Berlin State Ballet

The Berlin State Ballet (German: Staatsballett Berlin) is the principal ballet company in the German capital of Berlin. It was created in 2004 through a merger of the separate ballet companies of the city's three opera houses at a time when the city was going through a financial crisis. It is one of the largest ballet companies in Western Europe with approximately 90 dancers.

Since 2004, the Berlin State Ballet, alongside the Berlin State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Komische Oper Berlin comprise the Berlin Opera Foundation [de].^[1] The Berlin State Ballet inaugural general and artistic director, dancer and choreographer Vladimir Malakhov, was a director of the ballet of the Berlin Opera before the companies merged to form the Berlin State Ballet.^[2][3] He led the company for ten years, creating a mixed repertoire of classical titles and contemporary choreography. A star dancer himself, Malakhov was not only managing, but also performing with the company.^[4]