The Berlin choreographer Tom Schilling has died. This was announced to dpa by the Komische Oper Berlin and his colleague Arila Siegert. Schilling died on January 16 - just a few days before his 98th birthday. However, according to Siegert, who had worked with Schilling as a solo dancer, his death was not to be announced until after his funeral. His urn was buried on Thursday.
Schilling was born in Thuringia. After studying at the opera and ballet school in Dessau, he began his career as a dancer at theaters in Dresden, Leipzig and Weimar. In 1956, he became ballet director and chief choreographer at the Dresden State Opera. In 1964, he took on the same role at the Komische Oper Berlin, where he established a dance theater. He retired in 1993.
As head choreographer at the Komische Oper for many years, Schilling was also awarded the German Dance Prize in 1996. He was said to have shaped the image of artistic stage dance in the former GDR with his ballets.
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