The Staatsballett Berlin

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The Staatsballett Berlin (german), also known as The Berlin State Ballet is the principal ballet company in the German capital of Berlin. It was formed in 2004 as a result of a merger of the city's three opera houses' separate ballet companies at a period when the city was facing financial difficulties. With about 90 dancers, it is one of the biggest ballet companies in Western Europe.[1]

Dancer and choreographer Vladimir Malakhov, the Berlin State Ballet's first general and artistic director, was a director of the ballet at the Berlin Opera until the two companies combined to form the Berlin State Ballet. He was the company's director for ten years, and during that period he established a blended repertoire of classical and contemporary choreography. Malakhov, a star dancer himself, was not only in charge, but still performing.

After Malakhov, Nacho Duato, a renowned choreographer and ballet director, took over as Artistic Director of the Staatsballett Berlin in the 2014/2015 season. He not only brings a wealth of expertise, but he will also be incorporating his own well regarded choreographies into the company's work.[2]

Nacho Duato takes over as Artistic Director from Russian star dancer Vladimir Malakhov, who is known for his stage charm as well as his gravity-defying leaps that leave crowds gasping in awe. Malakhov said his goodbyes to the company with two final performances in Caravaggio and Tschaikowsky in June 2014.[3]

In September 2016, Johannes Öhman was announced as the new artistic director, succeeding Nacho Duato. But, not long after his appointment, Johannes Öhman announced that he will be leaving the Berlin State Ballet in January 2021 and joining Dansens Hus, a Swedish contemporary dance organization.[4] [5] Following Johannes Öhman's announcement of his departure, the company is currently under the interim leadership of Dr. Christiane Theobald, a former co-artistic director.

Program

The dancers of the company perform the complete ballet repertoire. All of Tchaikovsky's glorious ballets can be seen on Berlin's stages, including such classics as Giselle and Swan Lake. With performances of Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker still on sale, many of Tchaikovsky's magnificent ballets can be seen on Berlin's stages. However, the program contains both neo-classical and contemporary productions, such as Nacho Duato's triple bill Duato | Kylian | Naharin or Ghosts, a 2014 production based on Ibsen's popular play of the same name.

Chloé Lopes Gomes @pickledthoughtz
Chloé Lopes Gomes is the Staatsballett's first Black female dancer. @pickledthoughtz

Racial Issue

As the first Black female dancer in the Staatsballett Berlin when she joined in 2018, Chloé Lopes Gomes shared the humiliating and brazen discrimination she claims she faced as a ballet dancer. Gomes' claim that she was forced to whiten her skin for Swan Lake reached an especially raw nerve with dancers of color all over the world. The tradition of painting or powdering the skin white for full-length classical works is less common in the United States, but it is still common in European companies.[6]

She claims the bigotry she encountered at the company started at an audition, where a classmate informed her of a racial joke made by a ballet coach. According to the coach, Lopes Gomes is very talented, but the company does not employ her because she is black, and black girls in the corps de ballet are not especially desirable. "She treated me unfairly because of my skin color," Lopes Gomes said.

When Lopes Gomes was offered the role, she was shocked to find that she would be taught by the same ballet mistress who, she said, had made racial comments about hiring a Black dancer at her interview, and the verbal harassment persisted.During the rehearsals for a production of "La Bayadère," she remembers the ballet mistress originally refusing to give her the white veil that the other dancers were given. "I won't give it to you because this veil is white and you are black," Lopes Gomes explained, "and the ballet mistress began to laugh in my face, in front of my colleagues."

When Lopes Gomes first joined the group, she was told she wouldn't have to whiten her skin for a role, which is a controversial tradition in classical ballets like "Swan Lake." After Öhman left the company in January, the ballet mistress told her she would have to whiten her face, according to Lopes Gomes.

After revealing the discriminatory actions she witnessed in October, Lopes Gomes said her contract with the ballet company will not be extended when it expires in July 2021. "The official explanation was that I don't hold the line in the corps de ballet," Lopes Gomes explained. "I'm not artistic, and I'm not a good dancer."[7]

Apology

Any level of discrimination or racism in the group is intolerable, according to a statement posted on the Staatsballett Berlin website. Themis, a confidence center for victims of sexual assault and abuse, and Diversity Art Culture, a Berlin-based project management office for diversity advancement, as well as the anti-discrimination officer of a Berlin-based theatre and the Senate Department for Culture, began discussions with Staatsballett Berlin shortly after the allegations were made public. Furthermore, all Staatsballett Berlin workers would be required to attend mandatory workshops and seminars.

Staatsballett Berlin also mentioned in their declaration that they are well aware that the ballet practice has historically excluded people of color. In the future, it will be the company's responsibility to double as a mirror for humanity, reflecting it in all of it's diversity.

External Link

Read Staatsballett Berlin Official Statement: RACISM AT THE STAATSBALLETT BERLIN
Chloé Lopes Gomes profile

References

  1. The Berlin State Ballet. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  2. Visit Berlin. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  3. Malakhov Out, Duato In at Staatsballett, Pointe Magazine, 29 November 2001. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  4. Escoyne, Courtney. Sasha Waltz and Johannes Öhman to Leave Staatsballett Berlin, Dance Magazine, 22 January 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  5. STATEMENTS BY JOHANNES ÖHMAN AND SASHA WALTZ ON THE TERMINATION OF THE DIRECTORSHIP OF THE STAATSBALLETT BERLIN, staatsballett-berlin.de, 27 January 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  6. Howard, Theresa Ruth.What the Staatsballett Berlin Case Tells Us About the Power of Artistic Staff, Dance Magazine, 16 December 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  7. Hosie, Rachel.A Black ballerina says she was told to whiten her skin for 'Swan Lake' at a major German dance company, Insider, 15 December 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.