Stuttgart Ballet is a leading German

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

company. Dating back to 1609, then the court ballet of the

dukes of Württemberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

, the modern company was founded by

John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born in Rustenburg in the former province of Tran ...

and is known for full-length narrative ballets. The company received the

Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance The Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End ...

in 1981.

History

The Stuttgart Ballet evolved from the court ballet of the

Duke of Württemberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

, dating back to 1609. The modern company was founded and shaped from 1961 by the South African born British dancer

"into a group with an exciting and visually arresting style". He created full-length narrative ballets including ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', '' Onegin'' and ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'',

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also in ...

created for the company ''Die Kameliendame'' and ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. The first tour to the US in 1969 resulted in international fame. Dancers who have emerged from the company became well-known

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

s, including Neumeier, William Forsythe,

Foofwa d'Imobilité Foofwa d’Imobilité (born 24 March 1969) is a Swiss dancer and choreographer. He lives and works in Geneva, Switzerland, and Brooklyn, New York. Life and career Foofwa d’Imobilité was born Frédéric Gafner in Geneva, Switzerland. His mothe ...

Uwe Scholz Uwe Scholz (31 December 1958 – 21 November 2004) was a German ballet dancer, director, and choreographer. Life Scholz was born in Jugenheim (now Seeheim-Jugenheim) in Hesse, Germany on 31 December 1958, and moved as a child to the Landestheater ...

Jiří Kylián Jiří Kylián (born 21 March 1947) is a Czech former dancer and contemporary dance choreographer. Life Jiří Kylián was born in 1947 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to his father Václav who was a banker and to his mother Markéta, who was as a ...

and Renato Zanella. Cranko was succeeded by as director by

Glen Tetley Glen Tetley (February 3, 1926 – January 26, 2007) was an American ballet and modern dancer as well as a choreographer who mixed ballet and modern dance to create a new way of looking at dance, and is best known for his piece ''Pierrot Lunaire ...

(1974–1976) and

Marcia Haydée Marcia Haydée Salaverry Pereira da Silva (born 18 April 1937) is a Brazilian ballet dancer, choreographer and ballet director. She was prima ballerina of the Stuttgart Ballet under John Cranko and succeeded him as the company's director, serv ...

(1976–1996).

Reid Anderson Reid Anderson (born 15 October 1970) is a bassist and composer from Minnesota. He is a member of The Bad Plus with drummer Dave King, saxophonist Chris Speed, and guitarist Ben Monder. The original lineup of The Bad Plus first played together ...

has been the artistic director from 1996. The choreologist

Georgette Tsinguirides Georgette Tsinguirides (born 27 February 1928) is a ballet dancer, ballet mistress and choreologist. She was the assistant of John Cranko at the Stuttgart Ballet and became in 1966 the first choreologist in Germany. Still active in 2015 after 70 ...

has recorded all major ballets by Cranko and Kenneth MacMillan in

Benesh Movement Notation Benesh Movement Notation (BMN), also known as Benesh notation or choreology, is a dance notation system used to document dance and other types of human movement. Invented by Joan and Rudolf Benesh in the late 1940s, the system uses abstract symbo ...

and has been teaching these works to several generations of ballet companies internationally. The company received the

in 1981. More than 25 years James Tuggle was the principal conductor of the Stuttgart Ballet. In July 2019

Mikhail Agrest Mikhail Agrest is a Russian conductor, who has been employed since 2001 by the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. Biography Mikhail Agrest was born in Saint Petersburg, the son of professional musicians. He emigrated in 1989 to the United ...

became the principal conductor of the Stuttgart Ballet. In late 2021 he was fired. The Stuttgart Ballet informed in an official

press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

about the reasons for the termination of the employment relationship.

John Cranko School

The current director of the ballet school, the is Tadeusz Matacz.

Company dancers

Alicia Amatriain Alicia Amatriain (born 1980) is a Spanish ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer at the Stuttgart Ballet. Biography Amatriain was born in San Sebastián, Spain. She first learned ballet there and later trained at John Cranko Schule in Stuttg ...

Elisa Badenes Elisa Badenes is a Spanish ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer at the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany. Early life Badenes was born in Valencia, Spain. She started ballet at Conservatorio Profesional de Danza de Valencia at age 11. In ...

Ray Barra Ray Barra (born January 3, 1930) is an American former ballet dancer, a ballet master and ballet director. He was a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre and a principal dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet, where he created parts in creations by Jo ...

Bridget Breiner Bridget Breiner (born 1974) is an American dancer and choreographer. Since 1991, she lives and works mainly in Germany. Breiner was born in Connecticut and brought up in Columbus, Ohio, where she received her early dance training. At 17, she furth ...

Daniel Camargo Daniel Camargo (born September 1991) is a Brazilian ballet dancer. He joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 2009, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2013. In 2016, he left to join the Dutch National Ballet, before leaving in 2019 to pursue a free ...

* Richard Cragun *Tamas Detrich *

Gabriel Figueredo In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

* William Forsythe *Susanne Hanke *

*Hyo-Jung Kang * Kang Sue-jin *

Birgit Keil Birgit Keil (born 22 September 1944) is a German ballet dancer. She was prima ballerina of the Stuttgart Ballet and was internationally known as ''The German Ballerina'', She has been teaching at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst ...

*Vladimir Klos *

* Nora Kimball *Douglas Lee *Thomas Lempertz * Vladimir Malakhov *

Egon Madsen Egon Madsen (born 24 August 1942) is a Danish ballet dancer, teacher, ballet master and company director. In 1961, he joined the Stuttgart Ballet, where John Cranko had become the director. Madsen was hired as a soloist but was soon promoted to p ...

Evan McKie Evan M. McKie is a ballet dancer in classical and contemporary ballet and an actor-dancer known for interpreting roles from literature. He has served as an honorary advisor to Dance Collection Danse, and is a guest writer and a member of the ...

*David Moore *Alexander Jones *William Moore *

*Anna Osadcenko *Marijn Rademaker *Jason Reilly * Sonia Santiago *

*Myriam Simon * * *Robert Tewsley * Friedemann Vogel *Roland Vogel *Demis Volpi *Melinda Witham * Renato Zanella

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ballet companies in Germany 1609 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Organisations based in Stuttgart Stuttgart Ballet

History

John Cranko School

Company dancers

See also

References

External links