festival.

He has also participated in communicating opera to children through the DR programs Sigurd & the Opera in collaboration with Sigurd Barrett and the DR Symphony Orchestra.

As a recording artist, Jens-Christian Wandt has released several albums of Danish songs in collaboration with Andreas Brantelid, Jakob Lorentzen and Holmens Vokalensemble. He gives a large number of concerts across the country every year and is known for his warm communication and close contact with the audience.

In 2020, he returned to Det Ny Teater as Mr. Bumble in the musical Oliver, a performance that earned him a CphCulture nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2008, Jens-Christian Wandt initiated Verdensballetten, which has since grown into one of Denmark's largest classical tours, gathering around 16,000 audience members each year for performances across the country.

Danish-Swiss violinist Niklas Walentin began playing the violin at the age of six and has since emerged as one of the most versatile and internationally oriented musicians of his generation. He has received more than 25 international awards and has an extensive discography of nine album releases ranging from classical music to jazz.

Walentin is known for his distinctive playing style, which combines a strong grounding in the classical tradition with a curious and innovative approach. This combination has taken him to concert stages around the world - from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.

Niklas Walentin is a member of the award-winning Trio Vitruvio, with whom he recently released an album of music by Brahms and Schubert.

He is in demand as a teacher at masterclasses around Europe and since 2018 has been the director of his own classical music festival, "Møn Summer Concerts".

In 2024, Niklas Walentin was appointed concertmaster of the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra.

In recent years, Niklas Walentin has continued his work on major recording projects, including "Another June Night" with music by jazz legend Svend Asmussen and Brahms' violin sonatas with pianist Christina Bjørkøe.
Most recently he has released "Jalousie" with music by Jacob Gade recorded with Philharmonie Südwestfalen conducted by Nabil Shehata and the album New Nordic Pocket Concertos with new violin concertos written specifically for him - emphasizing his position as an artist in constant development.

Professional background

Since 2014, Steven has been Verdensballetten's Artistic Director.

Born in Sydney, Australia, Steven won the prestigious Prix de Lausanne competition at the age of 17, where the first prize was a scholarship to The Royal Ballet of London. Here Steven danced his way to an appointment as a principal dancer in 2009.

He has danced leading roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Manon, Romeo and Juliet and other major productions at Covent Garden.

He has had great success in the virtuoso tap role of the Mad Hatter in Cinderella, created especially for him.

Steven is still featured in the documentary, A Resilient Man, about his extraordinary comeback after a serious injury in 2019.

He is also a sought-after teacher at masterclasses for young dancers and has most recently served on the jury of the prestigious Prix de Lausanne ballet competition in Switzerland.

Steven McRae is Verdensballetten's artistic director. Together with Jens-Christian Wandt, he selects the ballet dancers and ballets and music pieces that will make up the program each year.

Professional background

Principal dancer Sangeun Lee is from South Korea and trained at Sunhwa Arts High School in Seoul. She began her career with Universal Ballet in South Korea and then joined Semperoper Ballett Dresden as a soloist, before being promoted to principal dancer.

Since 2023, she has been a principal dancer with English National Ballet, where she has danced the following principal roles: The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and Nikiya in Watkins La Bayadére.

She is portrayed in the documentary Dancing Pina, where the audience follows her work with her favorite role Iphigenia in Iphigenia of Tauris by Pina Bausch.

Sangeun Lee is also one of the few dancers permitted to perform works by master choreographer William Forsythe—something Verdensballetten audiences can experience again this year.

In April, Sangeun Lee was nominated for Best Female Dancer in England at the National Dance Awards UK, the most prestigious prize in classical ballet in England.

Professional background

British principal dancer Gareth Haw trained at The Royal Ballet Lower and Upper School. He began his career with Semperoper Ballett in Dresden in 2015 and quickly stood out for his exquisite partnering skills and beautiful lines.

He has danced leading roles in most classics such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, La Bayadère and Beauty and the Beast, and has also performed works by William Forsythe, Martha Graham, George Balanchine and Pina Bausch.

Gareth Haw is a sought-after artist and has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including the Paris Opera Palais Garnier and the Royal Albert Hall.

In April, Gareth Haw was nominated for Best Dancer in England at the National Dance Awards UK, the most prestigious prize in classical ballet in England.

Professional background

Young Scottish talent Harris Beattie began his training in Aberdeen and continued in London at the Central School of Ballet. At the age of 12, he made his debut as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical in London's West End.

He is a regular member of the company at Northern Ballet in London, where he has danced a wide range of roles including The Prince in David Nixon's The Nutcracker and The Beast in Beauty & the Beast, Merlin in Drew McOnie's Merlin, Romeo and Mercutio in Christopher Gable and Massimo Moricone's Romeo & Juliet, and Rochester in Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre.

Harris is also a successful choreographer; his first work Men Undone premiered in 2023 and most recently he was commissioned by Northern Ballet to choreograph the children's ballet Hansel and Gretel.

Professional background

British principal dancer Yasmine Naghdi is one of the leading profiles at The Royal Ballet, where she has held the rank of principal dancer since 2017. A graduate of The Royal Ballet School, she joined the company in 2010 and quickly rose through the ranks - a clear testament to her extraordinary talent and stage authority.

