John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of

Hamburg Ballet The Hamburg Ballet is a ballet company based in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973, it has been directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier. In addition there is a ballet school, , established in 1978. The performances of the Hamb ...

since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also includes a boarding school for students. In 1996, Neumeier was made ballet director of Hamburg State Opera.

Biography

Neumeier was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, where he received his first ballet training. He continued his dance training in Chicago at the Stone-Camyrn School of Ballet and performed with

Sybil Shearer Sybil Louise Shearer (February 23, 1912 November 17, 2005) Hunt, Marilyn (December 22, 2005). ''The Independent''; retrieved October 10, 2013. was an American choreographer, dancer and writer. She was hailed as a "maverick" or "nature mystic" ...

and Ruth Page. After completing a B.A. in English literature and theater studies at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...

in 1961, he continued his training in Copenhagen with Vera Volkova and at the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

in London. In 1963 he joined the Stuttgart Ballet under

John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born in Rustenburg in the former province of Transv ...

, rising to the rank of soloist. In 1969 Neumeier became director of the Frankfurt Ballet, before becoming director and chief choreographer at the Hamburg Ballet in 1973. From 1971 through 1974 Neumeier was also guest choreographer for the

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

, where he provided repertoire and staged his version of ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...

''.

Noted works

Neumeier's choreographic output consists of more than 120 works, including many evening-length

narrative ballet A narrative ballet or story ballet is a form of ballet that has a plot and characters. It is typically a production with full sets and costumes. It was an invention of the eighteenth century. Most romantic and classical ballets of the 19th cent ...

s. Many are drawn from literary sources, such as ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

'' (created for the Frankfurt Ballet, 1972), ''Hamlet Connotations'' (1976) ''The Lady of the Camellias'' ( Stuttgart Ballet, 1978, 2010), '' A Streetcar Named Desire'' (Stuttgart Ballet, 1983), ''Peer Gynt'' (1989), ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...

'' (2002), ''Death in Venice'' (2003), ''The Little Mermaid'' (

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...

, 2010), '' Liliom'' (2011) and ''Tatiana'' (2014). Of particular importance are his adaptations of plays by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, including ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Frankfurt Ballet, 1974), '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1977), ''Othello'' (1985), ''As You Like It'' (1985), ''Hamlet'' (Royal Danish Ballet, 1985) and ''VIVALDI, or What You Will'' (1996). He has reinterpreted and rechoreographed the seminal classics of the 19th century: ''

'' (Frankfurt Ballet, 1971), set in the world of 19th-century ballet, ''Illusions, like Swan Lake'' (1976), based loosely on the life of

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

, '' The Sleeping Beauty'' (1978) and '' Giselle'' (2000). He has choreographed works on Biblical subjects, including '' The Legend of Joseph'' ( Vienna State Ballet, 1977), ''Saint Matthew Passion'' (1981), ''Magnificat'' (

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

, 1987), '' Requiem'' (1991), ''Messiah'' (1999) and ''Christmas Oratorio'' (2007, 2013), as well as ballets inspired by mythological subjects: '' Daphnis et Chloe'' (Frankfurt Ballet, 1972), ''Sylvia'' (Paris Opera Ballet, 1997), ''

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...

'' (2009), ''Tristan'' (1982), ''The Saga of King Arthur'' (1982) and ''Parzival - Episodes and Echo'' (2006). Neumeier is particularly inspired by the life and work of

Vaslav Nijinsky Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...

and has produced several ballets about him: ''Vaslav'' (1979), the full-length ''Nijinsky'' (2000) and '' Le Pavillon d'Armide'' (2009). Neumeier has also choreographed a number of ballets to the music of Gustav Mahler, including the biographical ''Purgatorio'' (2011), set to Deryck Cooke's reconstruction of Mahler's Tenth Symphony. In addition, Neumeier has choreographed Mahler's First (''Lieb' und Leid und Welt und Traum'',

Ballet of the 20th Century Ballet of the 20th Century (french: Ballet du XXme Siècle), was a ballet and contemporary dance company in Brussels, Belgium in 1960, by the French/Swiss choreographer Maurice Béjart. For many years it was the official dance company of the Théât ...

, 1980), Third (1975), Fourth (

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

, 1977), Fifth (1989), Sixth (1984) and Ninth (''In the Between'', 1994) symphonies, as well as the ''

Rückert-Lieder ' (Songs after Rückert) is a collection of five Lieder for voice and orchestra or piano by Gustav Mahler, based on poems written by Friedrich Rückert. The songs were first published in ''Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit'' (''Seven Songs of Latter ...

'' (1976), ''Des Knaben Wunderhorn'' (''Soldier Songs'', 1989) and '' Song of the Earth'' (Paris Opera Ballet, 2015). In 2017 he created and directed a new production of Gluck's '' Orfeo ed Euridice'' for the

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

featuring the Joffrey Ballet.

Awards

*1988 and 2008: Deutscher Tanzpreis *1992:

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

for best choreography (first recipient, for ''Windows on Mozart'') *2003:

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

chevalier *2006: Honorary citizen of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

*2007: Herbert von Karajan Music Prize *2013: Gustaf Gründgens Prize *2015:

Kyoto Prize The is Japan's highest private award for lifetime achievement in the arts and sciences. It is given not only to those that are top representatives of their own respective fields, but to "those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, ...

*2017: Prix de Lausanne Life Achievement Award (first recipient) *2021: Ingenio et arti Den Kgl. Opera 19.maj Copenhagen.

Bibliography

*John Neumeier, ''In Bewegung''. Edited by Stephan Mettin, Collection Rolf Heyne, 2008. *John Neumeier. ''Images from a Life''. Edited by Horst Koegler (German / English), Edel Germany, 2010. *John Neumeier. ''Trente ans de ballets à l'Opéra de Paris.'' Edited by Jacqueline Thuilleux (French), Editions Gourcuff Gradenigo, 2010. *Наталия Зозулина. ''Джон Ноймайер в Петербурге''. Научный редактор В.В.Чистякова. Санкт-Петербург, "Алаборг", 2012. *Наталия Зозулина. ''Джон Ноймайер и его балеты. Вечное движение''. Санкт-Петербург, Академия Русского балета им. А.Я.Вагановой, 2019. *''Nijinsky. Ballett von John Neumeier''. By Natalia Zozulina (German, ubersetzt aus dem Russischen von Natalia Freudenberg). St.Petersburg, 2020.

References

Sources

*Silvia Poletti, ''John Neumeier''. Palermo, L'Epos, 2004.

External links

Neumeier biographyInterview with Neumeier

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neumeier, John American male ballet dancers American expatriates in Germany 1939 births Living people Artists from Milwaukee People educated at the Royal Ballet School Ballet choreographers Culture in Hamburg Kyoto laureates in Arts and Philosophy Prix Benois de la Danse jurors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Herbert von Karajan Music Prize winners Prix Benois de la Danse winners 20th-century American ballet dancers