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 ...

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

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 En ...

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 ran ...

, 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 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 lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'', '' 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 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 choreographers, including Neumeier, William Forsythe, Foofwa d'Imobilité, Uwe Scholz, Jiří Kylián and

Renato Zanella Renato Zanella is an Italian-born ballet dancer, choreographer and director. He studied classical ballet for several years before becoming a choreographer for various professional companies. Due to his success, he has won many awards and honorary ...

. Cranko was succeeded by as director by Glen Tetley (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, ser ...

(1976–1996). Reid Anderson 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 7 ...

has recorded all major ballets by Cranko and Kenneth MacMillan in Benesh Movement Notation 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 Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary ...

of the Stuttgart Ballet. In July 2019 Mikhail Agrest became the

of the Stuttgart Ballet. In late 2021 he was fired. The Stuttgart Ballet informed in an official press release 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 * Reid Anderson * Elisa Badenes * Ray Barra * Bridget Breiner * Daniel Camargo *

Richard Cragun Richard Cragun (5 October 1944 – 6 August 2012) was an American ballet dancer, teacher and ballet director who performed with the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany from 1965 to 1996. Cragun has been called a "prince of the ballet world" and "o ...

*Tamas Detrich * Gabriel Figueredo * William Forsythe *Susanne Hanke *

*Hyo-Jung Kang * Kang Sue-jin * Birgit Keil *Vladimir Klos * Jiří Kylián * Nora Kimball *Douglas Lee *Thomas Lempertz * Vladimir Malakhov * Egon Madsen * Evan McKie *David Moore *Alexander Jones *William Moore * John Neumeier *Anna Osadcenko *Marijn Rademaker *Jason Reilly *

Sonia Santiago Sonia Santiago (also: Sonia Santiago-Brückner, born 1 November 1966) is a ballet dancer and ballet teacher. Sonia Santiago was born in Madrid. She grew up in Germany and began ballet dancing at age five. She studied at the , graduating in 1985. ...

* Uwe Scholz *Myriam Simon * * *Robert Tewsley *

Friedemann Vogel Friedemann Vogel (born 1 August 1979) is a German ballet dancer who performs with the Stuttgart Ballet as a Principal dancer and as a frequent guest artist at major ballet companies around the world including La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan and ...

*Roland Vogel *Demis Volpi *Melinda Witham *

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