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Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck after the eponymous fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann
New version of the scenario by Claus Spahn
Music by Pjotr Tschaikowski (1840-1893)

Choreography Christian Spuck Musical conductor Paul Connelly Stage design Rufus Didwiszus Costumes Buki Shiff Lighting designer Martin Gebhardt Chorus Master Janko Kastelic Dramaturgy Michael Küster, Claus Spahn
Drosselmeiers Neffe / Nussknacker / Prinz
Clown (Akkordeon)
Ina Callejas
Prinzessin Pirlipat
Frau Mauserinks
Mathilde Allard
Schneekönigin
Schneekönig
Blumenwalzer Solo
Blumenwalzer Solo
Drosselmeier
Drosselmeiers Neffe / Nussknacker / Prinz
Clown (Akkordeon)
Ina Callejas
Prinzessin Pirlipat
Frau Mauserinks
Schneekönigin
Zuckerfee
Blumenwalzer Solo
Blumenwalzer Solo
Drosselmeiers Neffe / Nussknacker / Prinz
Clown (Akkordeon)
Ina Callejas
Prinzessin Pirlipat
Frau Mauserinks
Mathilde Allard
Schneekönigin
Schneekönig
Blumenwalzer Solo
Blumenwalzer Solo
Drosselmeiers Neffe / Nussknacker / Prinz
Clown (Akkordeon)
Ina Callejas
Prinzessin Pirlipat
Frau Mauserinks
Mathilde Allard
Schneekönigin
Schneekönig
Blumenwalzer Solo
Blumenwalzer Solo
Drosselmeiers Neffe / Nussknacker / Prinz
Clown (Akkordeon)
Ina Callejas
Prinzessin Pirlipat
Frau Mauserinks
Schneekönigin
Zuckerfee
Blumenwalzer Solo
Blumenwalzer Solo
Drosselmeiers Neffe / Nussknacker / Prinz
Clown (Akkordeon)
Ina Callejas
Prinzessin Pirlipat
Frau Mauserinks
Schneekönigin
Zuckerfee
Blumenwalzer Solo
Blumenwalzer Solo
Drosselmeiers Neffe / Nussknacker / Prinz
Clown (Akkordeon)
Ina Callejas
Prinzessin Pirlipat
Frau Mauserinks
Mathilde Allard
Schneekönigin
Blumenwalzer Solo
Blumenwalzer Solo
Drosselmeiers Neffe / Nussknacker / Prinz
Clown (Akkordeon)
Ina Callejas
Prinzessin Pirlipat
Frau Mauserinks
Schneekönigin
Zuckerfee
Blumenwalzer Solo
Blumenwalzer Solo
Drosselmeiers Neffe / Nussknacker / Prinz
Clown (Akkordeon)
Ina Callejas
Prinzessin Pirlipat
Frau Mauserinks
Mathilde Allard
Schneekönigin
Blumenwalzer Solo
Blumenwalzer Solo

Duration 2 H. 15 Min. incl. intermission after 1st part after approx. 1 H. Introduction 45 min before the performance.

Past performances

November 2022

Sun

20

Nov
20.00

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck, Ballet subscription Big

Fri

25

Nov
19.30

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck, Combo subscription

Sun

27

Nov
20.00

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck

Tue

29

Nov
19.00

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck, Tuesday subscription C

December 2022

Fri

02

Dec
19.00

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck, Friday subscription A

Sat

03

Dec
19.00

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck, Good mood subscription

Tue

06

Dec
19.00

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck

Thu

08

Dec
19.00

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck, Thursday subscription B

Sat

10

Dec
19.00

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Ballet by Christian Spuck

Good to know

Abstract

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Abstract

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Trailer «Nussknacker und Mausekönig» - Ballett Zürich

Gallery

 

Photos «Nussknacker und Mausekönig»

Programmbuch

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Synopsis

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Synopsis

Nussknacker und Mausekönig

Biographies


Christian Spuck,

Christian Spuck

Christian Spuck comes from Marburg and was trained at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart. He began his dance career with Jan Lauwers’ Needcompany and Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Ensemble Rosas. In 1995 he became a member of the Stuttgart Ballet and served as the company’s resident choreographer from 2001 to 2012. In Stuttgart he created fifteen world premieres, including the story ballet Lulu. Eine Monstretragödie after Frank Wedekind, Der Sandmann and Das Fräulein von S. after E.T.A. Hoffmann.

