Stuttgart Ballet

Stuttgart Ballet is a German ballet company. Dating to 1609 with the court ballet of the dukes of Württemberg, the modern company was begun under John Cranko (1927-1973). It is known for full-length narrative ballets. The company received the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 1981.

History

The Stuttgart Ballet evolved eventually from the ballet done in the Duke's court of 1609.^[1] The "sing-ballette" flourished later in that century.

Noverre (18th century)

In 1759 Duke Carl Eugen invited Jean-Georges Noverre to come to Stuttgart and be well-rewarded as resident balletmaster. Noverre was widely known as a ballet reformer, and as a dancer and choreographer.^[2] He increased the ducal ballet company to 7 female and 7 male principal dancers and 42 figueants (21 female and 21 male). "During his stay the most famous dancers appeared regularly as guests" of the Duke. These included Gaetano Vestris, Maximilien Gardel, Jean Dauberval, and Anna Heinel (making her debut). Noverre while in Stuttgart "created some of his best ballets".^[3]

In 1763 Noverre wrote Médée et Jason (music by Rodolphe) for the Duke's birthday. The ballet was "a freestanding entr'acte entertainment" following Italian tradition, "not a divertissement woven into an opera in the French style". The 35-minute dance "taut, bloody, and tragic" told its gruesome drama.^[4] In 1766 Noverre left for Vienna. The local ballet company continued in Stuttgart though at a much smaller scale. In 1771 a Ducal Ballet School opened, which functioned until 1794.^[5]

Taglioni (19th century)

In their peregrinations, the esteemed Filippo Taglioni and his daughter Marie Taglioni made Stuttgart their home, 1824 to 1828. Their presence inspired a new era in the local ballet. Its major production was in 1826: their original version of the narrative ballet Jocko ou le Singe du Brésil, also called Danina. After 33 performances over two seasons in Stuttgart, "it traveled around the world". Jocko in its several versions was said to be "the most successful ballet production of this period".^[6]

In Stuttgart during the following decades "the city satisfied its ballet needs" by hosting visiting companies. Yet "the Court Theater always maintained a small group [of dancers] for its opera". An 1891 production of the Austrian ballet The Fairy Doll was 'uniquely' successful.^[7]

Cranko (20th century)

Of Oskar Schlemmer's abstract creation Triadisches Ballett, with music "ranging from Haydn to Debussy", its premiere with complete choreography was held at the Landes Theater in Stuttgart in 1922.^[8]^[9]

In 1956 the Lithuanian Nicholas Beriozoff, formerly of Ballet Russe, arrived in Stuttgart. Serving as balletmaster 1957-1960, Beriozoff "created a special local ballet climate". His "productions of the classcs laid the foundations for the remarkable progress made by the Ballet... under Cranko".^[10]^[11]

In 1961 the modern company Stuttgart Ballet was begun by John Cranko, a choreographer from Britain born in South Africa.^[12]^[13] He "laid great emphasis on improvement of the technical standards of the company".^[14] Cranko helped gather, then guided and shaped an ensemble of independent-minded dancers into a coherent stage act that performed "with an exciting and visually arresting style".^[1] Cranko created full-length narrative ballets including Romeo and Juliet, Onegin and The Taming of the Shrew.^[1]^[15] These ballets stayed in the repertoire at Stuttgart and spread to other stages "eventually in companies around the world".^[16] The refashioned and invigorated company's first tour to America in 1969 was a fine success; it acquiered Stuttgart Ballet a new international recognition.^[17]

Marcia Haydée was the prima ballerina under Cranko.^[18] Dancers who have emerged from the company to become well-known choreographers include: John Neumeier,^[19] William Forsythe, Foofwa d'Imobilité, Uwe Scholz, Jiří Kylián and Renato Zanella. A colleague of Cranko was the Scottish choreographer Kenneth MacMillan (1929-1992) of the Royal Ballet in London. MacMillan did work in Stuttgart.^[20]

Cranko (1927-1973) was succeeded as director by Glen Tetley (1974–1976), Marcia Haydée (1976–1996),^[21] then Reid Anderson (1996-2018), followed by Tamas Detrich (2018 to present).

