Portrait

The Staatsballett Berlin was founded in 2004 as a result of the reunification of the former ballet ensembles of Berlin’s three opera houses – the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Komische Oper Berlin and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. The consolidation made the Staatsballett the biggest company in Germany (81 dancers) and the only classically trained ballet ensemble under the umbrella of the Stiftung Oper in Berlin. From 2004 to 2014, Vladimir Malakhov was the company's first artistic director, followed by Nacho Duato (2014 to 2018). For the 2018/19 season, Johannes Öhman took over as Director of the Staatsballett Berlin; for the 2019/20 season, he was joined by Sasha Waltz in a co-directorship. Dr. Christiane Theobald took over as provisional artistic director in August 2020. From the 23/24 season on, Christian Spuck take over as the company's new artistic director.