Christian Spuck stammt aus Marburg und wurde an der John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart ausgebildet. Seine tänzerische Laufbahn begann er in Jan Lauwers’ Needcompany und Anne Teresa de Keersmaekers Ensemble «Rosas». 1995 wurde er Mitglied des Stuttgarter Balletts und war von 2001 bis 2012 Hauschoreograf der Compagnie. In Stuttgart kreierte er fünfzehn Uraufführungen, darunter die Handlungsballette Lulu. Eine Monstretragödie nach Frank Wedekind, Der Sandmann und Das Fräulein von S. nach E.T.A. Hoffmann. Darüber hinaus hat Christian Spuck mit zahlreichen namhaften Ballettcompagnien in Europa und den USA gearbeitet. Für das Königliche Ballett Flandern entstand 2006 The Return of Ulysses, beim Norwegischen Nationalballett Oslo wurde Woyzeck nach Georg Büchner uraufgeführt. Das Ballett Die Kinder beim Aalto Ballett Essen wurde für den «Prix Benois de la Danse» nominiert, das ebenfalls in Essen uraufgeführte Ballett Leonce und Lena nach Georg Büchner wurde von den Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, dem Charlotte Ballet, USA, dem Tschechischen Nationalballett Prag und vom Stuttgarter Ballett übernommen. Die Uraufführung von Poppea//Poppea für Gauthier Dance am Theaterhaus Stuttgart wurde 2010 von der Zeitschrift «Dance Europe» zu den zehn erfolgreichsten Tanzproduktionen weltweit gewählt sowie mit dem deutschen Theaterpreis Der Faust 2011 und dem italienischen «Danza/Danza-Award» ausgezeichnet. Christian Spuck hat auch Opern inszeniert: Auf Glucks Orphée et Euridice an der Staatsoper Stuttgart folgten Verdis Falstaff am Staatstheater Wiesbaden sowie Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust und Wagners Fliegender Holländer an der Deutschen Oper Berlin. Von 2012 bis 2023 war Christian Spuck Direktor des Balletts Zürich. Hier waren seine Choreografien Romeo und Julia, Leonce und Lena, Woyzeck, Der Sandmann, Messa da Requiem, Nussknacker und Mausekönig, Dornröschen und Monteverdi zu sehen. Das 2014 in Zürich uraufgeführte Ballett Anna Karenina nach Lew Tolstoi wurde in Oslo, am Moskauer Stanislawski-Theater, vom Koreanischen Nationalballett und vom Bayerischen Staatsballett ins Repertoire übernommen. 2018 hatte in Zürich Spucks Ballett Winterreise Premiere, für das er mit dem «Prix Benois de la Danse 2019» ausgezeichnet wurde. 2019 folgte beim Ballett Zürich Helmut Lachenmanns Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (Auszeichnung als «Produktion des Jahres und Kompanie des Jahres für das Ballett Zürich durch die Zeitschrift tanz). Für das Moskauer Bolschoitheater kreierte er 2021 sein Ballett Orlando nach Virginia Woolf. Spucks Messa da Requiem wurde nicht nur zum Adelaide Festival nach Australien eingeladen, sondern auch vom Het Nationale Oper & Ballet Amsterdam und vom Finnischen Nationalballett übernommen. Seit Beginn der Saison 2023/24 ist Christian Spuck Intendant des Staatsballetts Berlin.

James Tuggle wurde in Portland (Oregon) geboren und studierte in Los Angeles bei Fritz Zweig sowie in Salzburg bei Otmar Suitner. Er war Dirigent an der San Diego Opera und Assistant Conductor beim Ring des Nibelungen an der Seattle Opera. 1980 übersiedelte er nach Europa und war zunächst Assistent von Jesús López-Cobos an der Deutschen Oper Berlin und am Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Von 1982 bis 1984 war er Dirigent an der Deutschen Oper Berlin. 1984 wurde er zum Musikdirektor des Stuttgarter Balletts berufen. 1988 begann in Bonn die Zusammenarbeit mit Youri Vamos, die von 1991 bis 1993 in Basel eine Fortsetzung fand. Nach seinem erfolgreichen Debüt an der Wiener Staatsoper 1993 wurde er als Principal Conductor und Music Advisor des Balletts und als Operndirigent engagiert. Ausserdem dirigierte er Aufführungen an der Komischen Oper Berlin, an der Opera di Roma, an der Metropolitan Opera New York (American Ballet Theatre), beim Lissabon Ballet, in Hongkong, an der Semperoper Dresden und an der Mailänder Scala. Seit 1981 geht James Tuggle auch einer ausgedehnten Konzerttätigkeit nach, die ihn – vor allem mit dem deutschen romantischen Repertoire des 19. Jahrhunderts – ans Pult namhafter Orchester geführt hat. Seit 1997 ist James Tuggle Musikdirektor des Stuttgarter Balletts.