Christian Spuck has also worked with numerous renowned ballet companies in Europe and the USA. The Return of Ulysses (guest performance at the Edinburgh Festival) was created for the Royal Ballet of Flanders, and Woyzeck (after Georg Büchner) was premiered at the Norwegian National Ballet Oslo. The ballet Die Kinder, premiered at the Aalto Ballett Theater Essen, was nominated for the «Prix Benois de la Danse». His ballet Leonce und Lena (also after Georg Büchner) likewise premiered in Essen and subsequently was taken over by the Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal and the Stuttgart Ballet. The world premiere of Poppea//Poppea for Gauthier Dance at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart was voted one of the ten most successful dance productions worldwide by the magazine Dance Europe in 2010 and was awarded the German Theatre Prize Der Faust in 2011 as well as the Italian Danza/Danza Award. Christian Spuck is also active in the field of opera. Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice at the Staatsoper Stuttgart (2009) was followed by Verdi’s Falstaff at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden (2010), Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust (2014) and Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer (2017) at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. March 2021, his ballet Orlando after Virginia Wolf premiered at the Bolshoi theatre in Moscow.

Since the 2012/13 season, Christian Spuck has been director of Ballett Zürich. Thus far, his Romeo und Julia, Leonce und Lena, Woyzeck, Der Sandmann, Messa da Requiem (a co-production of the Oper and Ballett Zürich), Nussknacker und Mausekönig and Dornröschen have been shown here. The ballet Anna Karenina after Lew Tolstoy, which premiered in Zurich in 2014, was taken over by the Norwegian National Ballet Oslo and the Stanislavski Theatre in Moscow in 2016, as well as by the Korean National Ballet in Seoul, and the Bavarian State Ballet in 2017. For Winterreise, which premiered in October 2018 in Zurich, he was awarded with the «Prix Benois de la Danse 2019». In autumn 2019, he staged Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (The Little Match Girl) by Helmut Lachenmann with Ballett Zürich, which was awarded «Production of the Year» by German magazine tanz.

Messa da Requiem24, 28 Feb; 02, 08, 22, 24, 28 Mar; 01 Apr 2024


Paul Connelly,

Paul Connelly

Paul Connelly debütierte 23-jährig als Dirigent mit Gershwins Porgy and Bess im Rahmen einer Tournee der Houston Grand Opera. 1980 wurde er auf Einladung von Michail Baryshnikov Erster Kapellmeister des American Ballet Theatre und arbeitete dort mit Choreografen wie Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine und Anthony Tudor. Während dieser Zeit di­rigierte er auch Vorstellungen des New York City Ballet sowie Gala-Veranstaltungen wie Nureyev and Friends und Baryshnikov and Co., aus­ser­dem war er Gastdirigent beim National Ballet of Canada. Während der Zeit beim ABT war er an zahlreichen Film- und Fernsehprojekten beteiligt (u.a. Don Quixote). Zu seinen Opernaktivitäten in dieser Zeit gehören Brittens Death in Venice, Debussys Pelléas et Mélisande sowie Purcells Dido and Aeneas. Nach der musikalischen Leitung einer Ballettgala an der Wiener Staatsoper wurde ihm dort Rossinis Barbiere di Siviglia anvertraut, ein Erfolg, der den Anfang einer intensiven Dirigententätigkeit in Europa markiert. Einladungen führten ihn zum Staatsballett Berlin, das Ballett der Opéra Paris (Verfilmungen von Neumeiers Sylvia, Balanchines Jewels, Giselle, Roland-Petit-Abend), zum Orchestre Colonne in Paris, an das Opernhaus Nizza, ans Teatro di San Carlo in Neapel, an die Oper Oslo, zum Royal Ballet in London und in Birmingham, zum Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam, zum Tokyo Ballet, zum Semper­oper Ballett Dresden und an die Mailänder Scala, wo er auf Einladung von Riccardo Muti die Opern Il turco in Italia, Die Zauberflöte und Don Giovanni dirigierte. An der Scala leitete er auch eine Reihe von Bal­lett­aufführungen, unter anderem Giselle, die auch verfilmt wurde. Auf DVD erschienen Mauro Bigonzettis Caravag­gio mit dem Staatsballett Berlin und Nureyews Nussknacker mit dem Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper. Unlängst dirigierte er Kenneth MacMillans Mayerling an der Staatsoper Budapest. Geplant sind The Cellist von Cathy Marston beim Ballett Zürich sowie eine Neuproduktion von Coppélia in der Choreografie von Alexei Ratmansky an der Mailänder Scala.

