Dont be too good just because it. Take her take her to go. John no meyer at work that fast. And internationally renowned choreographer depicts worlds of emotion the language of dance. Its been done and im a grateful person and that might be why im a happy person and privileged to get to do what i love most people. For john know i my are the artistic journey has always been more important than the destination. And i live and i define my life is a painting dance is the frame. His creative home is the Ballet Center hamburg. Site is she ever since ive been a choreographer my aim has been to create a sort of microcosm of the world on stage of the sort of the. A microcosm that includes the underworld johnno meyer is staging orpheus and your idiocy. In their collision you see that is decrease and the narrative is the Creative Process itself is in and theres Nothing Better than entering a space feeling extremely nervous and uncertain your dancers looking to you with huge expectations on to the sound of music that moves you hear it and creating something that hadnt existed before us thats not meet our. And. One of his main focuses has always been melding dance with music. Mine attend zent d. My kind of dances are ones who give it their all even in rehearsal a nice little knot i believe because im a slave driver and theyre afraid theyll be fired if they dont. Because it gives them joy and this is. And this joy infects me to my camera its a great source of inspiration for me which is for me and of course in spirit. Is a choreographer whos loved and appreciated by character dancers. That that magic that happens in the studio that its nothing that i can tell but i guess as a choreographer and dancer you create. Really a fine line when youre in the studio working where that is not really boundaries between one and another it requires these unity to be able to create something really from deep inside tension has. An amazing way off transforming dancers into different rules that sometimes you dont. Expect to become the person that or to find that person in you and i think you have an amazing way of finding that in you to project it on stage its just incredible yeah its incredible experience to be with him in the studio and. To see how how. How hes as he sees evil and that theyre all you do and that piece he creates so its really special there was the. Head. Am. The world famous Dance Company as a many headed entity accompanying johnno in my own on his artistic quest down a long and winding road. Side for him at fs i know and i always have doubts tate nothing has any worth from less you question it and question yourself and father stared at this being im forever as a crossroads conflicted wondering if im going in the right direction or not confuse you one of their fake. Sleep to court and he why do you do it here self i ask myself that too much money. Is never taken the easy route when he was 62 he danced the part of the lion man in his ballet production a friends schuberts into his a for winter journey. The characters that interest him are the downers the losers and dreamers. One that as long intrigued 10 is vats let me see the russian ballet dancer and choreographer often referred to as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century you know im irish ballet explores his descent into madness. John the baptist and jesus and the power to do it in a choreographic exploration of George Frederick handels messiah broken heroes in classic noir my style. Symbiotic for better and for worse john the baptist makes jesus a teacher finding him disciples. Noting his expectations of the crowds and doubting his mission. A bad day steeped in so much and she managed to. I am the leader of a faction you get a court of a bit of myself and every piece of mine every choreography and every production and nish going up she and i cant choreograph a stage something with complete honesty if i dont understand it. If i dont understand it deeply from a very specific angle my own possible angle in that 1st year. Johno i meyer was born in milwaukee on Lake Michigan in 1939 his father was a ships captain. His mother loved arts and culture. Supported his ambition to dance and ambition born when the family went together to see a musical in the cinema. He started taking tap dancing classes then in the Milwaukee City Library he stumbled across a biography of. And fell in love with ballet. He studied in london and copenhagen and in 1963 went to germany to join the stuttgart ballet led by choreographer john crank oh. John no i my out was a talented dancer and was soon making a name for himself as a choreographer too. In 1969 he was appointed director of the frankfurt ballet because adaptation of romeo and juliet in 1984 was a milestone his juliet was no hottie prima donna but an irrepressible young girl who learns to dance only when she falls in love she breathed new life into the classics. She reinterpreted swan lake as a vision dreamed up by luke the 2nd during his imprisonment. Was. But not meyer doesnt seek to revolutionize ballet so much as to renew it gently and thoughtfully. Up there constant us for can make a difference here im not sure hes here but im not sure thats its task. I should help people understand themselves better it was he said a fresh d n. A n e r candidate obama. Acknowledged on. The majestic pal a guy name is located in the heart of the congo do that in paris its the home of the famous ballet do no better to passing an associated ballet school. It is a creative type created a lot of it yet what i create is not a complete suit us very if a Ballet Company wants to stage one of my works i dont see it as a picture hanging on a wall that i can take down and send over along with the building of a district is he in on chicken national or does all i have to go and meet them with standard and see who these people are wanting to bring new life to my work even disses faire noire leave. When one is akin chided as money interests even when you decide to work in different places or what then you learn that each place has its own set of rules that. In poppys that is especially true of the paris opera which has a very long ballet