The conversion of the existing Sergievi (Exhibition House) building in Ankara into an opera house was started in 1947 and the building started serving as the Ankara Opera House on April 2, 1948, with the performance of pieces composed by the "Turkish Five" and the premiere of Ahmet Adnan Saygun's "Kerem". The organization of the opera orchestra and chorus was completed between 1950–1953. During the same period, a ballet school was established in İstanbul with prima ballerina Ninette de Valois, which was later integrated into Ankara State Conservatory, giving its first graduates in 1956.