Bettina Thiel

Bettina Thiel received her training at the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin and joined the Ballet of the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin in 1980. In 1991, she became the Principal Dancer, and from 2004 also with the Staatsballett Berlin, where she took her stage farewell in 2012. With her brilliant technique and strong stage presence, she served as a muse for several renowned choreographers of her generation. Maurice Béjart created the role of Bettina in Nacht/Verklärte Nacht (1993) and Scheherazade in his Berlin premiere of Apropos Scheherazade (1996) for her. In 1994, she danced the title role in Nureyev's Raymonda, a virtuosic feat, and Patrice Bart created the role of the Queen in Schwanensee (1997) with her. She collaborated with choreographers like Jorma Uotinen and Mark Baldwin, with her legendary interpretation of Anita Berber in Roland Petit's Dix oder Eros und Tod, premiered in 1995 at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

Open to new challenges, Bettina Thiel has built an extensive repertoire throughout her career, ranging from works by Tom Schilling to Alberto Alonso, from William Forsythe to Nacho Duato, alongside demanding classical roles such as Kitri or Mercedes in Don Quixote, Myrtha (Giselle), and Odette/Odile (Swan Lake).

Today, she remains committed to the Staatsballett Berlin as an educator in the Education Programme Tanz ist KLASSE!, where she not only teaches Creative Children's Dance but also develops and choreographs her own projects as a dance teacher and dance therapist BTD.