The big day for the young dance talents is the annual matinee of the Ballet Academy on the main stage of the Vienna State Opera.
The students and members of the Youth Company show what they have been working on for months.
In the 2023/24 school year, the programme included an intensive study of one of the major works of Romantic ballet: Marius Petipa’s La Bayadère. From the tragic love story between the Indian temple dancer Nikiya and the warrior Solor, which premiered in St. Petersburg in 1877, students from all levels will be seen with highlights from the ballet in the choreographic adaptation by Christiana Stefanou and Robert Gabdullin.
The second part of the programme is dedicated to contemporary dance: students from the lower level will perform the adorably funny chick ballet Flock of Fledglings by Teresa Rotemberg. Martin Schläpfer has staged his Tänze with members of the youth company – a moving pas de deux of two people as a journey through a whole life to music by Franz Schubert. The programme concludes with the revival of Kinsun Chan’s JIT, danced by the students of the upper level. This breathtakingly energetic dance piece takes a critical look at a society that is constantly optimising itself, but not without hope for humanity.
LA BAYADÈRE (EXTRACTS)
Music Ludwig Minkus
Choreography Christiana Stefanou & Robert Gabdullin after Marius Petipa
Costumes & Adaption Costumes Maria Alati
Students of all levels of the Ballet Academy
FLOCK OF FLEDGLINGS
Sound Collage Tanja Müller
Choreography & Costumes Teresa Rotemberg
Students of the lower level of the Ballet Academy
TÄNZE
Music Franz Schubert
Choreography Martin Schläpfer
Costumes Marie-Thérèse Jossen
Members of the Youth Company of the Ballet Academy
JIT
Music Michael Nyman & Josh Ralph
Choreography & Design Kinsun Chan
Students of the upper level of the Ballet Academy
