Choreographer JOHN NEUMEIER was born in Milwaukee/Wisconsin in 1939. He studied in his native city as well as in Chicago, Copenhagen and London. In 1963, John Cranko invited him to join Stuttgart Ballet, where he advanced to soloist and continued his choreographic development. Appointed Director of Ballet Frankfurt in 1969, he soon caused a sensation with his new interpretations of such well-known ballets as Romeo and Juliet and The Nutcracker. In 1973, he was appointed Director and Chief Choreographer of the Hamburg Ballet. Under his direction, the Hamburg Ballet has became one of the leading ballet companies on the German dance scene and soon received international recognition.
As a choreographer, Mr. Neumeier has continually focused on the preservation of ballet tradition, while giving his works a modern dramatic framework. His ballets range from new versions of full-length story ballets to musicals and symphonic ballets as well as choreographies to sacred music. His latest creations for the Hamburg Ballet are Beethoven Project II, Hamlet 21, Sleeping Beauty in 2021, Dona Nobis Pacem in 2022 and Epilog in 2024. In addition to his 51 years total as Director of Hamburg Ballet, he regularly works as guest choreographer with the most renowned international ballet companies.
In 1978, John Neumeier founded the School of the Hamburg Ballet. Today more than 80 % of the company’s dancers are graduates of the school. In 2011, Neumeier founded Germany’s National Youth Ballet, a small ensemble without a fixed stage that is constantly reinventing dance through performances in places far removed from conventional ballet venues such as museums, retirement homes, schools or prisons.
John Neumeier has received some of the most prestigious international awards. He holds the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany as well as the French Order of Arts and Letters and the Legion of Honor. In 2015, the Inamori Foundation presented John Neumeier with the Kyoto Prize for his contributions to the Arts and Philosophy. In 2017, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Awards of the Prix Benois de la Danse and the Prix de Lausanne as well as the Erich Fromm Prize. In 2019, he received the People's Republic of China Friendship Award. In 2021, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark awarded John Neumeier the Medal of Honor “Ingenio et arti”, a personal honor bestowed by the Danish royal house on outstanding personalities in the field of arts and scientists. In 2023, he received the Italian Music Prize "Una vita nella musica", the Honorary Membership of the Hamburg State Opera and was admitted as a new member of the order "Pour le Mérite".
In 2006, Mr. Neumeier established the John Neumeier Foundation with the aim of preserving and eventually making available to the public his collection of dance and ballet-related objects.
Photo by Kirian West