Angela

Jakob Feyferlik from Bavarian State Ballet will be guesting at his old home company Vienna State Ballet for Nureyev's Swan Lake on June 20. and 23. 

The Bavarian State is travelling to Madrid this week to present five performances of "La Bayadère" choreographed by Patrice Bart at the Teatro Real.

Casting: First performance on 30 June 2024: Madison Young as Nikija, Osiel Gouneo as Solor and Maria Baranova as Gamzatti

Later also Laurretta Summerscales and Jinhao Zhang, as well as Ksenia Shevtsova and Julian MacKay. Bianca Teixiera (31.5.2024) and Carollina Bastos (1.6.2024) will make their debuts in the role of Gamzatti at Madrid.

Golden Idol: António Casalinho, Shale Wagman and Ariel Merkuri

The company will be accompanied by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid under the musical direction of Kevin Rhodes

There will be a live stream of Stuttgart Ballet's annual Noverre - Young Choreographers evening tomorrow at 19.00 CET

Find the conditions for VoD under the Youtube video

Marco Goecke will be the new artistic director and house choreographer at Theater Basel/Switzerland from summer 2025. He succeeds Adolphe Binder, who curated and directed the dance company for two years and will leave the house in summer 2025 as planned. Goecke had made headlines in 2023 when he smeared dog feces on a journalist's face at Hanover. He then lost his job as ballet director at the Hanover State Opera. Some German theatres dropped his works, others kept them on the schedule; for next season, he will create new works at Ballet Nuremberg and Gärtnerplatztheater Ballet Munich, other companies like Gauthier Dance, Stuttgart Ballet or Hanover Ballet will show his works in the repertoire.

Goecke has worked for more than 20 companies all over the world, including Nederlands Dans Theater, the Paris Opera Ballet, the companies at Stuttgart, Berlin, Hanover, Munich, Zurich, the Vienna State Opera and Les Ballets de Monte Carlo.

A new direction team for the Ballet at Dortmund, where director Xin Peng Wang will be retiring in 2025, after 22 years at the helm of the company: Ballet manager Jaš Otrin and the two resident choreographers Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Edward Clug will lead the company from season 2025/2026.

Jaš Otrin is from Slovenia, he was a dancer with Bavarian State Ballet, Het Nationale Ballet and the Ballet of the German State Opera Berlin, among others. From 2005 he directed the ballet in Ljubljana, later he worked as company manager for Bridget Breiner at Gelsenkirchen and studied economics.

The two choreographers Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Edward Clug will create ballets for Dortmund Ballet and the NRW Junior Ballet in turns every year. They also want to set up a talent center for young choreographers at Dortmund and offer workshops. I don't think that Clug is leaving his own company in Maribor, Slowenia, where he is director since 2003.

The company at Dortmund has 25 dancers, the Junior Ballet 13 dancers. Dortmund is also famous for the ballet galas that Xin Peng Wang hosts every season.

John Neumeier‘s „Glass Menagerie“ after the play by Tennessee Williams will be recorded in May 2024 for DVD and arte. With Alina Cojocaru, for whom he created the work, and the original cast: Patricia Friza (Amanda Wingfield), David Rodriguez (The Unicorn), Marc Jubete (Malvolio), Edvin Revazov (Tennessee) and Christopher Evans (Jim O´Connor). Alessandro Frola will dance the role of Tom Wingfield.

On 17/05/2024 at 10:41, Estreiiita said:

Actually, he was almost naked in this pdd full with emotions.

The piece of cloth that Othello is wearing in this ultra-slow, minimalistic pdd is actually the handkerchief that will get lost later, his first gift to Desdemona. I can image what silent triumph it must have been for Neumeier to show at least an excerpt from his "Othello" at Copenhagen, after the Royal Danish Ballet rejected the piece two years ago, because the dancers got a scene of blackfacing wrong.

