The Semper Opera House and the Semper Opera Ball are as much a part of Dresden as the porcelain factory is of Meissen. They are among Saxony's cultural landmarks and are internationally known for their unique blend of artistic perfection and centuries-old traditions. United in their desire to maintain and promote their common cultural heritage, MEISSEN and the SemperOperaball have now come together to form a partnership. In the future, there will be a new award for the honors at the Opera Ball: the CHOROS Award - an exclusive porcelain prize specially designed for this occasion, focusing in its form on what is the heart of the Semper Opera Ball: dance as the archetypal form of human communication, as a symbol of celebrating together and as a pioneer of intercultural dialogue and understanding. It will be awarded for the first time at the 16th SemperOperaball on 23 February 2024.


The name CHOROS comes from the Greek and means dance or dancing place. It has its origin in the ancient Greek tradition of communal wheat threshing on a public threshing floor, the so-called "chorostasi". The threshing floor - a large, spacious and flat square - usually remained unused after the end of the harvest season and served as a place for weddings and public dances.
The CHOROS by MEISSEN shows an abstract dancing couple spinning around their own axis with a wide swinging dress. The dynamics of the dance are captured in large S-shapes. According to the creator of the award, the long-time chief sculptor of the manufactory, Jörg Danielczyk (*1952), the "S" stands for "swing" - and can be found in "Semperoper" and "SemperOperaball" at the same time. The sculpture is mounted on a high-quality wooden base made of bog oak, whose dark colour accentuates the radiant white of the porcelain particularly well. The subtle golden staffage adds a glamorous touch and is complemented by a few green and black brushstrokes - a gentle reference to the Saxon identity of the award.