Exhibition project
Project management: Jutta Braun
Funded by the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship
Project duration: 2026
The project examines high culture and raison d'état in the 20th century. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the State Ballet School of Berlin, the ZZF Potsdam will showcase the political dimension of ballet during the Cold War: The planned exhibition will focus on Soviet dominance and political control of ballet in the GDR and explore the biographies of graduates who achieved international fame. It reminds us that it was not only Soviet stars such as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov who fled to the West – idols of the GDR also changed sides under dramatic circumstances.
Furthermore, the relevance of high culture in the political crises of the present is questioned: How strongly are individual careers – in democracy and dictatorship – confronted with the political demands of the state and the public?