Changes at the Stuttgart Ballet roster next season:

Promotions:

As already stated here, Henrik Erikson will be promoted to principal dancer. Aiara Iturrioz Rico, Aoi Sawano, Irene Yang and Edoardo Sartori will be promoted to demisoloists. New in the corps de ballet: Katharina Buck and Yana Peneva from the Cranko School, the former apprentices Lilly Babbage, Farrah Hirsch, Macéo Gérard, Leon Metelsky and Anton Tcherny.

The new apprentices: Annabelle McCarthy, Alice Pelizza, Adrien Hohenberg, James Platts, Carter Smalling, Serhii Zharikov (all from the Cranko School), Annalee V. Melton (USA) and Isabela Souza (Brazil)

Leaving:

Demisoloists Elisa Ghisalberti, Alessandro Giaquinto (freelancing as choreographer), Moacir de Oliveira and Flemming Puthenpurayil, corps de ballet dancers Minji Nam, Anouk van der Weijde and Tristan Simpson (he is going to Het).

5 hours ago, FionaM said:

Jason Reilly might have been the first ballet dancer to reveal his tattoos when dancing

I remember tattoos on Farukh Ruzimativ during Sheherazade, ages ago - I think he forgot to cover them.

The new season at Stuttgart Ballet is finally online: lots of classics, but a very beautiful Mahler evening with Cranko's "Traces", Béjart's Songs of a Wayfarer and MacMillan's Song of the Earth. Few changes among the dancers, there are several demisoloists leaving, but all principals stay.

https://www.stuttgart-ballet.de/schedule/season-2024-25/

Goyo Montero will be the new ballet director at the Hanover State Opera from season 2025/2026. He was a very successful chief choreographer and ballet director at the State Theater of Nuremberg since 2008. He follows Christian Bloßfeld, the company manager who took over the direction from Marco Goecke when he was fired last year.

Stuttgart's Jason Reilly is guesting with Hamburg Ballet for four performances at the Tivoli at Copenhagen. He is doing a pdd from John Neumeier's "Othello" with Anna Laudere.

https://www.hamburgballett.de/en/schedule/event.php?AuffNr=501954#pagenav

GOD he was great, wasn't he? Sylvie Guillem would have been proud for that ear-touching leg straight at 180 degrees... If he could find a little more strength in his partnering skills, mentally and physically, he'd be the next international star with those long legs, the timing, the never ending pirouettes, the beautiful phrasing...

It's strange how you can miss someone whom you did not know personally, not even by her real name or photo - just by a big green C, a funny alias, and so, so many insightful and prudent words she wrote about ballet. May she rest in peace. Condolences to all here who knew her. 

A new, one-time event at Stuttgart Ballet: An Evening with Friedemann Vogel, where he talks about his 25 year long career and where he wlll dance Béjart's Bolero with all the men of Stuttgart Ballet at the end 🤩

Date. 15. July

https://www.stuttgarter-ballett.de/spielplan/kalender/ein-abend-mit-friedemann-vogel/7863/

At Vienna State Ballet, Elena Bottaro was promoted to to Principal Dancer

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6S3LWVImNN/?img_index=1

22 minutes ago, Angela said:

I hope the link works in other countries

It works in Germany, which is another country. Oh my!! 🤣🤣 🤣🤣

Some informations about John Neumeier’s very last creation for his Hamburg Ballet as director: The piece is called „Epilog“ and is the 173rd work in his oeuvre. He will create ”an intimate work with chamber music, with piano and vocals on stage. It is an rather abstract ballet of soft sounds and subtle movements that leaves room for personal reflections.” The music is by Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss (“Four Last Songs”) and by Simon & Garfunkel.

Celebrated Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian will perform the “Four Last Songs” on stage, renowned French Schubert interpreter David Fray will play the piano and the multi-award-winning young pianist Emmanuel Christien will be his duo partner. Swiss designer Albert Kriemler creates the costumes, he has worked with Neumeier several times before. Hamburg Ballet's photographer and videographer Kiran West will be responsible for the film projections. I don't think that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel will perform live, but who knows.

