Ivan Liška

Chairman of the Board of the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung
Artistic Director of the Bavarian Junior Ballet Munich

It is Ivan Liška’s great joy and passion to share his vast experience as a former director of the Bavarian State Ballet Munich and an internationally renowned soloist with future generations of dancers. His warmth and genuine love for people is captivating, helping the young artists in his care to find the courage to express their unique personality as dancers at this early stage in their career.

Ivan Liška was born in Prague on 8 November 1950 and trained at the Prague Conservatory. After graduating in 1969, he emigrated from his homeland and joined the ballet of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf.

From 1974 to 1977, he danced as a demi-soloist with the Bavarian State Opera Ballet (renamed Bavarian State Ballet in 1989), before joining the Hamburg Ballet as a principal. There he danced and created lead roles in numerous works by John Neumeier, «A Midsummer Night’s Dream», «Saint Matthew Passion», «As You Like It», «In the Between (Ninth Sympnony of Gustav Mahler)», the title roles in «Peer Gynt» and «Odyssey», and solo roles in works by Robbins, Béjart, van Manen, Kylián, Balanchine, Cranko, Louis, Lubovitch, Limón and Tudor. 

He toured all over the world, including dancing «Onegin» with Natalia Makarova in Paris, London and New York. He danced Armand in the film version of «The Lady of the Camellias» alongside Marcia Haydée. At the Plisetskaya Competition he received the award for “Best Partner”. As part of the Hamburg Ballet Workshops and in Brno in 1997, Ivan Liška choreographed the piece «Der Streit» (The Quarrel).

From 1998 to 2016, Ivan Liška was the director of the Bavarian State Ballet. Under his directorship the company expanded its touring activity, visiting Saint Petersburg, Prague, Athens, Madrid and Budapest, as well as cities in India, Italy, Canada, Turkey, Taiwan and China. He introduced numerous new choreographers to the Bavarian State Ballet: William Forsythe, José Limón, Jean Grand-Maître, Saburo Teshigawara, Amir Hosseinpour, Jacopo Godani, Jerome Robbins, Martin Schläpfer, Simone Sandroni, Terence Kohler, Jörg Mannes, Nacho Duato, Mary Wigman, Richard Siegal and Itzik Galili. He completed the company’s repertoire of classical ballets by commissioning Ray Barra to create a new production of «Raymonda». In Liškas own productions of «The Sleeping Beauty» (2003/2004) and «Le Corsaire» (2007), he demonstrated a historically informed approach to choreographic reconstructions. 

In the spring of 2007, Ivan Liška was awarded the “Medal for Special Services to Bavaria in a United Europe” by the State Ministry for Federal and European Affairs. In autumn 2008, the Chinese Ministry of Culture honoured him with the “Award for Outstanding Services to International Cultural Exchange”. On 9 July 2009, Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer presented him with the Bavarian Order of Merit. In 2012, he was awarded the German Dance Prize for his international dance career and his achievements as artistic director of the Bavarian State Ballet. In 2016, he and his colleagues Bettina Wagner-Bergelt and Wolfgang Oberender were awarded the Dance Prize of the City of Munich. 

In a unique collaboration with the former director of the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung Konstanze Vernon (who died in January 2013) and Jan Broeckx, the director of the Ballet Academy of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, Ivan Liška founded the Bavarian Junior Ballet Munich (formerly Bavarian State Ballet II/Junior Company) in the autumn of 2010. After Konstanze Vernon’s death, he took over the directorship of the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung in April 2013. Until the end of the 2015/16 season, Ivan Liška was also the director of the Bavarian State Ballet.

He is a recipient of the Bavarian Order of Maximilian for Art and Science. In 2021, he was awarded the medals “Artis Bohemiae Amicis” by the Ministry of Culture and “Gratias Agit” by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

Josef Erhard

Board member of the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung

For his work with the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung, Josef Erhard draws on his many years of experience as ministerial director of the Bavarian Ministry of Education, Science and the Arts. His large network and his passion as an educator are of great value to the work of the foundation.

Following a long and successful career in the Bavarian State Ministry of Education, Science and the Arts, of which he was ministerial director for 13 years, Josef Erhard brings his extensive experience and vast knowledge to his work with the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung. He has been an impressive presence on the foundation’s board and has proved to be particularly knowledgeable in the areas of finance, cultural policy and funding structures.

He was a secondary school teacher for around ten years before starting his ministerial career at the Bavarian State Chancellery under Minister President Franz Josef Strauß. Josef Erhard (who was born in 1946) quickly rose to the top: He became chief of staff of Minister of State Hans Zehetmair, with whom he is still associated today.

In 1994, he took over the Department of Art, Art Academies and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Science, which included the position of Chairman of the Board of the Richard-Wagner-Stiftung in Bayreuth. During these years he was instrumental in setting the course for the future of the Bavarian National Museum, the Pinakothek der Moderne and the Neues Museum in Nuremberg.

Norbert Graf

Board member of the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung

Norbert Graf can look back on an exemplary Bosl-career: an award-winning former student of the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung, he went on to dance with the Bavarian State Ballet for twenty years as a soloist. He has worked with many renowned choreographers and now passes on his knowledge and great experience to new generations of students of the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung, both as a choreographer and as a member of the foundation’s board.

Norbert Graf was born in Cologne, where he received his first ballet lessons at a private ballet school. At the age of 16 he joined the Ballet Academy of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich/Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung. After graduating in 1989, he was immediately taken on by the Bavarian State Ballet, where he took on solo roles in his very first season. From 1994 until the 2014/2015 season, Norbert Graf was a soloist with the company. He continues to appear on stage with the Bavarian State Ballet in many ballets as a character actor, while also passing on his knowledge to the ensemble as one of the company’s ballet masters.

His roles include Albrecht in Mats Ek’s «Giselle», Tybalt in «Romeo and Juliet», Rotbart in «Swan Lake», the title role and Count Gremin in «Onegin», Petruchio in «The Taming of the Shrew», Lankedem in «Le Corsaire», Prince Leopold in «Illusions – like Swan Lake», Camacho and the title role in «Don Quixote», Bach in «Vielfältigkeit – Formen von Stille und Leere», Widow Simone in «La Fille mal gardée» and The Father/King of Hearts in «Alice in Wonderland». He also danced in «Cambio d’abito» by Simone Sandroni, in «For the Children of yesterday, today and tomorrow» by Pina Bausch and has worked intensively with William Forsythe, Mats Ek, Hans von Manen and Jiří Kylián. As a choreographer, Norbert Graf created numerous solos and duets for the Bavarian Junior Ballet Munich. He is one of the very few German dancers who have been awarded the honorary title of Bayerischer Kammertänzer.