I was a dancer in the Hamburg State Opera, and later a private coach working with a few "principals" from ABT, SFB, Stuttgart Ballet, Goudούν & Friends etc. Was also Balletmeister at the Opera Haus in Zurich-Wiesbaden-Ulm etc... Gave up theater to become a painter, have more time with my children and so on... I often find myself missing dance and thought that I would check out this site..
Greetings

Hello alaneE,

Have you danced any of John Neumeier's works?

I am trying to find out more about him and his choreography but there doesn't seem to be very much written in English. For example, are there difficulties for dancers specific to his choreography? How does Neumeier work?

Welcome to Ballet Talk, alaneE; it's very nice to have you with us. With your experiences in performing and coaching you have a wealth of information to share on the board. We hope to hear from you, and we hope your art career blossoms.

Giannina

Well of course...., i was a member of the company for 3-5 years and danced works and created roles with John. John is a wonderful story teller, although the time for narrative dance officially was put to rest by Mr B....the tradition has continued.
Johns work is not always wonderful for a dancer to actually dance! The flow of movement is not choreographed from a physical viewpoint but from a mental standpoint.....John is very dear to me, but if I was to view him from a more progressive mindset I would have to say that he was never much of a dancer himself, brought into his prime in the Cranko era and managed to take a small element of dance in his time and develop it. His specialty would be the rethinking of already written and choreographed concepts......., and his genius would be his own explorations into the small details of their telling.....(a surplus of small detail)..........While Bill in Frankfurt was busy breaking down walls John was busy rearranging the bricks..........
i am not a writer and my English gets mixed up with my German and please forgive my grammar.....

Why thank you Giannina.....
my performing experience was actually quite short. I went from the school in Stuttgart to Hamburg and after 4 years quit to attempt painting. Then went back to performing with the company and eventually starting to teach. I found coaching much more stimulating then actually teaching but at the time there were few positions open for coaches....so i was almost forced to become a balletmeister.......anyway PAINTING is wonderful and my last engagement in the theater was actually doing sets and costumes for a ballet in Stuttgart, where i had gone to school......painting my paintings in Stuttgart to be used on the stage was so much fun....this was just great......full circle

so you are hearing from me......
I am trying....to answer any and all questions......

as an artist if you google my name you will see what i am up to......
alan ebnother

Hello Alane and welcome to Ballet Talk. Can you give us any insights, if any, on the Zurich Ballet and their AD? Thanks!