1966 – 2066
Tradition dances with the future
What will the Oremek-Reeves Ballet School look like in ten, twenty or forty years’ time?
A question I cannot, of course, answer at this stage. But one thing I do know:
I know where I want to go.
1966 – The foundations
On November 3rd 1966, Waltraud Oremek-Reeves laid the foundation for our ballet school with the very first ballet lesson.
What began back then with classical ballet has grown over six decades. Not by abandoning our roots or chasing every new trend, but by building on that foundation and creating a strong and solid base over the years.
Classical ballet lessons were supplemented by neoclassical ballet, character dance and tap dance; later, hip-hop, contemporary and lyric dance were added. Teaching methods and pedagogy continued to evolve, new generations arrived and new ideas emerged.
The ballet school developed and expanded. Our annual performances also grew alongside us: from a small stage in the parish hall of the Protestant church to the large stage of the Kurtheater.
The foundation remained. The ballet school continued to develop.
And that is exactly what we intend to do in the future.
2026 – 60 years
We have come a long way, a journey on which my mother and I look back today with great joy and pride.
The Oremek-Reeves Ballet School currently teaches more than 200 pupils in just under 180 square metres at our main residence at Langwiesenweg 15a.
The past few years in particular have been very demanding. The pandemic period, with schools and sports halls closed and, ultimately, our ballet studio closed too, was marked by great uncertainty and concerns about the future.
I am therefore all the more grateful to be able to say today:
In our 60th anniversary year, the Oremek-Reeves Ballet School stands stronger than ever before.
Our strong foundations have carried us through even the most difficult times.
Today, I am also able to rely on a team of teachers and professional dancers. I am particularly proud to have recruited two outstanding professionals, Vicky and Evilyn, for our ballet school. This enables us to maintain our high professional and educational standards in all classes – even in those where I am unable to teach myself due to time constraints.
And with that, the groundwork for the next step has been laid.
2036 – 70 years
Where will we be in ten years’ time?
That future is not so far off, and we are already working on some of its building blocks today.
The ballet school is set to grow further: in terms of dance, teaching and also in terms of space. With more than 200 pupils in just under 180 square metres, it is already clear to us that growth requires space.
That is why we are already working intensively on what the ballet school might look like in the coming decades.
More space for dance. More space for lessons. More space for rehearsals. More space for new ideas. More space for creativity. More space for personal development.
New and additional premises will enable us to further expand our range of classes, introduce new dance styles and, at the same time, create better opportunities for rehearsals, workshops and special projects.
My aim is not simply to become bigger.
I want my ballet school to grow in a meaningful way.
The personal atmosphere of our ballet school, the individual support we provide to our pupils, and the combination of high-quality dance training and responsible teaching methods must be preserved even as the school grows.
At the same time, I would like to bring new ideas to life, develop new teaching programmes and create opportunities of which we can perhaps only begin to imagine a small part today.
There are more than enough ideas for this.
My pool of ideas is already brimming to the brim.
Perhaps by 2036, some of these ideas will have long since become an integral part of everyday life at our ballet school. Others will only emerge along the way.
Because even in the future, we will not simply follow every trend. We will look closely at what suits us, our pupils and our educational standards.
What works well can stay.
What can be improved, we will develop further.
And whatever brings about something truly new, we will try out with courage.
For one thing will not change in the next ten years either:
Our commitment to passing on the great art of ballet and dance to the next generation at the highest professional standard, whilst upholding our educational responsibility.
In 2036, therefore, we do not simply want to be ten years older.
We want to be ten years further along.
2046 – 80 years
Once again, children will be joining our ballet school whose mothers may well have danced here themselves.
Perhaps even their grandmothers.
New dance styles will have emerged. Teaching methods will have evolved. The world in which children grow up will also be a different one.
And, of course, we too will continue to evolve.
For us, tradition does not mean standing still.
Tradition means preserving what is valuable whilst at the same time having the courage to let new things emerge.
Perhaps by then, the sixth or seventh generation of families will already be connected to our ballet school.
To me, that is a wonderful thought.
2056 – 90 years
This is when things will really get exciting.
Which of our current visions will have become reality by then?
Which new ones will have been added?
Perhaps we’ll be teaching forms of dance that we don’t even know exist today, but which will one day come into being. Perhaps technical possibilities that we can scarcely imagine today will be a natural part of our lessons.
But one thing will have remained the same!
A ballet school where children don’t just learn steps.
But musicality and expression. Discipline and perseverance. Self-confidence and responsibility. A sense of community and the joy of creating something special together.
A school that instils values in young people and accompanies them part of the way on their life’s journey.
A school where, even after nine decades, the highest standards of dance and responsible teaching remain inextricably linked.
2066 – 100 years of the Oremek-Reeves Ballet School
And then?
100 years.
What a thought.
Perhaps in the year 2066, a little girl will step into our ballet school for the very first time.
Perhaps her mother will tell her that she herself danced here.
Perhaps her grandmother will smile and say:
‘Me too.’
There’s bound to be an old photograph from 1966 hanging somewhere.
A photograph of a woman who had the courage to start something, without anyone at the time knowing where that path would lead:
Waltraud Oremek-Reeves.
She laid the foundations in 1966.
My task is to build on them.
I would like to see the ballet school continue to grow. To create new spaces. To bring new ideas to life. To preserve what has stood the test of time and to dare to try new things.
Above all, however, I would like to continue, in the years to come, to pass on the great art of ballet – with all its diverse and fascinating facets – to generations of pupils and to accompany them for a while on their journey through life.
For after 60 years, we know this:
The future is not created by leaving tradition behind.
The future is created by building on it.
1966 was the beginning
2026 is a milestone.
And 2066?
I’m already looking forward to that.
And there’s one thing I can promise you today:
I’ll be there. 😊
Just as my mother, now aged 90, still follows the ballet school’s progress closely and – whenever she can – supports it, I too will certainly not miss the 100th anniversary.
By then I’ll be 91 myself and perhaps not quite as fit and agile as I am today.
But one thing is certain:
I’ll be there for my ballet school’s 100th birthday! 😊 I promise!
I’ll definitely be sitting in the ballet studio, watching the next generation in class, correcting – still 😊 – their feet and arms, and thinking: how lovely,
tradition is still dancing with the future.
Yours, Jasmin