Emma Ryott trained at Trent Polytechnic with a BA in Theatre Design. Ever since their first collaboration in 2003, Emma Ryott and Christian Spuck continued working together for ballet and opera productions, such as Lulu. Eine Monstretragödie in Stuttgart, Anna Karenina in Zurich, Oslo and Moscow, Romeo und Julia in Zurich, Woyzeck in Oslo and Zurich, Das Fräulein von S. in Stuttgart, Leonce und Lena in Montréal, Stuttgart und Zurich, Der Sandmann in Stuttgart und Zurich, Poppea / Poppea und Don Q. for Gauthier Dance, The Return of Ulysses for das Royal Ballet of Flanders, La Damnation de Faust at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Falstaff in Wiesbaden and Orfeo ed Euridice in Stuttgart. She also works closely with director Keith Warner. Their collaborations include Mathis der Maler at Theater an der Wien, Manon Lescaut at the English National Opera as well as La Damnation de Faust and Harbison’s The Great Gatsby at the Semperoper Dresden. Other designs were created for Sunset Boulevard and Manon Lescaut (Goteborg), Otello (Salzburg), The Heart of Robin Hood for the Royal Shakespeare Company (awarded with Elliot Norton Award for outstanding design), Rock ‘n Roll by Tom Stoppard (London Royal Court, West End and Broadway), Chekhov-trilogy directed by Jonathan Kent (National Theatre, London) and the New Year’s Day Concert, Vienna, 2016.

Reinhard Traub absolvierte eine Ausbildung als Grafikdesigner und Berufspilot. Von 1980 bis 1985 war er Assistent bei Chenault Spence und gestaltete anschliessend u. a. zwei Welttourneen mit den Produktionen Sophisticated Ladies und Carmen Jones als Lichtdesigner. Seit 1992/93 war er bei den Bühnen Graz tätig und konzipierte Lichtdesigns für Produktionen an den Opernhäusern von Amsterdam, Zürich, Brüssel, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hongkong, Kopenhagen, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Montreal, Moskau, München, Oslo, für die Salzburger Festspiele, das Glyndebourne Festival sowie für das Hamburger Thalia Theater, die Volksbühne Berlin und das Burgtheater in Wien. Reinhard Traub arbeitet regelmässig mit Regisseuren wie Johann Kresnik, Martin Kušej und Christof Loy zusammen. Seit 2006/07 ist Reinhard Traub Leiter der Beleuchtungsabteilung der Staatsoper Stuttgart. Dort ist er Lichtdesigner für Produktionen wie Jenůfa, Der Schaum der Tage, Ariadne auf Naxos, Nabucco sowie Die Nachtwandlerin, Platée, Der fliegende Holländer, Parsifal und La Bohème. 2017 war Reinhard Traub für das Lichtdesign der Produktion Aida bei den Salzburger Festspielen verantwortlich, ausserdem für Tristan und Isolde (2015), Parsifal (2016) und Lohengrin (2018) bei den Bayreuther Festspielen, denen er zukünftig bei Tannhäuser und Der Ring des Nibelungen verbunden sein wird. Darüber hinaus unterrichtet Reinhard Traub seit 2001 an der Staatlichen Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart.

Michael Küster stammt aus Wernigerode (Harz). Nach dem Studium der Germanistik, Kunst- und Sprechwissenschaft an der Universität Halle war er Moderator, Autor und Sprecher bei verschiedenen Rundfunkanstalten in Deutschland. Dort präsentierte er eine Vielzahl von Klassik-Programmen und Live-Übertragungen wichtiger Konzertereignisse, u. a. aus der Metropolitan Opera New York, der Semperoper Dresden und dem Leipziger Gewandhaus. Seit 2002 ist er Dramaturg am Opernhaus Zürich, u. a. für Regisseure wie Matthias Hartmann, David Alden, Robert Carsen, Moshe Leiser/ Patrice Caurier, Damiano Michieletto, David Pountney, Johannes Schaaf und Graham Vick. Als Dramaturg des Balletts Zürich arbeitete Michael Küster seit 2012 u. a. mit Cathy Marston, Marco Goecke, Marcos Morau, Edward Clug, Alexei Ratmansky, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián und Hans van Manen, vor allem aber mit Christian Spuck zusammen (u. a. Romeo und Julia, Messa da Requiem, Winterreise, Dornröschen). An der Mailänder Scala war er Dramaturg für Matthias Hartmanns Operninszenierungen von Der Freischütz, Idomeneo und Pique Dame.

