Stuttgart Ballet is a leading German ballet company. Dating back to 1609, then the court ballet of the dukes of Württemberg, the modern company was founded by John Cranko and is known for full-length narrative ballets. The company received the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 1981.
The Hamburg Ballet is a ballet company based in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973, it has been directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier. In addition there is a ballet school, School of the Hamburg Ballet, established in 1978. The performances of the Hamburg Ballet are usually held at the Hamburg State Opera, while the training and education facility is the "Ballettzentrum Hamburg – John Neumeier".
The Polish National Ballet is the largest and most influential ballet company in Poland. It continues a ballet heritage, dating to the 17th century.
Manuel Legris is a French ballet dancer. He is an étoile with the Paris Opera Ballet for 23 years. On September 1, 2010, he became the director of the Vienna State Ballet. In December 2020, he was appointed artistic director of the La Scala Theatre Ballet.
Heinz Spoerli is a Swiss dance maker, internationally known. After a long career as a ballet dancer and company director, he is now widely considered to be one of the foremost European choreographers of his time.
The Tokyo Ballet is a classical ballet company, based in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1964.
Marcia Haydée Salaverry Pereira da Silva is a Brazilian ballet dancer, choreographer and ballet director. She was prima ballerina of the Stuttgart Ballet under John Cranko and succeeded him as the company's director, serving from 1976 to 1995. She has been director of the Santiago Ballet since 1992.
Konstanze Vernon was a German ballet dancer, academic teacher and director of a ballet academy and a ballet company. She was from 1963 to 1981 prima ballerina of the ballet at the Bayerische Staatsoper. She taught at the Hochschule für Musik München and founded the ballet academy Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung in memory of her partner on stage Heinz Bosl. After retiring from the stage, she was founding director of the now independent ballet company Bayerisches Staatsballett.
Tatjana Gsovsky was an internationally known ballet dancer and choreographer who was ballet mistress of the Berlin State Opera, Teatro Colón, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Oper Frankfurt. An influential teacher, she is remembered for first choreographies of works by contemporary composers including Boris Blacher, Werner Egk, Hans Werner Henze, Giselher Klebe, Luigi Nono and Carl Orff.
Alexandre Riabko is a Ukrainian ballet dancer, and a principal dancer of the Hamburg Ballet.
Alexandr Trush is a Ukrainian principal dancer of the Hamburg Ballet.
Egon Madsen is a Danish ballet dancer, teacher, ballet master and company director. In 1961, he joined the Stuttgart Ballet, where John Cranko had become the director. Madsen was hired as a soloist but was soon promoted to principal dancer, and created numerous roles for Cranko. He retired from Stuttgart in 1981.
Ray Barra is an American former ballet dancer, a ballet master and ballet director. He was a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre and a principal dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet, where he created parts in creations by John Cranko, including Romeo in Romeo and Juliet with Marcia Haydée as Julia. After retiring from the stage due to an injury, he worked as a ballet master with the Berlin State Ballet, the ballet of the Frankfurt Opera, the Hamburg Ballet and the Spanish National Dance Company.
The Deutscher Tanzpreis is a prestigious prize for artistic dance in Germany. It has been awarded annually since 1983.
Günter Jena is a German choral conductor and musicologist. He was the director of church music at St. Michaelis in Hamburg from 1973 to 1997. He founded the festival Bach-Tage Hamburg, and provided music for ballet performances of choreographer John Neumeier at the Hamburg State Opera, including Bach's St Matthew Passion.
Horst Koegler was a German dance critic, journalist and writer. He was the editor and author of books on the ballet scene in Germany, as well as the author of essays in journals and introductions to illustrated books. As a reviewer of German and English-language books, he formed a bridge between American and German dance research.
Max Niehaus was a German writer, dance researcher and ballet publicist.
Kurt Peters was a German dancer, dance educator, dance critic, dance historian and publisher. In 1948, he founded the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln.
Aaron S. Watkin is a Canadian ballet company director and former dancer. He became the artistic director of the English National Ballet in 2023.
Marco Goecke is a German choreographer. He was the director of Hanover State Ballet between 2019 and 2023, and had also held positions at Stuttgart Ballet, Scapino Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater and Gauthier Dance. He had additionally choreographed works for Paris Opera Ballet, Berlin State Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo and Vienna State Ballet, among others. Die Welt's Manuel Brug called him "the most important choreographer in Germany."
Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon [38] 