The Cellist17, 20, 27 Mar; 05 Apr; 26, 27 Jun 2024


Rufus Didwiszus,

Rufus Didwiszus

Rufus Didwiszus studierte Bühnen- und Kostümbild in Stuttgart bei Jürgen Rose und ar­bei­­tet seither als freier Bühnenbildner in Theater-, Opern- und Tanz­produktio­­­nen, u. a. mit Barrie Kosky (La Belle Hélène, Die Perlen der Cleopatra und Anatevka an der Komischen Oper Berlin; La fan­ciul­la del West, Die Gezeichneten und Boris Godunow am Opernhaus Zü­­­rich; Orphée aux enfers, Salzburger Festspiele; Fürst Igor, Opéra de Paris; Der Ro­senkavalier, Bayerische Staatsoper), Tho­mas Ostermeier (u.a. Shop­pen &Ficken in der Baracke des Deutschen Theaters Berlin mit Einladung zum Berliner Theatertreffen und nach Avignon; Der blaue Vogel am Deutschen Theater, Feuergesicht am Schauspiel­haus Hamburg, Der Name bei den Salzburger Festspielen und an der Ber­li­ner Schau­­bühne, The Girl on the Sofa beim Edinburgh Interna­tio­nal Festival und an der Schaubühne, Vor Son­nen­­auf­gang an den Münchner Kammer­spie­len), Sasha Waltz, Tom Kühnel, Christian Stückl, Stefan Larsson, Tomas Alfredson und Christian Lollike. Seit 2004 entwirft und inszeniert Rufus Didwiszus mit Joanna Dud­ley eigene Musik-Theater-Performances, u. a. in den So­phien­sae­len, an der Schaubühne und im Ra­dial­system in Berlin sowie im BO­ZAR in Brüssel. Mit seiner Band «Friedrichs» war er in Der weisse Wolf am Staats­theater Stuttgart zu sehen. Zudem war er als Gastdozent an der Aka­­demie der Bildenden Künste München und an der Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee tätig. Für Christian Spuck entstanden die Bühnenbilder zu Der fliegende Hol­län­­der an der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Nussknacker und Mause­könig, Winter­reise, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern,  Dornröschen und Monteverdi beim Ballett Zürich sowie Orlando am Moskauer Bolschoitheater.



