Social media sensation ballet master Tomas Karlborg retires
Ballet Master Tomas Karlborg retired, Staatsballett Berlin said in a news release on 30th October 2026.
Karlborg became a Tik Tok and Instagram sensation, kicking off the pas de Balanchine challenge in 2023. You recognise this movie clip, don't you?
Karlborg is from Linköping, Sweden. He trained at the ballet school of the Royal Swedish Opera. He joined the Norwegian National Opera Ballet in 1980 after completing his training. He moved to Germany in the following year to join the ballet company of the Bonn Opera. In 1983, he became a member of the ballet company of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he was promoted to a Soloist in 1986 and appointed Principal Dancer in 1989, according to his profile page.
In recognition of Karlborg's outstanding contribution to dance and ballet in Berlin, Staatsballetts Berlin awarded him an Honorary Membership, or Ehrenmitgliedschaft, the company said in its Instagram post.