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».

William Moore is British and studied at the Royal Ballet School in London. He has won prizes at international ballet competitions. He has belonged to the Stuttgart Ballet since 2005 and was appointed as principal dancer there in 2010. Important roles were Siegfried in Schwanensee, Lensky in Onegin and Lucentio in Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung (all by John Cranko), Armand in Neumeier’s Kameliendame, Leonce in Christian Spuck’s Leonce und Lena, the title role in Marco Goecke’s Orlando, Albrecht in Giselle by Anderson/Savina, Colas in Ashton’s La fille mal gardée. In 2012 William Moore was awarded the German Theater Prize «Der Faust». Since the 2012/13 season he has been first soloist with Ballett Zürich. Important roles include Romeo in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Vronsky in Anna Karenina, the Nutcracker in Spuck’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig, Mephisto in Faust by Edward Clug, Petruschka in the choreography by Marco Goecke, and Diaghilev in Goecke’s Nijinski. He has also appeared in pieces by Wayne McGregor, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Douglas Lee, and Jiří Kylián. In 2018 he received the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».

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.

Giulia Tonelli comes from Italy. She graduated from the Balletto di Toscana and the Ballet School of the Vienna State Opera. After her first engagement at the Vienna State Opera, she danced from 2002 to 2010 with the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Antwerp and from 2004 as a demi-soloist. There she danced Giselle (Petipa) as well as solo roles in choreographies of Forsythe, Balanchine, Kylián, Haydée and Spuck. She has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2010/11 season, where she has performed ballets by Spoerli, Goecke, McGregor, Lee, Forsythe, Kylián and Balanchine. She danced Julia in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Lena in Spuck’s Leonce und Lena and Betsy in Anna Karenina. In Alexei Ratmansky’s Schwanensee reconstruction she danced in the Pas de trois and she also performed in Forsythe’s Quintett and Spuck’s Messa da Requiem. Last season’s highlights include Emergence by Crystal Pite and Gretchen in Edward Clug’s Faust. During the «Junge Choreografen» series she presented the works Mind Games and Klastos together with Mélissa Ligurgo. In 2013 she was awarded the Giuliana Penzi Prize. In 2017 she received the «Tanzpreis der Freunde des Balletts Zürich».

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».

Juliette Brunner, who is a native of Switzerland, trained at the Theater Basel Ballet School, at Brenda Hamlyn’s ballet school in Florence, under Malou Fenaroli in Zurich and at the School of American Ballet in New York. After dancing with the Düsseldorf/Duisburg-based Ballett am Rhein, the Leipzig Ballet and the Monte Carlo Ballet, she joined Ballett Zürich for the 2007/08 season. Since then she has been seen in leading roles in numerous productions including Heinz Spoerli’s Peer Gynt, Bella Figura, Wäre heute morgen und gestern jetzt, Orma, Abschied and Don Juan, Mats Ek’s Sleeping Beauty and William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude. Most recently she has danced the title role in Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina, Lady Capulet in his Romeo and Juliet and the governess in his Leonce und Lena, along with choreographies by Martin Schläpfer, Wayne McGregor and Marco Goecke.

Viktorina Kapitonova, who is a native of Russia, studied at the Kazan Ballet School and Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre Academy. The winner of both the Young Ballet of Russia competition and the Arabesque contest of 2008, from 2005 onwards she danced at the Jalil Opera House in Kazan, performing solo roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, La Bayadère, Coppélia  and The Nutcracker. She was a member of the Stanislavsky Ballet for the 2008/09 season; and she joined Ballett Zürich in 2010, since when her performances have included Odette/Odile in Heinz Spoerli’s Swan Lake, solos in Spoerli’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wäre heute morgen und gestern jetzt, ...und mied den Wind  and Goldberg Variations, Rosetta in Christian Spuck’s Leonce and Lena, the nurse in Spuck’s Romeo and Juliet and the leading role in Spuck’s Anna Karenina. She has also been seen in choreographies by Balanchine, Ek, Forsythe, Kylián, Lee, McGregor and Schläpfer. She presented her choreography Two Bodies – One Soul as part of the company’s Young Choreographers programme. As Giselle/Myrtha she was seen in Patrice Bart’s Giselle, alongside Roberto Bolle and Friedemann Vogel. She was also the recipient of the Friends of Ballett Zürich’s Dance Prize for 2015. Last season her roles included Odette/Odile in the reconstruction of Swan Lake by Alexei Ratmansky as well as Olimpia in Christian Spuck’s Der Sandmann.