tradition and in none of them a 32 not sure about it. The pentagon opened its doors in 875 for years it was the biggest theater in the world a Meeting Place for high society. John nolan meyer loves the venue and frequently works here as a guest choreographer. To get. These accompany a decent leader is i love this company very much its big but not too big because it will often have 2 Big Productions going on in its 2 different venues mine i can play here and do just my. Id like to have lots of time to work with my group these are groups who are by so they cross but each row through its movements is an important color in this mosaic of emotions for us and to follow east indies in was a fun image to learn is there. Together with ballet masters kevin hagen and young. Both former dancers with the hamburg ballet john knowing meyer is on his way to rehearsals his adaptation of la demo coming out yeah the 19th century novel by Alexandre Dumas is being staged in the city in which it was set. Where. We fail to know where i want to sound if we figure out if things are excellent. With its many stairwells corridors and rooms the Historic Building is something of a labyrinth you know if an accident. I mean if there were verses are taking place in one of 5 studios whats interesting with our job and john makes that very very clear is that is the journey the process of always learning and always searching because everything doesnt have to be successful but everything has to go for it its not about success its about its not about the distinction its about the journey and that john has always made very clear. And thats why he will continue to create. John no i mire originally created lockdown. Set to music by friends it actual power for the stock car ballet in 1978 it was internationally acclaimed the production in paris is now the 6th version he has staged in the city in mn at 1st and show it on monday night and bute when you consider some aspect or opera and have an earlier dancer in mind. And are looking to reproduce what she or he did and it doesnt work. Then man it only works when you love and respect this incredibly Precious Resource your working with a many people not colors not words not computers or type arises countrified machine leap and perfect yet. The true her still and each role takes on a life of its own. Its a deep to me and see im always falling in love in you with the dances i work with is trying to create something fresh trying to awaken something new both in the dancers and in myself but i thought it and i knew serger ok but were. A little bit very good for what a very good. The gun is a legendary institution to perform on its stage is a unique privilege and when a world famous choreographer is staging a production of his own work its a special thrill for the 154. 00 dancers with the paris opera ballet. And good youre going. To rehearsals for productions are tightly scheduled here the condom of opera houses makes no exceptions. The venues sumptuous velvet upholstery and lavish gold detail is dance like making the pentagon the premier tourist attraction. It still looks much the same as it did in the late 19th century when it was the beating heart of fashionable paris. This is from n. P. R. And i think the problem is that there are 6 different causes and theres also a major production of the op ed by steve and the easier stroke in investing. Its an unfamiliar situation for john i my are the hamburg ballet is a much Smaller Company and the dancers are entirely at his disposal. He staged the story of the ill fated lovers many times but always managed to reinterpret it and find a new way of telling their tragic tale. Theres interest and it is this moment in movida a snowiest whats interesting is that you can always discover something new because humans are such a tunnel and making us into a its always an adventure said some as like this is the glacier or the ascent emitted a row might be the same but its always performed by someone different to todd with aked is to tyvek this fun friend who is driven by faith in new ways of being an i know an i know under mukesh kite to zion for one perspective on humankind. And a different angle on emotionality the more tonight 88 or and does stuff for us thats what makes a story endlessly fascinating for me as a choreographer spock from mission i scored a god. The terminally ill magazine will ultimately. Leave her lover and forfeit her happiness. After the rehearsal johnno meyer gives all of the dancers in depth individual feedback. That. Change our spatial shift of a percentage of those to a ship in the center but its. The 1st time. He never tires of explaining his ideas and demonstrating what hes looking for. He throws himself into his work with body and soul you. Have the same fate with. The perfect its good to have all this in the kitchen for fraud and so you know it gives you so much image of soccer actor it tells you why you have to do it like that why its more. Credible for the audience why what is the sense of doing it is just like i want you to do it its always there is a little wider. Stretch but yet. Even after a career spanning 50 years hes only satisfied when he can get to grips with every last detail of his productions with. Johnno meyer has been director of the hamburg ballet since 1973 and put the city on the map of International Dance he also made it his home and it was here that he found his longtime partner. Or 2 professionally hes a genius but hes always remained unbelievably grounded as a down to earth as the americans say and he has a great sense of humor but if you didnt we wouldnt be together girls and home was once revered says arms are. He discovered his complete im a man i think there comes a moment. For my vice when you just live to us that youve made someone at their. Best better than anyone youve ever imagined thats money thats the same one who could show it all would exist tom and can do sort of a good. One done is assault this man that you know together with this person is this man say it with you to talk about everything man see he. See half a human understand to see you find your deeply interested in the other person and. I suspect