Buki Shiff,

Buki Shiff

Buki Shiff wurde in Israel geboren und studierte an der Universität Tel-Aviv. Seit 1984 ist sie als Bühnen- und Kostümbildnerin für Theater, Film, Fernsehen und Oper in Israel, Europa und den USA tätig. Dabei arbeitet sie regelmässig mit den Regisseuren Barrie Kosky, David Alden, Richard Jones und Robert Carsen zusammen. Zu ihren Arbeiten zählen Ausstattungen für Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Faust, Sweeney Todd, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Boris Godunow, Madama Butterfly und Don Giovanni an der New Israeli Opera Tel Aviv, Tannhäuser, L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Rinaldo, Rodelinda, La Calisto, Orlando und Semiramide an der Bayerischen Staatsoper in München, Lohengrin, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tristan und Isolde und Der fliegende Holländer an der Berliner Staatsoper, Boris Godunow an der Wiener Volksoper, Tristan und Isolde am Teatro Real Madrid, Lulu an der English National Opera, Wozzeck und Meistersinger an der Welsh National Opera, Candide am Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris und an der Mailänder Scala, Wozzeck und La belle Hélène an der Komischen Oper Berlin, Die Nase am Royal Opera House Covent Garden sowie Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen an der Deutschen Oper Berlin. 2006 wurde Buki Shiff in Tel-Aviv als Bühnen- und Kostümbildnerin des Jahres ausgezeichnet, 2008 erhielt sie den Rosenblum-Preis als Künstlerin des Jahres. 2013 wurde sie bei den International Opera Awards in London als beste Bühnen- und Kostümbildnerin geehrt. Darüber hinaus war sie an Kunstausstellungen in Tel Aviv und Europa beteiligt.



Martin Gebhardt,

Martin Gebhardt

Martin Gebhardt war Lichtgestalter und Beleuchtungsmeister bei John Neumeiers Hamburg Ballett. Ab 2002 arbeitete er mit Heinz Spoerli und dem Ballett Zürich zusammen. Ballettpro­duk­­­tionen der bei­den Compagnien führten ihn an re­­­­nom­­­mierte Theater in Eu­ro­­pa, Asien und Amerika. Am Opernhaus Zürich schuf er das Lichtdesign für In­szenie­run­gen von Jürgen Flimm, David Alden, Jan Philipp Gloger, Grischa Asagaroff, Matthias Hartmann, David Pountney, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier, Da­miano Mi­chie­­letto und Achim Freyer. Bei den Salzburger Festspielen kreierte er die Lichtgestaltung für La bohème und eine Neufassung von Spoerlis Der Tod und das Mädchen. Seit der Spielzeit 2012/13 ist Martin Gebhardt Leiter des Beleuchtungswesens am Opernhaus Zürich. Eine enge Zu­sam­men­arbeit verbindet ihn heute mit dem Cho­reo­grafen Christian Spuck (u.a. Win­ter­­reise, Nussknacker und Mause­könig, Messa da Requiem, Anna Karenina, Woy­zeck, Der Sandmann, Leonce und Lena, Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern). In jüngster Zeit war er ausserdem Lichtdesigner für die Choreografen Edward Clug (u.a. Strings, Le Sacre du printemps und Faust in Zürich; Petruschka am Moskauer Bolschoitheater), Alexei Ratmansky, Wayne McGregor, Marco Goecke, und Douglas Lee. Mit Christoph Mar­tha­ler und Anna Viebrock arbeitete er beim Händel-Abend SaleIl viaggio a Reims und Orphée et Euridice in Zürich sowie bei Lulu an der Hamburgischen Staatsoper zu­sam­men und mit Jossi Wieler und Sergio Morabito an der Oper Genf für Les Huguenots. Jüngst gestaltete er das Licht u.a. für das Ballett Monteverdi und On the Move sowie für Le nozze di Figaro am Opernhaus Zürich.

Il turco in Italia19, 22, 26, 30 Sep; 03 Oct 2023 Nachtträume04, 10, 16, 22, 26 Nov; 02 Dec 2023 Messa da Requiem24, 28 Feb; 02, 08, 22, 24, 28 Mar; 01 Apr 2024 Die Csárdásfürstin10, 13, 17, 23, 30 Mar; 01 Apr 2024 Horizonte09, 19 Mar 2024 Atonement28 Apr; 01, 12, 14, 23, 30 May; 01, 02, 07 Jun 2024 L'Orfeo17, 22, 25, 31 May; 02, 06, 08, 11, 16 Jun 2024 Timekeepers20, 21, 26 Jan; 02, 04, 09, 17, 18, 23 Feb 2024


