Birgit Cullberg
Illustration — Cullberg in 1943 • Illustration — Portrait of Birgit Cullberg by Willy Gordon, outside the Theatre in Nyköping, Sweden Birgit Ragnhild Cullberg (3 August 1908 – 8 September 1999) was a Swedish choreographer. Her father Carl Cullberg was a bank director and her mother was Elna Westerström. Cullberg was born in Nyköping and was married from 1942 to 1949 to actor Anders Ek.
Also recorded as Brigit Culberg · Birgit Ragnhild Cullberg
Birgit Cullberg
K W Gullers · Nordiska museet: NMA.0031494. DigitaltMuseum. Retrieved on 1 September 2011. · Public domain
- Full name
- Birgit Ragnhild Cullberg.
- Died
- 1999 · Stockholm.
- Nationality
- Sweden
- Occupation
- choreographer · dancer · ballet master · theatre manager · film director · docent
- Fields
- choreography · dance · ballet
- Education
- The Royal Ballet
- Teachers
- Kurt Jooss
- Honours
- Professor · honorary member · Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres · Litteris et Artibus · Swedish Academy's Theatre Award
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wikidata · Q435063 · wikipedia · Birgit Cullberg
In this article
Selected choreography
Selected choreography
She was the mother of Niklas Ek in 1943, and twins Mats Ek, and Malin Ek in 1945. Cullberg studied ballet under Kurt Jooss-Leeder and Lilian Karina and at The Royal Ballet, London (1952–1957). In 1960, Cullberg was appointed director and choreographer at the Stockholm City Theatre. Some of her choreographies were premiered at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. Cullberg gained international recognition by founding the Cullberg Ballet in the 1960s. On her retirement in 1985, her son Mats Ek took over the ballet company. The Swedish Arts Grants Committee instituted the Cullberg scholarship in her honour, and she was awarded an honorary professorship at Stockholm University, where she had studied when she was young. In 1977 she was awarded the Litteris et Artibus and in 1983 the Illis quorum. She also received the French honour Commandeur des Arts et Lettres and the Italian honour Cavaliere Ufficiale al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.
Birgit Cullberg studied at The Royal Ballet. Training under Kurt Jooss is recorded. The field of work recorded is choreography, dance and ballet. Employment is recorded with Stockholm City Theatre and Royal Swedish Opera. Distinctions recorded are Professor, honorary member, Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and Litteris et Artibus.
• 1950 Miss Julie • 1957 The Moon Reindeer • 1960 The Lady from the Sea
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Nyköping.
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Stockholm.
Death place
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Birgit Cullberg, revision 1284301514 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Arent, Hans-Christian. Birgit Ragnhild Cullberg. Store norske leksikon. 8 September 2021.
- 2.Cullberg, Birgit. Birgit Ragnhild Cullberg. Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon. 3 August 1908.
- 3.Birgit Cullberg. The Guardian. 22 September 1999.
- 4.Gruhl, Boris. Choreograf Mats Ek beweist seinen subtilen Humor. Deutschlandfunk Kultur. 6 January 2016.
- 5.Malmström Olsson, Cecilia. Birgit Ragnhild Cullberg. Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon.
- 6.Mats Ek. Staatstheater Nürnberg.
- 7.Birgit Cullberg. www.kungahuset.se.
- 8.Regeringens belöningsmedaljer och regeringens utmärkelse: Professors namn. Regeringskansliet. January 2006.
- 9.Miss Julie. American Ballet Theatre. 22 February 2018.
- 10.Moon Reindeer. American Ballet Theatre. 22 February 2018.
- 11.Lady from the Sea. American Ballet Theatre. 22 February 2018.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Birgit Ragnhild Cullberg.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 27 August 2026.
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