Edward Clug's A Midsummer Night's Dream is undoubtedly one of the most compelling productions to have entered the Staatsballett Berlin repertoire in recent seasons. Milko Lazar's percussive score and Clug's distinctive movement vocabulary evoke the spirit of antiquity, recalling an era when rhythmic percussion and expressive physicality formed the essence of ritual and dance.

While ballet companies around the world are gently winding down the 2025/26 season, on Monday morning the Bayerisches Staatsballett dropped what can only be called a bombshell on balletomanes everywhere. On 13 July the theatre published the following post on its official Instagram: "Julian MacKay and the Bayerisches Staatsballett are parting ways with immediate effect. The Principal Dancer is leaving the Munich company today, 13 July 2026. We would like to thank Mr. MacKay

Japanese dancer Haruka Sassa’s path to Berlin was anything but planned. After years in Japan, the United States, Sweden and Norway, she arrived at Staatsballett Berlin almost spontaneously — first as a soloist, and soon after as a principal dancer.

At VOO Space in Berlin, the interdisciplinary project Leonis Works x VOO Space brought together contemporary art, music, and performance. The highlight of the evening was the world premiere of AGAPE, a new performance conceived and choreographed by Renato De Leon.

During the Moscow International Ballet Competition, the editorial team of Voci dell’Opera decided to celebrate not only the prize winners, but also the artists who especially moved us with their talent, stage presence, and sincerity.

Alexey Orokhovsky and Yana Peneva represent the USA, but today both are associated with the Mariinsky Theatre, where they are soloists. At the competition, they chose an emphatically classical repertoire, striving to show the clarity of style and academic culture that the Mariinsky school brings.

After the XV International Ballet Competition came to an end, Marmus Auguste’s bronze medal became an important event not only for the artist himself, but also for the Hungarian National Ballet, which he represents. The young dancer went through several rounds, demanding programs, and growing competitive pressure while preserving what matters most: stage expressiveness, technical focus, and the ability to remain fully inside the character.

The Korean pair Kim Min-jin and Lee Kang-won became one of the brightest impressions of the XV International Ballet Competition. Their performances were received with great enthusiasm, and the artists were called for an encore — a rare and truly phenomenal moment for a competition stage.

From June 25 to 28, 2026, the premiere series of Anna Karenina, a ballet set to music by Ilya Demutsky and staged by Maxim Sevagin, took place on the Main Stage of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre. The premiere was presented as part of the 2026 Cherry Forest Open Arts Festival.

We spoke with Auguste Marmus and Rachel Pimentel Quintão about what it means to step onto the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, how a competition performance differs from a regular production, how to find a balance between technique and artistry, and which roles they dream of performing in the future.