Janko Kastelic,

Janko Kastelic

Janko Kastelic ist seit Mai 2017 als Nachfolger von Jürg Hämmerli Chordirektor am Opernhaus Zürich. Der slowenisch-kanadische Pianist, Organist und Dirigent, studierte Komposition, Dirigieren und Musiktheorie an der University of Toronto, Faculty of Music. Nach seinem Studium zog es Janko Kastelic nach Europa, wo er unter anderem an der Pariser Opéra National als Korrepetitor und an der Wiener Staatsoper als Korrepetitor, zweiter Chordirektor und stellvertretender Leiter der Opernschule tätig war. Von 2008 bis 2011 war er Generalmusikdirektor und Operndirektor des Slowenischen Nationaltheaters Maribor. 2011 kehrte er nach Wien zurück, wo er an der Wiener Staatsoper die musikalische Leitung der Kinderopern Aladdin und die Wunderlampe und Die Feen übernahm. Von 2012 bis 2013 war er Gastchordirektor an der Staatsoper Hamburg und seit 2013 ist er künstlerischer Leiter des von ihm mitbegründeten CULTUREpoint Piran. 2015-17 war er an der Kammeroper des Theaters an der Wien als Studienleiter tätig. Ebenfalls seit 2015 ist er Kapellmeister der Wiener Hofmusikkapelle. Janko Kastelic hat sich als freischaffender Dirigent, Korrepetitor und Komponist neben der barocken Musik ebenfalls der modernen Musik gewidmet. Sein vielseitiges musikalisches Schaffen umfasst neben zahlreichen Arrangements auch Kompositionen von Pop- und Filmmusik sowie Solo- und Kammermusik. Es ist ihm ein Anliegen, junges Publikum für Musik zu begeistern und die Liebe zur Musik an die nächste Generation weiterzugeben.

Carmen07, 10, 12, 14, 19, 21, 24 Apr; 04, 11, 15 May; 12, 15 Jun 2024 I vespri siciliani09, 13, 20, 23, 28 Jun; 04, 07, 10, 13 Jul 2024 Iphigénie en Tauride24, 29 Sep; 01, 11, 15 Oct 2023 Don Giovanni23, 27 Sep; 05, 10, 14 Oct 2023 Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer19, 26 Nov; 02, 05, 13, 17, 31 Dec 2023; 01, 05, 09, 21, 28 Jan 2024 Platée10, 12, 15, 21, 26, 30 Dec 2023; 10, 12, 14, 16 Jan 2024 Sweeney Todd22, 29 Dec 2023; 07, 13 Jan 2024 Così fan tutte28 Jan; 03, 07, 10 Feb 2024 Die Csárdásfürstin10, 13, 17, 23, 30 Mar; 01 Apr 2024 Turandot30 Jun; 03, 06, 09, 12 Jul 2024 A Midsummer Night's Dream04, 08, 12, 15, 17 May 2024


Dominik White Slavkovský,

Dominik White Slavkovský

Dominik White Slavkovský is Slovakian. Trained at the Bratislava Dance Conservatory, he danced for five years in the Ballet of the Slovak National Theater in Bratislava, most recently as a semi-soloist. He has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2014/15 season. In choreographies by Christian Spuck he performed the title role of "Woyzeck", as Drosselmeier in "Nutcracker and Mouse King", Coppelius in "The Sandman", Paris in "Romeo and Juliet" and as Death in Edward Clug's "Peer Gynt". He has also danced in choreographies by George Balanchine, Uwe Scholz, Alexei Ratmansky, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Crystal Pite, Hans van Manen, Nacho Duato, Marco Goecke, James Kudelka, Vladimir Malakhov and many others. In the series "Young Choreographers" he showed his pieces "How to save the world", "Conspiracy" and "Boyband"



