Ivan Liška
Ivan Liška was born in Prague on 8 November 1950 and received his ballet-training at the local conservatory. After graduating in 1969, he emigrated from his home country and joined the ballet company of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. From 1974 to 1977, he was with the Bavarian State Opera Ballet before joining the Hamburg Ballet as principal soloist, where he danced and created the title roles in numerous works by John Neumeier. Ivan Liška directed the Bayerisches Staatsballett from 1998 to 2016. In spring 2007, he was honoured by the State Ministry for Federal and European Affairs with the »Medal for Special Services to Bavaria in a United Europe«. On 9 July 2009, Minister President Horst Seehofer presented him with the Bavarian Order of Merit. Following the death of Konstanze Vernon, he took over the management of the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung and the Bayerisches Junior Ballett München in April 2013.
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