The Pointe Dances 150 Years of Ballet at the Wiener Staatsoper 16 May 2019 – 13 January 2020 Lobkowitzplatz 2, 1010 Wien
[email protected] T +43 1 525 24 5315 About the Exhibition The essence of classical ballet at the traditional opera house on the Ringstrasse takes centre-stage of the exhibition curated by Andrea Amort. In eight chapters it traces the characteristics linked with the history of the ballet company from the Emperor’s era via the 20th century until the immediate present: amongst them In the Dept of the Aristocracy, Fanny Elßler – Role model, Viennese Dramaturgy as well as Paris & Vienna. It also discusses the work of prominent personalities like Josef Hassreiter, Gerhard Brunner, Rudolf Nurejew, Renato Zanella and Manuel Legris. The show is a cooperation with the Wiener Staatsballett. The beginnings of the Vienna Ballet go back to the early 17th century. At the time of Emperor Leopold I, himself engaged in dancing and composing, increasing numbers of professional dancers begin to appear side by side with the court dancers. In 1719, Maria Anna Scio is the first professional dancer with the ballet ensemble. In the early 18th century, the Kärntnertortheater and the Theater nächst der Burg become venues for the ballet. During the reign of Empress Maria Theresia, Vienna becomes the European centre of the ballet reform leading to the narrative ballet. To a considerable extent, the era of early romantic ballet is also determined in Vienna. The move to the newly built Hofoper am Ring (1869) ignites a period of consolidation for the ballet.