The Ballet History in Germany

After the second World War,the Ballet art in Germany has developed fast.

In 1961,choreographer John Cranko was appointed ballet director of Stuttgart Ballet,heralding a new era in the history of the company.With three legendary new works he ingeniously renewed the genre of the full-length narrative ballet:Romeo and Juliet,Onegin and The Taming of the Shrew.

Hamburg Ballet,also known as the Hamburg State Opera Ballet:one of the first examples of German civic opera,the Hamburg Goosemarket Opera,established in 1678,offered its clients regular ballet performances.The company grew in size and ability when Rolf Liebermann was appointed general manager of the Hamburg State Opera in 1959.When van Dyk left in 1970,standards deteriorated until John Neumeier was appointed ballet director in 1973.Since then,the company has multiplied its performances acquired a broad and varied repertory of classics and contemporary works,gained some performing spaces outside the opera house.Neumeier`s flair for the dramatics and the original clearly shows in his unconventional stagings of some of the classics.The panoramic view of his Mahler cycle and the thematic groupings of his mixed programs also reflect an original vision.Many of John Neumeier works for the Hamburg Ballet have been large-scale undertakings.

Since the mid- twentieth century ,William Forsythe and Jirí Kylián had an impact on the development of Ballet in Germany.

In 1984 William Forsythe was appointed künstlerischer Direktor des Frankfurter Balletts.His production has entered the repertory of more than ten companies worldwide,including the national Ballet of Canada,the Australian Ballet,the Paris Opera Ballet,the New York Ballet,Royal Ballet and so on.

Jirí Kylián (Prague, 1947) started his dance training when he was nine years old at the ballet school of the Prague National Theatre. From the age of fifteen he studied at the Prague Conservatory. Since the mid eighties Kylián's artistic view and style have changed considerably towards abstraction and surrealistic images - examples begin with his 'Black and White Program', with works such as No More Play, Petite Mort, Sarabande, Falling Angels, Sweet Dreams, Whereabouts Unknown - or his dance production reflecting on a Japanese fairy tale entitled Kaguyahime.

Jirí Kylián has been recognized as the outstanding modern ballet director since Kurt Jooss.

At that time,the Democratic Republic of Germany,there have been fourty two Music Theaters with Ballet,Berlin State Opera,Leipzig State Opera,Dresden State Opera,State Hi Opera Ballet were more influential.