Jan Casier,

Jan Casier

Jan Casier was born in Belgium. He studied at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp. From 2008 to 2012 he was a member of the Royal Ballet of Flanders where he danced in ballets by John Cranko, William Forsythe, David Dawson and Christian Spuck. He appeared in David Dawson’s Faun(e) as a guest at the English National Ballet. From 2012 to 2014 he was a member of Ballett Zürich, where he performed roles in numerous Christian Spuck ballets, including Leonce in Leonce und Lena, Paris in Romeo und Julia and the title role of Woyzeck. He also danced in choreographies by Edward Clug, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Marco Goecke and Wayne McGregor. From 2014 to 2016 he was a member of the Semperoper Ballett Dresden. There he performed in choreographies by Aaron Watkins (Prince in The Nutcracker), William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, David Dawson and Alexander Ekman. Jan Casier returned to Ballett Zürich in 2016. Since his return, he has danced in Forsythe’s Quintett, Godani’s rituals from another when and the title role in Edward Clug’s Faust and Marco Goecke’s Nijinski. He also appeared as Drosselmeier in Christian Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig. In 2019, he was named «Dancer of the Year» by the «tanz» magazine and was awarded the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».



Michelle Willems,

Michelle Willems

Michelle Willems is French. She studied at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and at the Atelier Rudra-Béjart in Lausanne. After two seasons with the Junior Ballett, she joined Ballett Zürich in the 2016/17 season. After solo roles in Giselle and Schwanensee, she danced Kitty in Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina, Marie in Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig and Gretchen in Edward Clug’s Faust, and in Spuck’s Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern. She has also appeared in choreographies by William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Marco Goecke, Crystal Pite, George Balanchine, Ohad Naharin, Douglas Lee, and Filipe Portugal She was awarded the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich» in 2018.



Meiri Maeda,

Meiri Maeda

Meiri Maeda is Japanese. She received her training at the Nobuko Okamoto Ballet Academy, at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington and at the Académie Princesse Grace in Monte-Carlo. After two seasons with the Junior Ballett, she joined Ballett Zürich in the 2016/17 season. She has appeared as Marie in Christian Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig, in Forsythe’s The Second Detail, One Flat thing, reproduced, and In the middle, in Ratmansky’s Schwanensee reconstruction (4 small swans), in Emergence by Crystal Pite, and Bella Figura by Jiří Kylián.



Daniel Mulligan,

Daniel Mulligan

Daniel Mulligan comes from Great Britain and studied at the Royal Ballet School in London. After two seasons with the Junior Ballett, he joined Ballett Zürich in the 2009/10 season. He has appeared as a soloist in many of Heinz Spoerli’s choreographies. He danced Mercutio/Benvolio in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia as well as in ballets by Mats Ek (Dornröschen), Hans van Manen (Solo, Kammerballett), Edward Clug (Chamber Minds, Le Sacre du printemps), Sol León/Paul Lightfoot (Skew-Whiff, Speak for Yourself), William Forsythe (Quintett), Jiří Kylián (Gods and Dogs, Stepping Stones, Sweet Dreams), Ohad Naharin (Minus 16), Marco Goecke (Petruschka), Filipe Portugal (Corpus), Douglas Lee, and Crystal Pite. Recent leading roles have included Mephisto in Faust by Edward Clug, Fritz and the Clown in Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig, as well as Stiva in Spuck’s Anna Karenina.



Mark Geilings,

Mark Geilings

Mark Geilings comes from Australia, where he was trained at the Australian Ballet School. He danced with the Leipzig Ballet from 2012-2015, where he performed in choreographies by Uwe Scholz, Mario Schröder (the title role in Otello), Meryl Tankard (Cinderella), Ohad Naharin, and Cayetano Soto. He was a member of Gauthier Dance in Stuttgart for the 2015/16 season, where he performed in Marco Goecke’s Nijinsky. He has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2016/17 season, where he has appeared in Petruschka by Marco Goecke, Kammerballett by Hans van Manen, Gods and Dogs by Jiří Kylián, Lady with a Fan by Douglas Lee, and as Mercutio in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, among others.



