The history of today's stuttgart ballet began in1961.John,the south African born,was named to take over as the ballet director and choreographer. Cranko gathered together a group of outstanding young dancers. The breakthrough for Cranko and its company came in December 1962 with the world premiere of Romeo and Juliet, which was highly praised by critics and audience alike. As it became better known, the Stuttgart Ballet began to undertake tours all over the world. The company's tour to New York City in 1969 was such as triumphant success tha critics began to speak about "the stuttgart ballret miracle." John Cranko's tragic and untimely death in1973, however, did not bring the "stuttgart ballret miracle" to an end.