John Neumeier's

ARTE shows John Neumeier's moving ballet evening, performed by the Hamburg Ballett, in a recording from 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 the 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 first lockdown in 2020.
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 enter the stage. This ghost light remains on throughout the whole night, until the stage is once again filled with life. Ghost Light has opened the 2020/2021 season at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and will be available at ARTE Concert from 24 January until 24 April.