Eva Dewaele is from Belgium. After completing training at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp, she was engaged by the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the Theater Luzern, the Opera Göteborg, the Opéra de Lyon, the Cullberg Ballet and the Royal Ballet of Flanders. She has danced in choreographies by William Forsythe, Mats Ek and Jiří Kylián as well as in world premieres by Jacopo Godani, Douglas Lee, David Dawson and Christian Spuck. Eva Dewaele has also appeared in several feature films. With the start of the 2012/13 season she became a member of Ballett Zürich and was also ballet master of the Junior Ballett. She danced Lady Capulet in Christian Spuck’s Romeo und Julia, Rosetta in Leonce und Lena and the Dark Lady in Spuck’s Sonett. As a choreographer, Eva Dewaele created the piece Mit Blick auf for the Hodler retrospective of the Fondation Beyeler and presented the piece Miss(es) as a part of the «Junge Choreografen» series. Her choreography Passing by was created for the Junior Ballett. She has been a ballet master of Ballett Zürich since the 2014/15 season. She staged the production of Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina at the Stanislavski Theatre in Moscow, the Korean National Ballet, and the Bayerisches Staatsballett.

Chinese-American dancer Yen Han studied with Stefan Mucsi and Paul Maure in Los Angeles, at the Hartford Ballet School, at the San Francisco Ballet, and at the Beijing Dance Academy. After engagements with the Jeune Ballet de France and the Ballet de Nice, she was engaged as a principal dancer in the Ballett Zürich in 1994, where she has proven to be one of the most versatile and charismatic dancers in a variety of leading roles. Heinz Spoerli choreographed Le Sacre du printemps, Peer Gynt, Daphnis et Chloé, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for her. She worked with Mats Ek on Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), and at the Royal Swedish Opera on Romeo and Juliet (Juliet). Other important choreographers she has worked with include Nicholas Beriozoff, Hans van Manen, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Mauro Bigonzetti, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Patrice Bart, Lin Hwai Min, Sol León/Paul Lightfoot, Martin Schläpfer, and Filipe Portugal. She has been seen in works by Christian Spuck, as Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Court Master (Leonce and Lena), Kitty (Anna Karenina), in Messa da Requiem and as the Clown (Nutcracker and Mouse King). In 2013 she was honored with the Dance Prize of the Friends of Ballett Zürich and the Outstanding Female Dancer prize at the Swiss Dance Awards.

Mélanie Borel comes from France. She studied at the École Nationale Supérieure de Danse in Marseille and at the École de Danse de l’Opéra de Paris. Engagements have taken her to the Ballet de l’Opéra National de Bordeaux and, from 2005 to 2008, to the Peter Schaufuss Ballet in Denmark. She has been a member of Ballett Zürich since the 2008/09 season and has performed as a soloist in choreographies by Twyla Tharp, Heinz Spoerli, and Mats Ek.  She was the Haushofmeister in Spuck’s Leonce und Lena and danced the «Cholerisch» variation in Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. In addition, she has appeared in choreographies by Marco Goecke, Douglas Lee, Jiří Kylián, Wayne McGregor, Martin Schläpfer, Hans van Manen, Edward Clug and Crystal Pite.

The Bulgarian dancer Galina Mihaylova completed her education at the Bulgarian State Choreographic School and the Swiss Professional Ballet School, where she was a Nureyev Foundation scholarship holder. In the 1999/2000 season she became a member of the Ballett Zürich. She danced here in numerous choreographies by Heinz Spoerli. She has appeared as Effie (La Sylphide), Amor (Don Quixote), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), in Wäre heute morgen und gestern jetzt, as Odette/Odile (Swan Lake) and Henriette (Raymonda). She has also performed in ballets by William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Twyla Tharp, Uwe Scholz, and Jiří Bubeniček. She danced the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Margret in Woyzeck and Dolly in Anna Karenina (all by Christian Spuck). She has also appeared in choreographies by Wayne McGregor, Marco Goecke, and George Balanchine.

Irmina Kopaczynska was born in Poland. She studied at the Polish National Ballet School Poznan. She won several prizes in the Polish National Ballet Competition. She also took part in the «Premio Roma» and the «Prix de Lausanne». After two seasons with the Junior Ballett, she became a member of Ballett Zürich starting with the 2011/12 season. She danced the Silver Fairy in Mats Ek’s Dornröschen, Betsy in Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina, and the Nursemaid in Spuck’s Romeo und Julia. She has also appeared in choreographies by William Forsythe (In the middle, New Sleep), Hans van Manen (Kammerballett), Jiří Kylián (Gods and Dogs, Bella Figura), Iacopo Godani, Edward Clug, Marco Goecke (including the Mother in Nijinski), Douglas Lee, and Crystal Pite.