Naghdi has built up an extensive repertoire of leading roles in both the classical and modern ballet repertoire. She has danced iconic roles such as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, the title role in Giselle, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, Tatiana in Onegin and Kitri in Don Quixote. In addition, there are key roles in works by choreographers such as Kenneth MacMillan, Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon.

In recent years, she has continued to be a major force on stage at Covent Garden, most recently as Juliet in Romeo & Juliet in The Royal Ballet's current productions, where her interpretations are praised for both technical precision and dramatic depth.

With her musicality, strength and lyricism, Yasmine Naghdi represents a modern ballerina of the highest order - an artist who masters both the classical idiom and contemporary expression, and who continues to develop her artistic range as she performs on the biggest stages and in the greatest works.

Professional background

English dancer Nicol Edmonds is aFirst Soloist with The Royal Ballet. He joined the company in 2012 after dancing with the Finnish National Ballet and has since worked his way up through the ranks from First Artist in 2014, toSoloist in 2015 and to First Soloist in 2021.

Nicol Edmonds was born in South Devon, England and trained at Elmhurst School for Dance. He began his professional career with the Finnish National Ballet in 2010, where he danced Benvolio in Romeo & Juliet and the title role in The Nutcracker.

With The Royal Ballet, he has appeared in numerous productions, dancing leading roles in works such as Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Winter's Tale and The Nutcracker, as well as prominent roles in recent works such as Woolf Works. He has also made guest appearances with Scottish Ballet, where he danced the title role in The Nutcracker.

Professional background

Norwegian soprano Lydia Hoen Tjore was born and raised in Radøy near Bergen. She began her studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music under Susanna Eken at the age of 17 and graduated from the Opera Academy in Copenhagen in 2018 as one of the youngest ever.

She has been a soloist trainee at the Norwegian National Opera, where she has sung roles such as Adina, Zerlina, First Lady and Micaela. In 2021, she was a finalist in both the Vinceró World Singing Competition and the Queen Sonja International Music Competition, where she received the Ingrid Bjoner Prize. In 2024, she further distinguished herself with 3rd prize and both the Audience and Critics' Prize at the Renata Tebaldi International Singing Competition in San Marino.

In recent seasons, she has enjoyed success in key roles such as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Mimì in La Bohème. She performs regularly with leading orchestras in Scandinavia and is also a sought-after soloist in the oratorio repertoire.

Lydia Hoen Tjore works as a freelance opera singer and performs on stages across Europe - including Valencia, Paris and Madrid, where she has toured with star conductor Marc Minkowski. In 2027, she can be seen in the charming title role of Rosina in The Barber of Seville at Bergen National Opera.

"Verdensballetten is a holistic experience for me. The art on stage, the atmosphere among the audience, the community in the tour bus, summer Denmark and the 'challenges' of our open-air concept - it's all the best experiences," says Jens-Christian Wandt.

Professional background

Danish tenor Jens-Christian Wandt graduated from the Hamburg Conservatory and has for decades distinguished himself as a versatile and present artist on both concert and theater stages. He made his concert debut in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw in 1992 as a soloist in Mozart's Mass in C minor and his stage debut in 1995 as Doktor Falke in The Bat at Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen.

Since then he has performed in a wide range of productions and concerts at home and abroad, including at venues such as Sydney Opera House, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Gran Liceu in Barcelona and Berwaldhallen in Stockholm. In Denmark, he has sung with all the country's symphony orchestras and had engagements at Det Ny Teater, Aarhus Teater, Aalborg Teater, Hamletscenen at Kronborg, Gladsaxe Teater, Nørregade Teatret in Maribo and Herning Opera Festival.

He has also participated in communicating opera to children through the DR programs Sigurd & the Opera in collaboration with Sigurd Barrett and the DR Symphony Orchestra.

As a recording artist, Jens-Christian Wandt has released several albums of Danish songs in collaboration with Andreas Brantelid, Jakob Lorentzen and Holmens Vokalensemble. He gives a large number of concerts across the country every year and is known for his warm communication and close contact with the audience.

In 2020, he returned to Det Ny Teater as Mr. Bumble in the musical Oliver, a performance that earned him a CphCulture nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2008, Jens-Christian Wandt initiated Verdensballetten, which has since grown into one of Denmark's largest classical tours, gathering around 16,000 audience members each year for performances across the country.

.

"Verdensballetten throbs with a truly unique and wonderful atmosphere that is rare. When Verdensballetten welcomes its artists, it is always with the most poetic Danish summer as the stage and a wonderfully expectant audience.

To do this alongside some of the greatest artists the world has in song and ballet is well worth the year-long wait," says Walentin & McKenzie.

Professional background

The acclaimed duo Walentin & McKenzie have performed around the world in venues such as Wigmore Hall in London, the Danish Radio Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall in New York and Salle Cortot in Paris, among others, with their program Jorden Rundt, which received great praise when it was released on vinyl.

Both musicians have won several prestigious awards and recorded several critically acclaimed albums.

Alexander McKenzie and Niklas Walentin each have extensive musical careers with solo concerts, compositions, recordings, master classes, etc.
Alexander McKenzie is also the artistic director and founder of Kammerballetten, and Niklas Walentin serves as the first concertmaster of the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra and founder of the classical music festival Soundscape - Møn summer concert.