Ghost Light by John Neumeier – Baden Baden

10 OCT 2020: “Ghost Light” – a ballet in times of corona by John Neumeier | livestream from the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

“Art as an expression of its time” – a fitting description of Ghost Light, John Neumeier’s latest ballet creation. John Neumeier developed the idea of a work that not only respects the current distancing requirements, but uses them as the basis of his ballet’s structure. Ghost Light is an ensemble ballet developed in fragments that grew into a full-length ballet for the entire troupe of the Hamburg Ballet, set to piano music by Franz Schubert.
The Hamburg Ballet was one of the first companies worldwide to resume its rehearsals on the ballet stage after the lockdown. Their perfomance at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden can be understood as an answer to the distancing measures affecting us all. Such answers can appeal to the senses, as Neumeier demonstrates in his analogy with a traditional Japanese meal: “a series of carefully arranged, hopefully ‘delectable’ miniatures” is how the choreographer characterizes the structure of his most recent work.

With the title Ghost Light, the work references an American theater tradition. After a rehearsal or performance, a metal stand with a single light bulb is placed on the stage, signaling that no artists are permitted to use it from that point. This ghost light remains on throughout the whole night, until the stage is once again filled with life.

Ghost Light will be opening the 2020/2021 season at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and will be streamed on arte.tv/concert on 10 October 18:00 (CET).