The premiere is on 30th June

Here is a short TV report from Swiss National TV about Cathy Marston's new creation "Atonement", the premiere was yesterday at Zurich Opera House. Ian McEwan was there, too! I hope the link works in other countries

https://www.srf.ch/kultur/buehne/opernhaus-zuerich-atonement-gelingt-der-bestseller-roman-auf-der-ballett-buehne

6 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

Am I right gleaning from the link - thanks Angela - that an Oct 24th Matinee is being live streamed free or have I misunderstood? 

No, I don't think so - the premiere is on Nov 1st, the "matinee" in October means an introduction talk with the choreographer and dramaturg, maybe some excerpts from the piece. In Germany matinees are really in the (French) matin, that is in the morning - the other thing we call "Nachmittagsvorstellung", which is afternoon performance.

I don't think that Dortmund Opera or Ballet ever did live streams in the past, so sorry. I'll check the reviews and the trailers in autumn and will post them.

Next season at Vienna State Ballet:

“Once again I want to do everything that I think is important for the Vienna State Ballet, for our audience and
for dance. Of course, we have to care for our heritage and traditions. They are our art form’s memory. But new
creations are its muscular heart. For me, the art of theatre and ballet always means opening up, going further,
studying our time and not simply celebrating what already exists. We also need to create new works that will
enable ballet to keep on living and form tomorrow’s memories. We have planned five world premieres, some of
them taking up a full evening. We are throwing a lasso into the future. That is our intention. We have faith in
this art form and in creating new works. And I am extremely curious about what else will be possible this season,
because you always move on from where you are now.”
Martin Schläpfer

Martin Schläpfer has planned four premieres for his last season as Director and Chief Choreographer of
the Vienna State Ballet: The Winter’s Tale and Pathétique at the Vienna State Opera, KaiserRequiem and
Kreationen at the Vienna Volksoper. Five choreographies by Martin Chaix, Alessandra Corti, Andreas
Heise, Martin Schläpfer and Louis Stiens will receive their world premieres, Christopher Wheeldon’s The
Winter’s Tale will be an important Austrian premiere, and Summerspace is the first work by Merce
Cunningham to be performed with the Vienna State Ballet at the Vienna State Opera.

In the Vienna State Opera’s repertoire Rudolf Nureyev’s Swan Lake, Martin Schläpfer’s Sleeping Beauty
and John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias are back. At the Vienna Volksoper Pierre Lacotte’s Coppélia
opens the ballet season and invites to visit with the whole family, as does Iolanta and the Nutcracker. The
multi-part programmes Shifting Symmetries (van Manen/Forsythe/Balanchine) at the State Opera and The
Moon wears a white shirt (Schläpfer/Armitage/Taylor) at the Volksoper present ballet of the 20th and 21st
centuries in all its fascinating variety. In June 2025, Mahler, live returns to the State Opera for two exclusive
performances – the programme with Hans van Manen’s video ballet Live and Martin Schläpfer’s first
creation for the Vienna State Ballet 4, which opened his directorship in 2020 and which is also available
on DVD.
In May 2025, a guest performance will take the Vienna State Ballet to Spain, where it will present Hans
van Manen’s Concertante and Martin Schläpfer’s 4 at the Teatro Real Madrid.
The 2024/2025 season will see continuity in the conductor’s roster: artists such as Christoph Altstaedt,
Paul Connelly, Alfred Eschwé, Christoph Koncz, Patrick Lange, Jean-Michaël Lavoie, Markus Lehtinen,
Robert Reimer, Matthew Rowe and Johannes Witt will return to the orchestra podiums of the Vienna State
Opera and Vienna Volksoper, while KaiserRequiem will bring an intensive collaboration with Omer Meir
Wellber.
In 2024/2025, the repertoire will be accompanied again by a varied supporting programme, including
introductory matinees, ballet workshops, dance podiums and the film series DANCE MOVIES. Members
of the Vienna State Ballet’s Circle of Friends will once again be able to gain special insights into the work
of the company with exclusive rehearsal visits, backstage and workshop tours, artist talks and much more.

