Dance

Filled with beauty, invention and energy, John Neumeier’s choreography has made Hamburg Ballet a world-class ensemble. Beethoven Project is Neumeier’s choreographic tribute to Beethoven featuring exquisite dance set to incomparable music, portraying Beethoven and his musical resonance on stage through piano solo, piano trio, string quartet and symphony orchestra.

A choreographic tribute to Beethoven

“This is how my Beethoven Project should be seen: the work of a choreographer fascinated by extraordinary music, discovering every more layers of feelsings and emotions in its amazing architecture – building day-by-day, step-by-step on what images spontaneously emerge”
John Neumeier

Inspired by an overwhelming love of dance and music in equal measure, John Neumeier has previously created memorable ‘symphonic’ ballets based on master works by the great composers Bach, Mahler, Mozart and Handel.

Beethoven Project fulfils Neumeier’s long-held desire to explore Beethoven’s musical universe. Premiered in 2018, the work is an emotional response to some of the composer’s most memorable music, in particular the Eroica Variations and Symphony No 3. Beethoven Project portrays Beethoven and his musical resonance on stage through piano solo, piano trio, string quartet and symphony orchestra.

Neumeier’s timely choreographic tribute celebrates the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth in 2020. Sublime music and superb dance—an ode to Beethoven that will live long in our memories.

Twenty years since first dazzling Hong Kong audiences Hamburg Ballet makes its fourth visit to the Festival. At the helm of the company in 1973, John Neumeier is one of the world’s longest serving artistic directors. His astonishing creativity has produced more than one hundred and fifty ballets. He has led the company to more than three hundred tours on five continents and is the recipient of innumerable awards and distinctions all over the world. With its updated versions of classic repertoire and ballets exploring human dramas, Hamburg Ballet epitomises this year’s festival theme、 truly a company for every stage.

The Ballet brings another two thrilling programmes: The Nutcracker, re-set in the context of learning about dance、 and The World of John Neumeier, a celebration of Neumeier’s creations from his four decades with the Hamburg Ballet, each one a milestone in a glittering career.