Armin Frauenschuh
Managing Director, Ballett
Born in Mondsee, he began his training at the ballet school of the Salzburg State Theatre under Prof. Rosa Hartlieb and completed it at the Hamburg State Opera with John Neumeier. In Copenhagen, he was awarded the Birger Bartholin Prize. His first engagement took him in 1993 to the ballet company of the Saxon State Opera Dresden, where ballet director Vladimir Derevianko soon promoted him to soloist. He remained on the stage of the renowned Semperoper for thirteen years as a member of this ensemble.
He subsequently joined the Opera Chemnitz as a principal dancer for a further seven years. There, he also directed the ballet school, produced several large-scale choreographic projects for children, and worked as a choreographic assistant and rehearsal director.
His artistic experience has been shaped by collaborations with numerous renowned choreographers, including John Neumeier, William Forsythe, Uwe Scholz, Glen Tetley, Jochen Ulrich, Stefan Thoss, and Johan Inger, among others. Over the course of a stage career spanning two decades, he performed in more than fifty productions from the classical, neoclassical, and contemporary repertoire. Guest performances, tours, and gala appearances took him to many German theatres as well as to Italy, France, and Switzerland.
After concluding his active dancing career, he worked at the Anhalt Theatre Dessau as ballet master and artistic advisor to the ballet director, also taking on responsibility for the organization of the company.
Beginning with the 2014/15 season, he moved to Theater Augsburg as ballet master and assistant to the ballet director. In addition, he assumed extensive responsibilities in ensemble management, production assistance, and dramaturgy, and in 2016 was appointed Deputy Ballet Director. From 2017, he served for two further years as Ballet Company Manager at the newly founded State Theatre Augsburg.
He then spent four seasons in Frankfurt, working as production manager, scheduler, and tour manager with the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company, with whom he toured extensively throughout Europe. In 2021, as a scholarship holder of the German Theatre Association (Deutscher Bühnenverein), he completed the postgraduate program in Theatre and Music Management at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, graduating with a diploma.
For the 2023/24 season, he was engaged by Bridget Breiner at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, where he served as Ballet Manager and Dramaturg and held the executive management of the Badisches Staatsballett. Since the 2024/25 season, he has been part of the newly established dual leadership as Managing Director of the ballet company in his hometown of Salzburg. He also appears as a curator and moderator of ballet gala events, including at Munich’s Gasteig, and regularly gives introductory talks and lectures on dance.
Last updated: January 2026