Heinz Clauss

Clauss, Heinz (b Esslingen, 17 Feb. 1935). German dancer and ballet school director. He studied with Robert Mayer in Stuttgart and with Nora Kiss and Preobrajenska in Paris. He joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 1951 while still a student, moved to the Zurich Ballet as a soloist in 1957, and was with the Hamburg State Opera (1959-67). In 1967 he returned to the Stuttgart Ballet at Cranko's invitation as a principal, where he created leading roles in many Cranko ballets, among them Onegin (new version 1967), Présence (1968), Taming of the Shrew (1969), and Brouillards (1970). He was famous for his Onegin, and also for his interpretation of Balanchine's Apollo, which he danced in Hamburg under the choreographer's direction. He subsequently staged many Balanchine and Cranko works for companies in Europe and America. He was director of the John Cranko Ballet School in Stuttgart from 1976 to 1990. One of the outstanding German dancers of the 20th century.