For more than 25 years James Tuggle was the principal conductor of the Stuttgart Ballet music.^[22] From 2019 through 2021 Mikhail Agrest was principal conductor.^[23]^[24]

The ballet's school is the John Cranko Schule [de]. The choreologist Georgette Tsinguirides 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.^[25]

The company received the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 1981.^[26] In Germany "the Stuttgart Ballet remained the leading classical company".^[27]

The company

Ensemble 2025/2026

Principal dancers

*Princial Guest Artist

Name	Nationality	Training	Other companies (inc. guest performances)
Rocio Aleman	Mexico	Escuela superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey John Cranko School
Elisa Badenes	Spain	Conservatorio Profesional de Danza de Valencia Royal Ballet School
Mackenzie Brown*	United States	Barton & Williams School of Classical Dance Classical Ballet of Fredericksburg Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace, Monaco
Henrik Erikson	Hong Kong Switzerland	Zürich Opera House Ballet School John Cranko School	Cuban National Ballet Norwegian National Ballet Paris Opera Ballet
Gabriel Figueredo	Brazil	Andanças de Rita Candemil, Taquara Pavilhão D, São Paulo John Cranko School
Miriam Kacerova	Slovakia	Bratislava Dance Conservatory Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace, Monaco	Ballett Zürich
Matteo Miccini	Italy	Ballet Centre Florence John Cranko School
David Moore	United Kingdom	Angela Rowe School of Dance Royal Ballet School
Anna Osadcenko	Kazakhstan	Academie A. B. Selesnew John Cranko School
Martí Paixà	Spain	John Cranko School
Jason Reilly	Canada	Canada's National Ballet School	The Royal Ballet National Ballet of Canada
Daiana Ruiz	Argentina	Sleeping Beauty Institute Teatro Colón	Ballet del Teatro Argentino
Adhonay Soares	Brazil	Centro Cultural Gustav Ritter, Goiâna CEP em Artes Brasilieu Franca John Cranko School
Friedemann Vogel	Germany	John Cranko School Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace, Monaco	Mikhailovsky Ballet

Soloists

Mizuki Amemiya
Diana Ionescu
Veronika Verterich
Abigail Willson-Heisel
Fabio Adorisio
Ciro Ernesto Mansilla
Martino Semenzato
Satchel Tanner

Demi-soloists

Priscylla Gallo
Vittoria Girelli
Aiara Iturrioz Rico
Fernanda Lopes
Aoi Sawano
Ruth Schultz
Alicia Torronteras
Irene Yang
Riccardo Ferlito
Lassi Hirvonen
Christopher Kunzelmann
Adrian Oldenburger
Dorian Plasse
Edoardo Sartori
Daniele Silingardi

Corps de ballet

Ava Arbuckle
María Andrés Betoret
Lily Babbage
Katharina Buck
Elisabetta Fasoglio
Julliane Franzoi
Farrah Hirsch
Eva Holland-Nell
Annalee Melton
Florencia Paez
Paula Rezende
Joana Romaneiro Kirn
Natalie Thornley-Hall
Noan Alves
Emanuele Babici
Jamie Constance
Joaquin Gaubeca
Macéo Gérard
Peter Hull
Leon Metelsky
Mitchel Millhollin
James Platts
Anton Tcherny
Vincent Travnicek
Serhii Zharikov

Apprentices

Sonja Bräunl
Anya Donaghy
Annabelle McCarthy
Isabela Souza
Doga Taskaya
Edoardo Maria Russo
Carter Smalling
Carlos Strasser

Character artists

Angelika Bulfinsky
Magdalena Dziegielewska
Sonia Santiago
Matteo Crockard-Villa
Rolando D'Alesio
Clemens Frölich
Marc Ribaud

Artist-in-residence

Roman Novitzky

Bibliography

Robert Greskovic, Ballet. A complete guide (London: Robert Hale 1998)
John Gruen, The Private World of Ballet (New York: The Viking Press 1975; Penguin 1976).
Jennifer Homans, Apollo's Angels. A history of ballet (New York: Random House 2010).
Horst Koegler, Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet (Oxford University 1977). Original edition: Friedrichs Ballettlexikon (Hannover: Friedrich Verlag 1972).
Nancy Reynolds & Malcolm McCormick, No Fixed Points. Dance in the Twentieth Century (Yale Univ. 2003).

