Scandal around the state ballet school: excellence in danger!

Scandal around the state ballet school: excellence in danger!

Berlin, Deutschland - The State Ballet School Berlin, since its opening in 2011 a respected training center at an international top level, is at a serious crisis. The school, which has been housed in a modern new building with generous studios, its own theater and a boarding school, has lost great numbers and reputation in recent years. Especially since spring 2020, when media reported on psychological pressure, bodyhaming and authoritarian pedagogy, the call of the institution is suffering. The reporting led to a massive loss of trust, which brought the school management under Ralf Stabel and Gregor Seyffert to immediately dismissal, even though there are no reliable evidence of the allegations, such as Berliner Zeitung notes.

The schools faced numerous challenges that were reinforced by the pandemic. In this context, the situation at the state ballet school was particularly critically examined. In January 2020, an anonymous dossier was published about possible grievances, which led to house bans for the management team and the establishment of investigation commissions. Although no evidence of the allegations were found after intensive investigations, the school management and the school's reputation suffered considerable damage. As the magazine reports the leaves, the state of Berlin condemned the former leaders in several processes, but lost every lawsuit against the unjustified dismissals.

consequences of reporting and politics

The reporting, which was carried out intensively by RBB, led to far -reaching reactions in the education system. The educational authority reacted over the fall and released the school management, which subsequently led to a moral campaign that the school was mutually paralyzed. Student number sank drastically and the once high standard of the training decreased. Until four years ago, the school made over 300 students from 27 nations and had the best high school diploma in Berlin. It offered a unique combination of high school, vocational training as a dancer and Bachelor of Arts. Today, however, school psychology is insufficiently expanded and plays a central role in dealing with the psychological stress that this situation brings with it, such as the bdp.

An ironic aspect of the situation is that the educational authority formed several commissions to investigate the allegations, but these reports were often inaccessible or even destroyed. This has further undermined trust in the authorities and reinforced the influence of prejudices and stereotypes in public perception. While some votes demand that the management of the SPD education policy could bring new developments for the future of the school, the question of responsibility for the restoration of the school and the rehabilitation of its former management circles remains open.

Learning from the crisis

The current situation of the state ballet school Berlin impressively shows how media reporting and educational policy in times of crisis are capable of influencing the fate of an important educational institution. The mental health of the students and teachers is of central importance. After three years of school crisis and the associated burdens, increased school psychological support, as recommended by the German Ethics Council, could offer a solution. The need for school psychologists who are responsible for both mental health and the school performance of the children is more urgent than ever.

The state institutions face the challenge of regaining the trust of the public and at the same time creating effective support offers. This could be a positive change for the State Ballet School Berlin, which has so far suffered from the consequences of a media -driven moral campaign. The coming path will be decisive for whether the former excellence of this institution can be restored.