Highlight of the Year

Things are certainly going well for the Berlin State Ballet. Everyone you speak to in Berlin is delighted that Christian Spuck (and his team) managed to pull the company—Germany’s largest dance ensemble, after all—out of the deep slump it had fallen into and gain increasing recognition season after season. What is he doing right? He offers a varied program, rather than filling it solely with his own choreography—as others are prone to doing. He doesn't play the old-school patriarch before whom everyone must kneel. He is approachable; and when, after premieres, he takes the time to praise staff members who aren't used to being mentioned at all, it takes a long time—perhaps too long for some. Yet his colleagues—from the dancers to the technical crew—feel like part of the bigger picture. They ...