or at it and you learn what its like to be more concern for them than you are feel self or human under a physician. Its 10 oclock on a sunday morning in an hour the ballet workshop will begin on the stage of the hamburg state opera no meyer will expand on how the roles developed and offer unique insights into the Creative Process. Just a few months eat at us so get the feeling of seeing who these people are in private this is me the 3 dimensionality of the characters is always very important and for the audience to see the performers without their costumes is something special. And its shown at least this was. The 1st ballet workshop took place in 1973 and was an instant hit with the audience tickets are always snapped up immediately. I think its now time to i thank you. Thank you and good morning ladies and gentlemen its right there but it that im delighted to welcome you to our 224th ballet when shops so i begin audits seitan course and sit out thank you for ballet workshops per year and the event is always sold out. Today and i loudly and ednas even show the audience what theyve been trying out in rehearsals for a live dam to come yet. They concentrate on pure dance. Then John Neumeier talks the audience through the companys work. A successful documentary series was made about the ballet workshops. I go to sadness by lettice and give a sense in one respect ballet is a Consumer Product compared to a restaurant i have sit down and i order a steak and steak and asked if the steaks good ill come back then if its not good it wont make it any better if the Restaurant Owner takes me into the kitchen and shows me how cramped it is and how hard it is to work that share is that i have a problems getting good stuff and that hes depressed at the moment and cant cook and what do they say its even hopes of coffee thats in thing and i might feel sorry for him on a personal level but i still wont enjoy my steak and i still wont come back. Its the same with ballet if you watch a performance and you dont like it and then you wont be interested in finding out anything more about it they are nothing i can say oh we can show you will change that that would have asked us to go to become one of your john norma in 1978 no myra won a german t. V. Award for the forepart john mill in my respond at lax that which he developed and hosted off to the just for const neumeier sees ballet as an art form by people for people he was 1st inspired by classic american musicals and their influence often shines through his work. First on dances pays homage to the music and spirits of latter bernstein. Now. Yeah. And see the sense of these abilities once youve seen the dancers on stage then you leather dancing isnt just a job for them job dancing for all dancers is a vocation i can clinch for either tense or hopeful. Is the most intensive part of our lives and thats wonderful. And thats a story. That can come a time when its no longer possible and to me whats most important is not a moment when dance is a dancing or tense a dance and kind of the moment when they no longer cans and that will meant that scott we need to focus on a ha thats where we need to help missing a concert thats your own get down there because headphones. Proceeds from the event to go to the Dance Foundation which helps professional dancers make the transition to other jobs. Genuine meyer dedicated his choreography to manas leads where the beautiful trumpets blow to soloist Geoffrey Kirk who died of aids. The ballet workshop benefits traditionally end with a performance. For neumeier compassion and commemoration are intertwined with the ephemeral nature of dance. A little. Im going home and i think that was my approach when i became a ballet director nearly 50 years ago. That i missed by let. Direct us on going home and harbor the size its been nice to not only responsible for mahlers 5th symphony or the boys magic horn im responsible for everything or not for this was done so who are glad to be part of something for those who are a bit sad because theyre part of it but are dressing enough and i doubt if one of them havent kind of those that are completely unhappy because theyre not a part of it at all thus i need to have answers for all of them and i need to be able to give direction or i cant call myself a director. So its come on say he needs to direct on any. Exactly because he started his job also includes this sort of thing today he selecting images for the programme for orpheus and your idiocy together with photographer kieron west a former dancer john no i meyer tends to keep a professional distance from his dancers but nothing escapes wests all seeing photographers gaze. So as tense of it as. When i was a dancer we had a completely different relationship. And its Something Else now. In front of me hes not afraid you had a kind of. Cool it. Can do business i havent drawn the underside of the best sides of john and thats what i always want to show and he knows that. So he trusts me completely. We did this portrait together not just said john do you think youve got the special moves and he was like fine what move and your move John Neumeier so he does it. So i just have to photograph him and show the world. Or give it side can you and john mylar. I. Hit. A group photo to mark the companys 40th anniversary in 2013 including a few dancers from the very early days. With his 988. 00 piece hamburger impromptu french choreographer mo he spat paid tribute to his friend john meyer and his company. Among the masterpieces created by noir meyer and the hamburg ballet is simply number 3 by gustaf mana which premiered in 1975 the music itself is the theme of the choreography. Is a recurring inspiration. For. Many of 9 miners choreographies had a dream like nerd merging elements that make for strange and unsettling bedfellows. In a midsummer nights dream he juxtaposes the romantic strains of felix mentors on with georgi legatees mechanical music i say matthew passion was johnno meyers 1st choreographic exploration of a sacred oratorial it premiered at the santa miss a list church in hamburg in 1980. 9 meyer has devised 160 choreographies. In the course of his career his