Berlin State Ballet

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗

The Berlin State Ballet (German: Staatsballett Berlin) is the principal ballet company in the German capital of Berlin. It was created in 2004 through a merger of the separate ballet companies of the city's three opera houses at a time when the city was going through a financial crisis. It is one of the largest ballet companies in Western Europe with approximately 90 dancers.

Since 2004, the Berlin State Ballet, alongside the Berlin State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Komische Oper Berlin comprise the Berlin Opera Foundation.[1] The Berlin State Ballet inaugural general and artistic director, dancer and choreographer Vladimir Malakhov, was a director of the ballet of the Berlin Opera before the companies merged to form the Berlin State Ballet.[2][3] He led the company for ten years, creating a mixed repertoire of classical titles and contemporary choreography. A star dancer himself, Malakhov was not only managing, but also performing with the company.[4]

Leadership

In 2014, Nacho Duato became general and artistic director at the Berlin State Ballet with an initial five years term. He created new choreography for the company, and oversaw restagings of some of his signature ballets, created in Madrid, St. Petersburg and Munich, in Berlin. In 2016, Michael Müller, Mayor of Berlin, announced that the city will not extend Duato's contract with the company when it expires in 2019.

For the 2018/19 season, Johannes Öhman took over as Director of the Staatsballett Berlin. For the 2019/20 season, Öhman was joined by Sasha Waltz in a co-directorship. Christiane Theobald took over as provisional artistic director in August 2020. Christian Spuck followed as permanent artistic director from the 2023/24 season.[5]

Ensemble 2025/2026

Principal dancers

*Principal Guest Artist

Name Nationality Training Other companies

(inc. guest performances)

Weronyka Frodyma[6]  Poland Ballet School Warsaw

School of American Ballet

 Polish National Ballet
Martin ten Kortenaar[7]  Canada Canada's National Ballet School National Ballet of Canada

Dutch National Ballet

Haruka Sassa[8]  Japan Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy Tokyo City Ballet

Theatre Dortmund Royal Swedish Ballet Norwegian National Ballet

Iana Salenko*[9]  Ukraine Pysarev Ballet School, Donetsk English National Ballet
Polina Semionova*[10]  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Academy American Ballet Theatre
David Soares[11]  Brazil Regina and Ofelia Corvello Ballet School

Bolshoi Ballet Academy

 Bolshoi Ballet

Soloists

  • Alexandre Cagnat
  • Jan Casier
  • Aurora Dickie
  • Matthew Knight
  • Meiri Maeda
  • Danielle Muir
  • Murilo de Oliveira
  • Alexei Orlenco
  • Rafaelle Queiroz
  • Kalle Wigle
  • Michelle Willems

Demi-Soloists

  • Cohen Aitchison-Dugas
  • Emma Antrobus
  • Alexander Bird
  • Bruna Cantanhede
  • Marina Duarte
  • Mark Geilings
  • Gregor Glocke
  • Julia Golitsina
  • Sarah Hees-Hochster
  • Cameron Hunter
  • Cécile Kaltenbach
  • Marina Kanno
  • Andrea Marino
  • Ross Martinson
  • Fiona McGee
  • Leroy Mokgatle
  • Jisoo Park
  • Loïck Pireaux
  • Eloïse Sacilotto
  • Vera Segova
  • Alizée Sicre
  • George Susman
  • Anthony Tette
  • Clotilde Tran
  • Dominic Whitbrook
  • Shuailun Wu

Corps de Ballet

  • Bárbara Andrade
  • Jessica Beardell
  • Matthys De Beer
  • Giacomo Beraldo
  • Paulina Rosa Blum
  • Yoko Callegari
  • Chloe Capulong
  • Filipa Cavaco
  • Gustavo Chalub
  • Ailin Cheliktash
  • Poppy Florence Downing
  • Grégoire Duchevet
  • Timothy Dutson
  • Jack Easton
  • Victor Gomes
  • Suren Grigorian
  • Achille De Groeve
  • Désirée Guler
  • Wolf Hoeyberghs
  • Mari Kawanishi
  • Vivian Assal Koohnavard
  • Riccardo Mambelli
  • Yuka Matsumoto
  • Jordan Mullin
  • Minori Nakashima
  • Filippo Pagani
  • Blanka Paldi
  • GIovanni Princic
  • Alicia Ruben
  • Renée Spaltenstein
  • Erick Swolkin
  • Lewis Turner
  • Olmo Verbeek Martínez
  • Wei Wang
  • Inara Wheeler
  • Dominik White Slavkovský

Character Dancers

  • Martina Böckman[12]

References

  1. "Houses: Staatsballett Berlin". Oper in Berlin. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. Team, Pointe (28 November 2001). "The Man In Charge". Pointe Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  3. "Call Board". Pointe. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  4. "Vladimir Malakhov". www.staatsballett-berlin.de. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  5. "Staatsballett Berlin". Oper in Berlin. Retrieved 13 February 2024. With the start of the 2023/24 season, Christian Spuck takes over as Artistic Director of the Staatsballett Berlin.
  6. "Weronika Frodyma - Persons - Staatsballet Berlin". Staatsballet Berlin. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  7. "Martin ten Kortenaar - Persons - Staatsballett Berlin". Staatsballet Berlin. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  8. "Haruka Sassa - Persons - Staatsballett Berlin". Staatsballett Berlin. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  9. "Iana Salenko - Persons - Staatsballett Berlin". Staatsballett Berlin. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  10. "Polina Semionova - Persons - Staatsballett Berlin". Staatsballett Berlin. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  11. "David Soares - Persons - Staatsballett Berlin". Staatsballet Berlin. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  12. "Ensemble & Team". Retrieved 19 June 2026.