Ballett Zürich, formerly known as Zürich Ballet, is the largest professional ballet company in Switzerland. Its principal venue is the

Zürich Opera House The Zurich Opera House () is an opera house in the Swiss city of Zurich. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zurich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to Ballett Zürich. I ...

and it regularly tours across the country. The company includes an ensemble cast of 36 dancers and 14 junior members.

Cathy Marston Cathy Marston (born 1975) is a British choreographer and artistic director. She was the director of Bern Ballett from 2007–2013. After her tenure, she has choreographed for companies worldwide, including The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, ...

has been the ballet director at the company since the 2023–24 season. The ensemble danced in the 2012–13 season before a total of 48,061 visitors, averaging a space occupancy of 93.5%.

History

Ballet Zürich emerged from Zürich's now defunct "Ballet of City Theatre". From 1978 to 1985 Balanchine-specialist Patricia Neary held the post of ballet director. Starting in 1985, Uwe Scholz, aged 26 the youngest director of a dance company in Europe, took over the management of the Zurich Ballet until 1991. Subsequently, Bernd Roger Bienert led the Zurich Ballet until 1996. Heinz Spoerli, ballet director from 1996 to 2012, established the company as among the leading European ballet formations. A neoclassical dance style was cultivated with ballets like '' The Goldberg Variations'', ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' and ''Peer Gynt'' and great classical ballets such as ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...

'' or ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

''. The company also presented works of other choreographers such as

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

, Mats Ek, William Forsythe,

Jiri Kylian Jiri () is a municipality in Dolakha District in the Bagmati Province of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 13,638 people. Jiri, which lies about 190 kilometers from Kathmandu, is the main gateway to the ...

, Hans von Manen or Twyla Tharp. From the 2012–13 season until the 2022–2023 season, Christian Spuck, former choreographer of the

Stuttgart Ballet Stuttgart Ballet is a leading German ballet company. Dating back to 1609, then the court ballet of the dukes of Württemberg, the modern company was founded by John Cranko and is known for full-length narrative ballets. The company received the ...

, led the Ballet Zürich. Under his leadership, the company maintained the established traditions of the ensemble and set new artistic accents. Internationally renowned choreographers such as William Forsythe, Paul Lightfoot, Sol León, Douglas Lee, Martin Schläpfer, Jiří Kylián,

Wayne McGregor Sir Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a British choreographer and director who has won multiple awards. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Comma ...

Marco Goecke Marco Goecke (born 12 April 1972) is a German choreographer. He was the director of Hanover State Ballet between 2019 and 2023, and had also held positions at Stuttgart Ballet, , Nederlands Dans Theater and Gauthier Dance. He had additionally c ...

, and

Mats Ek Mats Ek (born 18 April 1945) is a Swedish dance and ballet choreographer, dancer and stage director. He was the manager of the Cullberg Ballet from 1985 to 1993. Life and career Ek was born in Malmö in 1945, the son of the Royal Dramatic Thea ...

have already worked with the Ballet Zürich. In the 2023–24 season,

became the director of Ballett Zürich. The Junior Ballet was founded in 2001 to promote young dancers. Fourteen members strong, it bridges the gap between young performers' formal training and their entries into professional careers. As part of an engagement that lasts no more than two years, they work together with the members of the Ballett Zürich, dance with them in selected performances of the repertoire, as well as every season in a specially arranged ballet evening with world premieres by Douglas Lee or Christian Spuck. The performances are accompanied by a comprehensive supporting program with introductory matinees before the ballet premieres, piece introductions before the performances, ballet discussions and a variety of special children's, youth and school projects.Ballett Zürich auf der Website des Opernhauses Zürich
(in German)

Notable dancers

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

* Dame Margot Fonteyn * Polina Semionova * Viktorina Kapitonova * Debra Austin * Itziar Mendizabal * Hikaru Kobayashi *

*François Petit

References

External Links

Balett Zurich official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballet Zurich Ballet companies in Switzerland Companies based in Zurich Culture of Zurich Tourist attractions in Zurich