I figured I’d continue on my current trend of Berlin’s performing arts. As I mentioned previously, I will be in Berlin for the first two weeks of August doing a contemporary dance program at the State School of Berlin. I want to become familiar with the local companies and their repertoires. Interestingly enough, before 2004, each opera house has its own ballet company. Today the Staatsballett Berlin has become the single professional ballet institution in the city. Here is a bit of the history.
- 1742: Frederick the Great began his court opera under the name of Staatsoper Unter den Linden with included a ballet company.
- 1856: Paul Baglioni, descendant of the famous dancing-family, became director. His visionary leadership made dance in Berlin rank equal to Paris.
- 1920s: Deutsch Oper Berlin as a contemporary dance company. The company’s most known artistic director was Tatjana Gsovsky in the 1950s.
- 1951: The first ballet school in Berlin was established to train their own dancers instead of importing dancers from Paris.
- 1966: Tom Schilling brought his modern dance choreography, Komische Oper, to Berlin for almost thirty years.
- 2004: The three former ballet companies were transferred into one single institution even though they continue to perform in all three opera houses.