References

1 2 3 "Stuttgart Ballet". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
↑ Homans (2010), pp. 80-84.
↑ Koegler (1977), pp. 505-506 & 390, quotes: 506 (visiting dancers) and 390 (best ballets).
↑ Homans (2010), Médée et Jason pp. 81-83 (quote p.81). Ballet steps and techniques, movements and freeze-frame, described pp. 82-83. An illustration at p.82: satirical sketch showing "use of heightened dramatic gesture to tell a story".
↑ Koegler (1977), p.506 (after Noverre). Cf., the 20th century Medea ballet (p.356).
↑ Koegler (1977), pp. 506 & 146-147, quotes: 147, & 506. In the forest a snake attacks the primate Jocko who is saved by the girl Danina. Later Jocko rescues Danina from kidnappers. (p.147, based on a French melodrama).
↑ "After the toy shop is closed, the dolls come to life and dance individually and with each other, led by the Fairy Doll." Koegler (1977), p.188 (quote), p.506 (1891 Stuttgart).
↑ Koegler (1977), pp. 535, 469, 257, 506. Schlemmer was associated with the Bauhaus school (p.469).
↑ Reynolds & McCormick (2003), pp. 93-94, quote p.94 (1926 music by Hindemith). Schlemmer (who was an "excellent dancer and mime") wrote that his ballet showed a fusion of figure and architecture, and the dancer as a "space-bewitched creature" (p.93 quotes). He is linked to Rudolf Laban and Mary Wigman (p.92).
↑ Koegler (1977), pp.506, & 68 (quotes: needs & opera 506, Beriozoff 68, 506). In 1935-1944 Beriozoff worked with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (p.68).
↑ Reynolds & McCormick (2003), Beriosov: pp. 236, 570, 826.
↑ Gruen (1976), pp. 169-175.
↑ Homans (2010), p.440.
↑ Koegler (1977), p.506 quote.
↑ Koegler (1977), p.506.
↑ Greskovic (1998), p. 125 (quote).Cranko's design of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet was its most popular (p.113).
↑ Barnes, Clive (6 July 1969). "The Year the Dance went wild; When dance went wild". The New York Times.
↑ Gruen (1976), pp. 176-180. "Haydée is that rare phenomenon: a bravura dancer who is also a remarkable dramatic actress" (pp. 176-177 quote).
↑ Neumeier created for the company Die Kameliendame and A Streetcar Named Desire.
↑ Homans (2010), p.440.
↑ Reynolds and McCormick (2003), p.454; the authors opine she stayed too long as director, p.593.
↑ Ballett, Stuttgarter. "James Tuggle | Stuttgart Ballet". www.stuttgart-ballet.de (in German). Retrieved 18 February 2022.
↑ Germany's Stuttgart Ballet Announces New Principal Conductor The Violin Channel, 15 July 2019.
↑ Gisela Sonnenburg: Verrohung im vornehmen Opernbetrieb Telepolis, 29 Dezember 2021; Rupert Koppold: Totschweiger und Lobmaschinen Kontext, 8 Dezember 2021; Gisela Sonnenburg: Reid Anderson feuert Stardirigenten Ballett-Journal, 25 November 2021; Gisela Sonnenburg: Denn sie haben ihn gefeuert. Das Stuttgarter Ballett kündigt Musikdirektor Mikhail Agrest junge Welt, 23 Dezember 2021; Andrea Kachelrieß: Trennt sich die Kompanie von Musikdirektor Mikhail Agrest? Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 9 Dezember 2021.
↑ Hanselmann, Ulla (28 November 2014). "Die Stuttgarter Choreologin Georgette Tsinguirides / Die Hüterin des Tanzerbes". Stuttgarter Zeitung. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
↑ "Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Ballet. Winner: Forgotten Land, The Stuttgart Ballet at the London Coliseum" for year 1981.
↑ Reynolds and McCormick (2003), p.593 (quote).
Koegler, Horst (2010). "Das erste Jahrzehnt". 50 Jahre Stuttgarter Ballett. Programmbuch (in German). Stuttgart Ballet.

