TODAY 100 YEARS AGO Fritz Höver was born. The founder of the Stuttgart based Noverre Society promoted ballet in Stuttgart and initiated the now legendary platform Noverre: Young Choreographers. Born in Euskirchen, he would have liked to become a dancer himself. War-disabled, he devoted himself to the art of dance as a patron instead. At the end of the 1950s, he noticed that ballet was being neglected in Stuttgart and founded the Noverre Society in 1958 to remedy this situation. When John Cranko became director in Stuttgart in 1961, two like-minded people found each other. With lectures, presentations and special events, they increasingly won the public over to ballet. Among Höver’s many activities the Young Choreographers' evening wrote ballet history. As the first platform of its kind, it enabled young artists to try their hand at choreography. International icons such as John Neumeier, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, and Uwe Scholz created their first pieces under the auspices of the society - and successfully made their way in the ballet world. For his support of young choreographers and his tireless commitment to ballet in general, Fritz Höver received the German Dance Prize in 2000. Höver passed away on 7 April 2015 at the age of 93. But his legacy lives on - especially when the curtain rises each year for Noverre: Young Choreographers and a new generation makes a name for itself with new works.

Photo: General Director Walter Erich Schäfer, Ballet Director John Cranko and Fritz Höver in 1971; © Gundel Kilian