John Neumeier

John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He was the director and principal choreographer of Hamburg Ballet from 1973 to 2024 and the artistic director of the ballet at the Hamburg State Opera from 1996-2024.

In 1978 he founded The School of the Hamburg Ballet, which includes a boarding school for 34 students. He has been the general director and artistic supervisor of the German National Youth Ballet since it was founded in 2011.

Life and career Neumeier was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 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 and Ruth Page. After completing a BA in English Literature and Theater Studies at Marquette University in 1961, he continued his training in Copenhagen with Vera Volkova and at the Royal Ballet School in London. In 1963 he joined the Stuttgart Ballet under John Cranko, rising to the rank of soloist. In 1969 Neumeier became director of the Frankfurt Ballet, before becoming director and principal choreographer at the Hamburg Ballet in 1973. From 1971-1974 Neumeier was also guest choreographer for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, where he provided repertoire and staged his version of The Nutcracker.

In 2001 and 2008 he served as a president of the jury at the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition.

Personal life Neumeier and his partner, German cardiovascular surgeon Hermann Reichenspurner, got married in 2018 after 14 years together. They live in Hamburg.

Noted works Neumeier's choreographic output consists of more than 170 works, including many evening-length narrative ballets. Many are drawn from literary sources, such as Don Juan (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 (2002), Death in Venice (2003), The Little Mermaid (Royal Danish Ballet, 2005), and Tatiana (2014).

His adaptations of plays by William Shakespeare are of particular importance. They include Romeo and Juliet (Frankfurt Ballet, 1974), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1977), As You Like It (1985), Hamlet (Royal Danish Ballet, 1985) and VIVALDI, or What You Will (1996). 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 (2009), Tristan (1982), The Legend of King Arthur (1982) and Percival – Episodes and Echo (2006). Neumeier's work is particularly inspired by the life and work of Vaslav Nijinsky and he has produced several ballets about him: Vaslav (1979), Also in 2017, he premiered the full length ballet Anna Karenina in Hamburg, a co-production with the Bolshoi and the National Ballet of Canada.

Awards 1988 and 2008: Deutscher Tanzpreis 1992: Prix Benois de la Danse for best choreography (first recipient, for Windows on Mozart) 2003: Legion of Honour chevalier 2007: Herbert von Karajan Music Prize 2013: Gustaf Gründgens Prize 2015: Kyoto Prize 2017: Prix de Lausanne Life Achievement Award (first recipient) 2021: Ingenio et arti 2023: Premio "Una Vita nella Musica" 2023: Pour le Mérite