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External links

Official website

[EB-1] 1 2 3 "Stuttgart Ballet". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

[2] Homans (2010), pp. 80-84.

[3] Koegler (1977), pp. 505-506 & 390, quotes: 506 (visiting dancers) and 390 (best ballets).

[4] Homans (2010), Médée et Jason pp. 81-83 (quote p.81). Ballet steps and techniques, movements and freeze-frame, described pp. 82-83. An illustration at p.82: satirical sketch showing "use of heightened dramatic gesture to tell a story".

[5] Koegler (1977), p.506 (after Noverre). Cf., the 20th century Medea ballet (p.356).

[6] Koegler (1977), pp. 506 & 146-147, quotes: 147, & 506. In the forest a snake attacks the primate Jocko who is saved by the girl Danina. Later Jocko rescues Danina from kidnappers. (p.147, based on a French melodrama).

[7] "After the toy shop is closed, the dolls come to life and dance individually and with each other, led by the Fairy Doll." Koegler (1977), p.188 (quote), p.506 (1891 Stuttgart).

[8] Koegler (1977), pp. 535, 469, 257, 506. Schlemmer was associated with the Bauhaus school (p.469).

[9] Reynolds & McCormick (2003), pp. 93-94, quote p.94 (1926 music by Hindemith). Schlemmer (who was an "excellent dancer and mime") wrote that his ballet showed a fusion of figure and architecture, and the dancer as a "space-bewitched creature" (p.93 quotes). He is linked to Rudolf Laban and Mary Wigman (p.92).

[10] Koegler (1977), pp.506, & 68 (quotes: needs & opera 506, Beriozoff 68, 506). In 1935-1944 Beriozoff worked with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (p.68).

[11] Reynolds & McCormick (2003), Beriosov: pp. 236, 570, 826.

[12] Gruen (1976), pp. 169-175.

[13] Homans (2010), p.440.

[14] Koegler (1977), p.506 quote.

[15] Koegler (1977), p.506.

[16] Greskovic (1998), p. 125 (quote).Cranko's design of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet was its most popular (p.113).

[Barnes-17] Barnes, Clive (6 July 1969). "The Year the Dance went wild; When dance went wild". The New York Times.

[18] Gruen (1976), pp. 176-180. "Haydée is that rare phenomenon: a bravura dancer who is also a remarkable dramatic actress" (pp. 176-177 quote).

[19] Neumeier created for the company Die Kameliendame and A Streetcar Named Desire.

[20] Homans (2010), p.440.

[21] Reynolds and McCormick (2003), p.454; the authors opine she stayed too long as director, p.593.

[22] Ballett, Stuttgarter. "James Tuggle | Stuttgart Ballet". www.stuttgart-ballet.de (in German). Retrieved 18 February 2022.

[23] Germany's Stuttgart Ballet Announces New Principal Conductor The Violin Channel, 15 July 2019.

[24] Gisela Sonnenburg: Verrohung im vornehmen Opernbetrieb Telepolis, 29 Dezember 2021; Rupert Koppold: Totschweiger und Lobmaschinen Kontext, 8 Dezember 2021; Gisela Sonnenburg: Reid Anderson feuert Stardirigenten Ballett-Journal, 25 November 2021; Gisela Sonnenburg: Denn sie haben ihn gefeuert. Das Stuttgarter Ballett kündigt Musikdirektor Mikhail Agrest junge Welt, 23 Dezember 2021; Andrea Kachelrieß: Trennt sich die Kompanie von Musikdirektor Mikhail Agrest? Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 9 Dezember 2021.

[Hanselmann-25] Hanselmann, Ulla (28 November 2014). "Die Stuttgarter Choreologin Georgette Tsinguirides / Die Hüterin des Tanzerbes". Stuttgarter Zeitung. Retrieved 9 April 2015.

[26] "Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Ballet. Winner: Forgotten Land, The Stuttgart Ballet at the London Coliseum" for year 1981.

[27] Reynolds and McCormick (2003), p.593 (quote).

[Koegler-28] Koegler, Horst (2010). "Das erste Jahrzehnt". 50 Jahre Stuttgarter Ballett. Programmbuch (in German). Stuttgart Ballet.

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