Alexander Jones,

Alexander Jones

Alexander Jones comes from Great Britain. He received his dance training at the Royal Ballet School in London. In 2004 he won the gold medal in the Adeline Genée Competition and the Dame Ninette de Valois Prize. In the 2005/06 season he became a member of the Stuttgart Ballet, where he was appointed principal dancer in 2011/12. In Stuttgart he has appeared as Armand Duval in Neumeier’s Kameliendame, Romeo in Cranko’s Romeo und Julia, in the title roles of Cranko’s Onegin and Kevin O’Days Hamlet, as Basilio in Maximiliano Guerra’s Don Quixote and in MacMillan’s Lied von der Erde. He has also danced in choreographies by Balanchine, Robbins, Ashton, Schaufuss, Tetley, Béjart, Haydée, van Manen, Forsythe, Lee, McGregor, Clug, and Spuck. Alexander Jones has been a first soloist of Ballett Zürich since the 2015/16 season. Here he has danced Prince Siegfried in Alexei Ratmansky’s Schwanensee reconstruction, Albrecht in Patrice Bart’s Giselle and Romeo in Romeo und Julia, Nathanael in Der Sandmann and Vronsky in Anna Karenina (all by Christian Spuck), among others.



Matthew Knight,

Matthew Knight

Matthew Knight is British. He completed his training at the Elmhurst School and the Royal Ballet School in London. After a season with the Junior Ballett, he joined Ballett Zürich in the 2014/15 season. He presented Jane Doe and Mocambo as part of the «Junge Choreografen» series. He has danced in choreographies by Mats Ek (Cavalier in Dornröschen), William Forsythe, Marco Goecke (Moor in Petruschka), Jiří Kylián, Douglas Lee, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Hans van Manen, Wayne McGregor, Ohad Naharin, Crystal Pite, and Filipe Portugal. He was Leonce in Christian Spuck’s Leonce und Lena, Nathanael in Spuck’s Der Sandmann and the Clown in Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig. In 2018 he also appeared as the title roles in Edward Clug’s Faust and in Marco Goecke’s Nijinski. In 2016 he was awarded the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».



Katja Wünsche,

Katja Wünsche

Katja Wünsche comes from Dresden and was trained at the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin. She has won prizes at numerous ballet competitions. From 1999 to 2012 she danced in the Stuttgart Ballet, including as a principal dance from 2006. She danced leading roles in choreographies by John Cranko (Romeo und Julia, Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung, Onegin), John Neumeier (Endstation Sehnsucht, Die Kameliendame), Marcia Haydée (Dornröschen, La Sylphide, La fille mal gardée) and Christian Spuck (Lulu, Der Sandmann, Leonce und Lena, Das Fräulein von S.) and ballets by Forsythe, Kylián, León/Lightfoot and Goecke. In 2007 she was awarded the German Dance Prize Future (for promising young artists) and the German Theater Prize Der Faust. Katja Wünsche has been a first soloist with Ballett Zürich since the 2012/13 season. She has been seen in Zurich as Julia in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Lena in Leonce und Lena, Marie in Woyzeck, Anna Karenina and Kitty in Anna Karenina and Clara in Der Sandmann. She has also performed in choreographies by Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Douglas Lee, Martin Schläpfer, Wayne McGregor and Marco Goecke. In 2014 she was awarded the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».



Aurore Aleman Lissitzky,

Aurore Aleman Lissitzky

Aurore Aleman Lissitzky comes from France. She received her training with Monique Loudières, at the Académie Princesse Grace in Monte-Carlo and at the Hamburg Ballet School. In 2008 she won the gold medal at the Concours International de Grasse. At the age of 16 she became a member of the Hamburg Ballet and danced solos in numerous choreographies by John Neumeier. After half a season in the Junior Ballet, she joined the Ballett Zürich in the 2017/18 season. She danced solos in choreographies by Christian Spuck, Edward Clug, Johann Inger, Jiří Kyliáns (Stepping Stones) as well as in Patrice Bart (Peasant Pas-de-deux in Giselle) and William Forsythe (The Second Detail).

