Petia Ilieva and Friedemann Vogel in Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet pdd by Petia Ilieva and Friedemann Vogel. Choreography by John Cranko, music by Sergei Prokofiev. Kenneth and Friends Gala 2014 at Finnish National Opera. Shot on 24.05.2014.

 

Petia Ilieva is Étoile at the Finnish National Ballet during the season 2013-14. She graduated from Ballet School of the Bulgarian National Ballet 1985-93. Later she danced at Bulgarian National Ballet 1993-95; Rostock Ballet 1995-97; Royal Danish Ballet 1997-2000; Norwegian National Ballet 2000-01 and currently Finnish National Ballet 2001-, étoile 2009-…

Friedemann Vogel is principal dancer with Stuttgarter Ballett (Stuttgart Ballet). He was born in Stuttgart, Germany. He started formal training at the John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart and completed his ballet training at the Princess Grace Academy of Classical Dance in Monte Carlo with the John Gilpin scolarship from Princess Antoniette de Monaco. He showed his outstanding talent by winning several international ballet competition awards. In 1997 he won the Prix de Lausanne,the Gold medall in the Prix de Louxembourg, Eurocity competion in Italy and 1998 he won the Jackson Competition USA. In September 1998 Friedemann Vogel joined the Stuttgart Ballet and quickly rose through the ranks. In 2002 he was promoted to first soloist, the company’s highest rank. In the same year he also won the much-coveted Erik Bruhn Prize in Toronto Canada. Friedemann Vogel has been elected Dancer of the Year 2010 by the international dance critics survey of the magazine TANZ and recently In June 2012 Friedemann was appointed by the Italian dance magazine Danza & Danza as best male dancer.

John Cranko (1927 – 1973) was a choreographer with the Sadler’s Wells Ballet – Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Cranko was born in Rustenburg, South Africa. Cranko received his early ballet training in Cape Town under the leading South African ballet teacher and director, Dulcie Howes, of the University of Cape Town Ballet School. He then moved to London.

John Cranko choreographed 1950 the comic ballet Pineapple Poll and later The Lady and the Fool. 1960, Cranko directed the first performance of Benjamin Britten’s opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 1961, Cranko was appointed to the Stuttgart Ballett where he assembled a group of talented performers. Among his following choreogrophies were Romeo und Juliet by William Shakespeare in 1962, Onegin in 1965, The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare in 1969, Brouillards in 1970, Carmen in 1971 and Spuren (Traces) in 1973. His work was a major contribution to the international success of German ballet beginning with a guest performance at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1969. 1971, Cranko founded the Stuttgart Ballet School.

Photos by Jack Devant © with kind permission of the Finnish National Opera and Kenneth Greve, special thanks Heidi Almi.