Ballet Schools | Landgraf on Dance

Promising Prospects

May 20, 2016 0 Comments

“The John Cranko School in the Opera House”
John Cranko School
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
May 15, 2016

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2016 by Ilona Landgraf

While Stuttgart Ballet was touring Salzburg their home stage housed the students of the John Cranko School. This year they perform three times. I saw the second performance on the Whitsunday weekend. A third is scheduled for June 26.
Though due to the beginning of the holiday season a few seats in the opera house remained empty, the students were warmly received by the audience. Tadeusz Matacz, the school’s long-standing director, had arranged a program of tried and trusted pieces around a novelty: a world premiere by Stuttgart Ballet’s resident choreographer Marco Goecke. From the young students of the 1st class to the older graduates of the two-year Academy schooling, many had a chance to show their talents. (more…)

Some Strong Personalities

August 3, 2015

“Ballet Matinee”
John Cranko School
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
July 26, 2015

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2015 by Ilona Landgraf

On two Sundays in July students from Stuttgart’s John Cranko School took possession of the huge stage of the opera house to demonstrate their abilities in a matinee. This year’s, described as a “journey through epochs and dance styles” by the school’s director Tadeusz Matacz, offered a mix of classical and modern pieces, group dances and solos and familiar pieces as well as fresh ones. Not merely a succession of highlights but a sound program that offered the students a chance to show off their talents. On July 26 the matinee was broadcast live on a video screen in the park in front of the opera house attracting a large number of outdoor viewers. (more…)

A Colorless Mix

November 15, 2014

“Gala 2014”
Dance Foundation Birgit Keil
Forum Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg, Germany
November 07, 2014

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2014 by Ilona Landgraf

Birgit Keil, ex-prima ballerina of Stuttgart Ballet, regularly tours nearby Ludwigsburg to present her work to her former home audience. Since 1997 Keil is director and professor of Mannheim’s Academy of Dance, six years later she also took over the helm of the Baden State Ballet Karlsruhe.

The gala presented both troupes, the Karlsruhe company as well as talented dancers of the Academy. A huge part of the program was reserved for the usual array of guest artists. (more…)

Stuttgart’s Talent Pool

July 10, 2014

“Ballet Matinee”
John Cranko School of Ballet
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
July 06, 2014

Stuttgart’s John Cranko School has a top notch reputation worldwide. Its director, Tadeusz Matacz, regularly crisscrosses the globe in search of talent. Past ex- perience testifies that Matacz has an instinct for picking the up-and-coming generation. What he and his team of teachers turn the juniors into is pretty impressive. Graduates of the Cranko School have a fair chance of getting engagements. Mostly they feed into the Stuttgart Ballet. This year Reid Anderson will take eight of them into the ensemble. Provided with solid technique, they usually stand their ground from the start on the Opera’s stage. (more…)