The Stuttgart Ballet Principal Dancer Elisa Badenes has been appointed Kammertänzerin, an honorary title granted by the Federal Republic of Germany.
Badenes joins Birgit Keil, Sue Jin Kang and Alicia Amatriain as the only other women to have ever earned this award in its sixty-year history.
“Elisa Badenes can look back on a rapid rise at the Stuttgart Ballet. She is an exceptional talent, an outstanding dancer and stage artist. Whether classical or modern – she guarantees the highest ballet and dance artistry: stylistically confident, technically perfect, natural and with an astonishing ease.
For the Stuttgart Ballet, she is also a valuable source of inspiration, a figure of integration and a role model for the company.
Last but not least, she carries the outstanding reputation of the Stuttgart Ballet out into the world. I am very pleased that Elisa Badenes can now use the honorary title of “Kammertänzerin” for her special achievements.” – Minister Petra Olschowski
About Elisa Badenes
Elisa Badenes was born in Valencia, Spain, where she received her training at the Conservatorio Profesional de Danza de Valencia and the Royal Ballet School. She joined The Stuttgart Ballet as an apprentice upon graduation and quickly rose up the ranks to become a principal dancer for the 2013-2014 season.
Badenes has received many honors and prizes including:
- Gold medal at the Youth American Grand Prix (2009)
- Audience Choice Award of the Erik Bruhn Competition (2011)
- German Dance Prize Future (2015)
- “Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer” in Dance Europe’s Critics’ Choice (2020)
Most recently, she was named “Dancer of the Year” for 2023 by Dance Europe magazine.
Artistic Director of Ballett am Rhein Demis Volpi, former colleague and resident choreographer for Stuttgart Ballet, gave a laudatory speech for Elisa Badenes during the ceremony on December 2, 2023:
Elisa is a great dancer and an exceptional artist with flawless technique, impeccable musicality, exquisite dramatic abilities and artistic and technical versatility.
But Elisa also embodies a quality that is very rare to find: the ability to bring people together. Her humility and charisma are a magnetic combination. She brings audiences all over the world together in their admiration of dance and empathy for the characters she gives life to.
However, her strength isn’t limited to the stage: she is just as powerful off it – in the ballet studio, in the hallways of the theater, in the canteen – everywhere she goes, she emanates humility, a sense of humor and an enthusiasm for her work. She a true inspiration to anyone who has the good fortune to encounter her.
I think it’s safe to say that she has become an outstanding role model for other dancers because she personifies all of the best qualities that make out what we call the ‘Stuttgart Ballet Spirit'”.
Featured Photo of Atuttgart Ballet’s Artistic Director Tamas Detrich, Minister Petra Olschowski, Elisa Badenes, and Director of the Ballett am Rhein Demis Volpi. Photo © Roman Novitzky / Stuttgarter Ballett.
