Tag Archive: Tadeusz Matacz

Respectable

July 26, 2023

“Ballet Matinee”
John Cranko School
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
July 23, 2023

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

Stuttgart’s John Cranko School presented its work to the public in two matinees this July, both hosted by the Stuttgart State Opera. I chose to see the second one, which – as part of the annual Ballet in the Park program – was also streamed live to an outdoor audience in the Schlossgarten Park right in front of the opera house. Only upon arrival I learned that nearly half of the program was identical to what the school had presented in nearby Ludwigsburg this March.

As in Ludwigsburg, the students first showed an excerpt of the second act of “The Nutcracker” (Petipa, Ivanov, and Vainonen’s choreography). This time Alice McArthur danced the Sugar Plum Fairy, and in the role of her cavalier was again Joshua Nunamaker. Both are among this year’s graduates and exemplify what I observed throughout the matinee: Cranko School students deliver precise positions, clean lines, strong jumps, clear accentuation, solid balances, and – above all – they are fearless. Not a single student failed to rise to the occasion (I admired, above all, Keisuke Miyazaki in his “Swan Lake” variation and Alexei Orohovsky in a variation from “Paquita”). (more…)

A Silver Lining

March 9, 2023

John Cranko School
Forum Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg, Germany
March 04, 2023

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

It is no secret that Germany has been heading towards multiple calamities for some time. This has inevitably left its mark on theaters in many ways – and I’ve come to expect less-than-excellence when watching German performances of ballet. The performance by Stuttgart’s John Cranko School as guests in nearby Ludwigsburg, however, made me sigh with relief. Within minutes, it became clear that Tadeusz Matacz, the school’s longtime director, has kept the standard high. He chose to present a tasteful, primarily classical program devoid of the insipid vulgarity that I’ve encountered elsewhere. By sidelining the trends of today, Matacz takes an approach that some might discount as reactionary and outdated – but the results speak otherwise. His students seemed fabulously comfortable onstage – focused, technically strong, and convincing as actors. The sold-out auditorium cheered them on enthusiastically. (more…)

Impressive!

July 23, 2017

“Ballet Matinée”
John Cranko School
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
July 16, 2017

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2017 by Ilona Landgraf

Stuttgart’s John Cranko School has an excellent reputation in the ballet world. In a recent interview, Dutch National Ballet’s Marijn Rademaker talked about the excellent teachers in Stuttgart. I saw quite a few end of the year school performances, but this year’s matinée made me shake my head in disbelief. What outstanding talents has Tadeusz Matacz been training under his roof!

The students’ performance of Leonid Lavrovsky’s “Classical Symphony” could have vied with proper companies. The boys jumped spick and span, landed from tour en l’airs nicely in sync and partnered smoothly. Short Motomi Kiyota of the 6th class was especially intriguing. He soared through the air as if it were his natural space of being. The girls dabbed the choreography onstage, defying weight and gravity and confidently tossed out fouettes. “Classical Symphony” left one with an elevated feeling.

They proved they can also excel in contemporary pieces in “Alrededor No Hay Nada”, new choreography by Goyo Montero, artistic director of the company of the State Theater Nuremberg. (more…)

Conversations with Marijn Rademaker and Jozef Varga

July 14, 2017

Dutch National Ballet
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
June, 2017

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2017 by Ilona Landgraf

The beautiful opera house and national ballet company are as welcoming and open as Amsterdam itself. During my last visit for the premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s “Shostakovich Trilogy” in mid-June, I took the opportunity to talk with two principal dancers, Marijn Rademaker and Jozef Varga, about their career and their plans for the future.