Walkways06 Oct 2023


Mélissa Ligurgo,

Mélissa Ligurgo

Mélissa Ligurgo comes from Belgium and studied at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp. She danced in John Cranko’s Onegin (Tatiana), as well as in ballets by Forsythe, Kylián, Dawson, and Robbins, at the Royal Ballet of Flanders. She appeared in Preljocaj’s Romeo und Julia (Julia) at the Ballett Basel in the 2011/12 season. She has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2012/13 season, where has danced Lena in Leonce und Lena by Christian Spuck and Frau Mauserinks in Nussknacker und Mausekönig. She has also appeared in choreographies by Wayne McGregor and Douglas Lee. As part of the «Junge Choreografen» series she presented Mind Games and Klastos together with Giulia Tonelli as well as Individuo.



Greta Calzuola,

Greta Calzuola

Greta Calzuola is Italian. She completed her training at the ballet school of the Umbria Ballet in Italy and at the Académie Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo. She won the International Ballet Competition in Longiano in 2014. This is her second season as a member of the Junior Ballett.



Cohen Aitchison-Dugas,

Cohen Aitchison-Dugas

Cohen Aitchison-Dugas is Canadian. He studied at the École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec and at the National Ballet School in Canada. In the 2015/16 season he danced in The Nutcracker with the Grands Ballets Canadiens. After two seasons with the Junior Ballett, he joined Ballett Zürich in the 2017/18 season. He has performed in Jacopo Godani’s rituals from another when, in Filipe Portugal’s Behind the mirror and danced the role of the Mouse King in Christian Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig, among others. He was awarded with the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich» in 2018.



Sujung Lim,

Sujung Lim

Sujung Lim comes from South Korea. She was educated at the Yewon Arts High School and at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim. She was with the Ballett Karlsruhe from 2011-2018, where she performed in Rusalka by Jiří Bubeníček, La Sylphide by Peter Schaufuss, Der Nussknacker by Youri Vamos, Le Sacre du printemps by Terence Kohler, Giselle by Peter Wright and Anne Frank by Reginaldo Oliveira. She won gold medals at the Tanzolymp Berlin in 2008 and 2011. Sujung Lim has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2017/18 season.

Walkways08 Oct 2023


Rafaelle Queiroz,

Rafaelle Queiroz

Rafaelle Queiroz is from Brazil. She received her training in Rio de Janeiro and, with a stipend from the Tanzstiftung Birgit Keil, at the Akademie des Tanzes in Mannheim. She was a finalist at the «Prix de Lausanne» and won the Langham Award at the Youth American Grand Prix 2009. She was a member of the Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe from 2009 to 2019, where roles included Odette/Odile in Schwanensee by Christopher Wheeldon, Myrtha in Giselle by Peter Wright, the title role in La Sylphide by Peter Schaufuss, Katharina/Bianca in Cranko’s Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung, Julia in Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo und Julia, and the title role in Rusalka von Jiří Bubeníček. In addition, she appeared in choreographies by Hans van Manen, Heinz Spoerli, Davide Bombana and Reginaldo Oliveira.  She joined Ballett Zürich with the 2019/20 season.



Inna Bilash,

Inna Bilash

Inna Bilash comes from Ukraine. She studied ballet at the Kharkov Choreographic School, the Perm State Choreographic College and the Perm State Academy of Arts and Culture. She was a principal dancer in the Perm Ballet, where she appeared as Julia in Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo und Julia, Odette/Odile in Natalia Makorova’s Schwanensee, Giselle in the choreography of Perrot/Coralli/Petipa, the Bride in Kylián’s Les Noces and Masha in MacMillan’s Winter Dreams. She has also appeared as a soloist in choreographies by Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and Douglas Lee. She won the Arabesque Competition in Perm and the Bolshoi Ballet Television Competition. In 2017 she was awarded the prize from the ballet magazine «The Soul of Dance». Inna Bilash has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2018/19 season and has appeared in a variety of roles, including as the title role in Patrice Bart’s Giselle.

Walkways08 Oct 2023