BERLIN The Staatsballett Berlin celebrates its anniversary with the Gala - 20 years of the Staatsallett Berlin at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on July 7, 2024. The entire ensemble will present a festive program featuring well-known works from the repertoire as well as some premieres, accompanied by the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The event will be moderated by Artistic Director Christian Spuck and Petra Gute.

Founded on 01 January 2004, Staatsballett Berlin has performed around 2000 shows for more than 2 million spectators, with 72 premiere evenings, many of which were multi-part productions, brought to the stage. Over the past two decades, the ensemble has presented an extensive and diverse repertoire ranging from romantically classical to radically modern on the stages of Berlin's three opera houses and other venues. The anniversary gala wants to celebrate this together with the public.  

In popular gala pieces like George Balanchine's Tschaikowsky Pas de Deux, danced by Iana Salenko and Murilo de Oliveira, and also William Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, performed for the first time by Polina Semionova and Martin ten Kortenaar, the soloists showcase their skills. Elisa Carrillo Cabrera and Giovanni Princic dance an excerpt from the audience favourite Caravaggio by Mauro Bigonzetti.

Skew-Whiff, a rapid piece by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot that humorously experiments with different types of movement, will be seen for the first time. Also new to the Staatsballett is Aria, a mysteriously intricate pas de deux by Briton Douglas Lee, danced by Ksenia Ovsyanick and David Soares. In the piece COME BACK by Samantha Lynch, who has been discovered as a choreographer in recent years, five dancers explore a movable wooden box. Additionally, Artistic Director Christian Spuck is creating a miniature for six dancers to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven.

In large group scenes from the repertoire, the entire ensemble appears. Additionally, two well-known companions honour the evening: Dinu Tamazlacaru and Marian Walter, both former principal dancers who shaped the company for over 20 years, will showcase their skills for this festive occasion. Furthermore, Elisa Carrillo Cabrera, long-time principal dancer of the Staatsballett Berlin, will bid farewell to the ensemble and the audience on this evening.

The gala will be hosted by Petra Gute and Christian Spuck, with Maria Seletskaja, once a soloist in the Staatsballett Berlin ensemble and now a sought-after conductor, taking on the musical direction of the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. 

Those who want to learn anecdotes and background stories from the past 20 years have the opportunity to do so in a special edition of the Ballet Talk in the morning with former mayor of Berlin and longtime supporter of the company, Klaus Wowereit, former managing director and acting artistic director, Dr. Christiane Theobald, dance journalist Dr. Dorion Weickmann, and the long-standing ensemble members Polina Semionova, Bettina Thiel, and Michael Banzhaf, as well as Christian Spuck.

Aria 
Choreography Douglas Lee
Music Michael Gordon
Dancers Ksenia Ovsyanick, David Soares

Blake Works I, «The Colour in Anything», «I Hope My Life»
Choreography William Forsythe
Music James Blake
Dancers Jan Casier, Gustavo Chalub, Aurora Dickie, Alexei Orlenco, Haruka Sassa, David Soares, Michelle Willems und Ensemble

Caravaggio Auszug
Choreography Mauro Bigonzetti
Music Bruno Moretti nach Claudio Monteverdi
Dancers Elisa Carrillo Cabrera, Giovanni Princic

COME BACK 
Choreography Samantha Lynch
Music Joey McNamara, Antonio Vivaldi, Bobby McFerrin, Luke Howard
Dancers Achille De Groeve, Danielle Muir, Anthony Tette, Meiri Maeda, Sarah Hees-Hochster

In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated Auszug
Choreography William Forsythe
Music Thom Willems
Dancers Polina Semionova, Martin ten Kortenaar

Grand Pas Classique
Choreography Victor Gsovsky
Music Daniel François Esprit Auber
Dancers Haruka Sassa, Martin ten Kortenaar

Uraufführung N.N. 
Choreography Christian Spuck
Music Ludwig van Beethoven

Dancers Weronika Frodyma, Emma Antrobus, Mark Geilings, Alexandre Cagnat, Cohen Aitchison-Dugas, Loïck Pireaux

Les Bourgeois 
Choreography Ben van Cauwenbergh
Music Jacques Brel
Dancers Dinu Tamazlacaru (als Gast)  

Schwanensee Pas de deux «Black Swan» 
Choreography Patrice Bart nach Marius Petipa
Music Peter I. Tschaikowsky
Dancers Iana Salenko, Marian Walter (als Gast)

Skew-Whiff 
Choreography Sol León & Paul Lightfoot
Music Gioachino Rossini
Dancers Matthew Knight, Fiona McGee, Théo Just, Anthony Tette

Tschaikowsky-Pas-de-Deux 
Choreography George Balanchine
Music Peter I. Tschaikowsky
Dancers Iana Salenko, Murilo de Oliveira

Tué

Choreography Marco Goecke
Music Barbara
Dancers Elisa Carrillo Cabrera

Musical Direction Maria Seletskaja

Moderation Petra Gute, Christian Spuck

Dancers of Staatsballett Berlin

Orchestra of Deutsche Oper Berlin

Performance

07 July 2024, 18.00 Uhr

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Tickets: 26 – 136 Euro

With support by the Manfred Strohscheer Stiftung as Platinum Partner.