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Bildrechte über Hamburgische Staatsoper
Shall we dance?
National Youth Ballet - John Neumeier
An exciting choreographic journey through time, between hope, glamour, and the pressing question: Can one dance when the world is faltering? "Shall we dance?" is a reflection on the interwar period – an era filled with hope for lasting peace after the First World War, marked by artistic flourishing and social awakening.
May one dance when the world is faltering?
A Ballet Revue by John Neumeier
Concept, direction, choreography, and set design: John Neumeier
Eine Koproduktion des Ernst Deutsch Theaters mit dem Bundesjugendballett – John Neumeier
World Premiere: National Youth Ballet / Hamburger Kammerballett / a.o., Ernst Deutsch Theater, Hamburg, June 19, 2025
Concept, direction, choreography, and set design: John Neumeier
Eine Koproduktion des Ernst Deutsch Theaters mit dem Bundesjugendballett – John Neumeier
World Premiere: National Youth Ballet / Hamburger Kammerballett / a.o., Ernst Deutsch Theater, Hamburg, June 19, 2025
Cast
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EnsembleBundesjugendballett
The Production
- Venue Guest performance in Baden-Baden, Festspielhaus
- Break 1 intermission
- Age recommendation from 13 years on
This new creation is based on a work by John Neumeier from 1986. At the time, Neumeier developed a ballet revue to music by George Gershwin for the Hamburg Ballet, which was performed around ten times at the Kampnagel venue in Hamburg and then never restaged. Almost four decades later, the young company takes up this material once again – with a new concept that goes far beyond a simple revival.
A total of 29 performers are involved: the dancers of the Federal Youth Ballet, the Hamburg Chamber Ballet, four guest artists, and a musical ensemble. Together, they create a multifaceted portrait of that era, in which dance, music, and literature intersect. Live music plays a central role in the production, bringing the works of George Gershwin and Maurice Ravel to the stage.
References to the Harlem Renaissance, to writers such as Edna St. Vincent Millay and F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as to the Ballets Russes and dance icons like Anna Pavlova and Isadora Duncan are intricately woven throughout.
A total of 29 performers are involved: the dancers of the Federal Youth Ballet, the Hamburg Chamber Ballet, four guest artists, and a musical ensemble. Together, they create a multifaceted portrait of that era, in which dance, music, and literature intersect. Live music plays a central role in the production, bringing the works of George Gershwin and Maurice Ravel to the stage.
References to the Harlem Renaissance, to writers such as Edna St. Vincent Millay and F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as to the Ballets Russes and dance icons like Anna Pavlova and Isadora Duncan are intricately woven throughout.