Steffi Scherzer (born 14 July 1957) is a German ballet dancer, at the Berlin State Opera from 1975 to 2003, prima ballerina there from 1987, and director and instructor at the Tanz Akademie Zürich of the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste.

Career

Scherzer was born in Stollberg. She was trained for seven years at the Staatliche Ballettschule in Berlin, by Martin Puttke, among others, East Germany's leading ballet teacher. She was engaged at the Deutsche Staatsoper (Berlin State Opera) in 1975, as a soloist from 1978, as Primaballerina in 1987.

Scherzer danced leading parts in cl*ical and neo-cl*ical ballets, also as an international guest dancer, collaborating with c*ographers including Patrice Bart:, Maurice Béjart, William Forsythe, Pierre Lacotte, Roland Pe* and Uwe Scholz. She performed the *le role in Tchaikovsky's Dornröschen (The Sleeping Beauty) with Rudolf Nureyev, and the double role Odette/Odile in Tchaikovsky's Schwanensee (Swan Lake) with Oliver Manz. One performance of Schwanensee, in a c*ography by Patrice Bart, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, was filmed and shown live simultaneously in a cinema in Berlin and 100 cinemas in France. The production was filmed for TV in December 1998. She danced in William Forsythe's c*ography of Steptext with partners Uwe Krotil, Ralf Stengel and Oliver Wulff. A reviewer noted: "Überragend Steffi Scherzer in rotem Trikot, die die extremen Körper- und Raumspannungen eindrucksvoll verkörpert." (Outstanding Steffi Scherzer in a red jersey, who embodies extreme physical and spatial tensions.) When Scherzer retired from the stage in 2003, she was named an honorary member of the Deutsche Staatsoper.

Scherzer and Matz have been teachers and directors of the Tanz Akademie Zürich of the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste from 2004, when they created the ins*ute, which followed the "Schweizerische Ballettberufsschule" (Swiss ballet vocational school). Their students have earned prizes at compe*ions such as the International Ballet Compe*ion in Cape Town.

Scherzer has served on the jury of international dance compe*ions such as the Youth America Grand Prix and Prix de Lausanne. She herself was awarded a bronze medal at the Varna International Ballet Compe*ion and the special prize in Osaka in 1980.

References

External links

• Tanz Akademie Zürich / Team at the Zurich University of the Arts
• Steffi Scherzer und Oliver Matz moving-moments.de
• Angela Reinhardt: Steffi Scherzer verabschiedet sich Tanznetz (in German)