BALLET: PREMIERES

THE WINTER’S TALE
19 November 2024
Venue Vienna State Opera
Music Joby Talbot
Choreography Christopher Wheeldon
Conductor Christoph Koncz / Johannes Witt
Vienna State Ballet
Orchestra & Stage Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera

KAISERREQUIEM
25 January 2025
Venue Vienna Volksoper
Music Viktor Ullmann & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Choreography & Director Andreas Heise
Conductor Omer Meir Wellber / Keren Kargalitsky
The Death / The Loudspeaker / Bass Josef Wagner
Emperor Overall Daniel Schmutzhard
Harlequin Seiyoung Kim
A Soldier / Tenor JunHo You
The Drummer / Alto Wallis Giunta
Bubikopf / Soprano Rebecca Nelsen
Vienna State Ballet
Choir of the Vienna Volksoper
Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper

PATHÉTIQUE
9 April 2025
Venue Vienna State Opera
DIVERTIMENTO NO. 15
Music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Choreography George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust
SUMMERSPACE
Music Morton Feldman
Choreography Merce Cunningham
© The Merce Cunningham Trust
Piano Joonas Ahonen & Johannes Piirto
PATHÉTIQUE (URAUFFÜHRUNG)
Music Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky & George Frideric Handel
Choreography Martin Schläpfer
Harpsichord Stephen Hopkins
Conductor Christoph Altstaedt / Jean-Michaël Lavoie

KREATIONEN
14 June 2025
Venue Vienna Volksoper
AEREA (WORLD PREMIERE)
Music Michael Gordon
Choreography Alessandra Corti
HIGH (WORLD PREMIERE)
Music Lisa Streich
Choreography Louis Stiens
M TO M (WORLD PREMIERE)
Music Max Bruch
Choreography Martin Chaix
Violin Benjamin Herzl
Conductor Jean-Michaël Lavoie
Vienna State Ballet
Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper

Season Booklet 2024/2025 here

The honorable John Neumeier will say farewell with Heavy Metal: For his definitely last Hamburg Ballet Days he invited Birmingham Royal Ballet with the Black Sabbath Ballet. They'll be guesting at Hamburg in July.  If you can't get the Bolshoi, take Black Sabbath 🙂 

Now this is interesting: Ballet Dortmund in Germany announces a new Bayadère for next season, "set in Hollywood in the 1920s" and choreographed by director Xin Peng Wang. Decors by Jerôme Kaplan.

https://www.theaterdo.de/produktionen/detail/la-bayadere/

English Translation of the website 

The German Dance Prize 2024 goes to choreographer Sasha Waltz. Dieter Heitkamp, head of the dance department at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts for 22 years and an important German dance teacher, is honoured with a lifetime achievement award. “explore dance”, a network for the young audiences, is honoured for outstanding development in dance. The main award is endowed with €20,000, the awards for Dieter Heitkamp and explore dance are endowed with a grant of €5,000 each. The prize ceremony will take place on Saturday, 12 October 2024 with a Gala at the Aalto-Theater in Essen.

I guess they already belong to the Cranko Foundation, but I'm not sure.  This ist what Anderson said at the press conference for the opening of the new Cranko School in 2020 about the Foundation: “Everything will then go to the school. To protect the school forever.” In another interview, he said that the Cranko Foundation has two important goals: the well-being of the school and the integrity of Cranko's ballets – so it ressembles the trusts that manage the copyrights to Balanchine’s or Jerome Robbins’s ballets. The Cranko Foundation has a board of trustees who not only manage the rights, but also care for coaches and ballet masters who work with the companies that dance Cranko’s works.