Rademaker, a Dutchman, returned home in 2015 after many years with Stuttgart Ballet. We met in a cafe opposite the opera house a few hours before the premiere. Rademaker’s answers are in italics. (more…)

Happy Birthday State Ballet School Berlin

December 7, 2016

“Jubilee-Gala”
State Ballet School Berlin
Schiller Theater
Berlin, Germany
December 03, 2016

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2016 by Ilona Landgraf

Birthdays are best celebrated with friends. To make its 65th jubilee a real big party, the State Ballet School Berlin invited national and international guests to share the stage in a birthday gala. Those were: Stuttgart’s John Cranko School, the School of the Hamburg Ballet, the Ballet Academy of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich; and from abroad the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Danish Ballet School, St. Petersburg’s Vaganova Ballet Academy and, what I was most pleased with, the Cuban National Ballet School, hardly ever seen on these shores. Contacts with Havana are about to be intensified, Marek Rózycki, acting artistic director of the State Ballet School Berlin later told me in a telephone call. He also revealed that the guest list was intended to be even longer. The Schools from ABT, the Bolshoi, Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet London and the Dance Academy Mannheim would have loved to participate but were wrapped up in their own performances. Trouble with visas had been an issue as well. (more…)

A Conversation with Tadeusz Matacz

September 19, 2016

John Cranko School
Stuttgart, Germany
September, 2016

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2016 by Ilona Landgraf

The Cranko School is one of the most renowned ballet schools of the world, a talent pool known for excellence and, according to surveys at the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP), the second most favored school among students after London’s Royal Ballet School. When I arrived in Stuttgart in mid-September to find out about the school’s formula of success, I was surprised. Located in the Urbanstrasse, around 0,6 miles distance from the State Opera, the five-story building is unremarkable in the row of houses. Only a metal plate next to the entrance reveals that this is the school John Cranko founded in December 1971, ten years after he had taken over the reins of Stuttgart Ballet. (more…)

A Little Summit

July 27, 2016 0 Comments

Stuttgart Ballet’s Festival Weeks: “John Cranko School Gala”
John Cranko School
Stuttgart State Opera
Stuttgart, Germany
July 23, 2016

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2016 by Ilona Landgraf

Last Saturday’s gala of the John Cranko School was only expected to be the overture for the company’s big final gala on the following day. Yet it proved to be a treat in itself.
How often is new choreography made on students? On the occasion of the Ballet Festival Weeks celebrating Reid Anderson’s twentieth jubilee as artistic director of Stuttgart Ballet, four former graduates choreographed to the music of Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”, each one responsible for one season. Marco Goecke’s “A Spell on You”, also created for the Cranko School and premiered earlier this year, was shown again. Guest students from schools in Paris, London, Toronto and Hamburg allowed one to compare training, but first and foremost the event highlighted a feeling of togetherness. The gala was streamed live to the outdoor audience of “Ballet in the Park” in front of the opera house. (more…)

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

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

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…)

Stuttgart Ballet’s Front Line Dancers

July 14, 2014

Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart, Germany
March 2014

“Stuttgart Ballet” – the name conjures memories. The company became famous overnight in 1969 as ‘The Stuttgart Ballet Miracle’ following its visit to New York’s ‘Met’ (The Metropolitan Opera House). Luminous ballet stars like Marcia Haydée, Richard Cragun, Ray Barra, Egon Madsen, Vladimir Klos and Birgit Keil shaped the company. At the heart of things was John Cranko. The late director’s imprint remains present to this day on the walls of Stuttgart’s Opera House but above all on the minds and hearts of everyone. Since 1996, Reid Anderson has been at the helm of Germany’s flagship ballet troupe, which flourishes still today at the forefront of the dance world. Who are the dancers shaping Stuttgart Ballet now? Here are a few medallion portraits.

Alicia Amatriain, a Spaniard, currently is Stuttgart’s most versatile ballerina. In her prime technically, the thirty-three year old’s extensive repertory encompasses the most diverse of characters. The multifaceted Amatriain always immerses herself deeply in a role’s psychology, be it that of the hilarious Katharina (in Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew) or the innocent Desdemona (in John Neumeier’s Othello). Amatriain intensifies dramatic atmospheres and stirs spectators’ emotions. Not only classic characters but modern women belong to Amatriain’s territory. She has relished working on new creations with many a choreographer (Marco Goecke, Demis Volpi, Christian Spuck and Douglas Lee among them). (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…)