

SHALL WE DANCE?
COMPOSITION & BALLET
2025
YEAR
2025
ROLE
COMPOSITION & MUSICAL DIRECTION
LOCATION
HAMBURG

ABOUT
With Shall We Dance?, the Ernst Deutsch Theater continues its successful collaboration with the German National Youth Ballet. Following Die Unsichtbaren, this production is conceived, choreographed and staged by John Neumeier. Shall We Dance? is a reflection on the interwar period - an era filled with hopes for lasting peace after the First World War, marked by artistic flourishing and social change.
The production brings together 29 performers: the dancers of the German National Youth Ballet, the Hamburg Chamber Ballet, four guest artists and a musical ensemble. Together, they create a multifaceted portrait of the period, bringing dance, music and literature into dialogue. Live music is also a central element of the production, featuring works by George Gershwin and Maurice Ravel. References to the Harlem Renaissance, writers such as Edna St. Vincent Millay and F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Ballets Russes, and dance icons such as Anna Pavlova and Isadora Duncan are woven throughout the work.
In my role as conductor, I worked intensively with the ensemble throughout three weeks of rehearsals and subsequently conducted 24 performances at the Ernst Deutsch Theater.
SPECIAL THANKS
Concept, Direction and Choreography: John Neumeier
German National Youth Ballet
Hamburg Chamber Ballet
Vocals - Caroline Bruker
Flute - Karen Geisler, Hannah Bernitt
Trumpet - Fedor Piliavski, Lisa Mimura
Violin - Ben Grube, Kalli Rizou, Jessica Yuan
Viola - Aaren Davina Joy Aning
Cello - Michael Heupel
Double Bass - Julian Eingang
Piano - Alexander Vorontsov, Vsevolod Brigida, Mayuko Arita
Orchestra Management & Co-Director - Mayuko Arita
Organisational Director - Yohan Stegli
Sound Design - Viktor Seedorf
Set Design - Igor Sarazhynskyi
Assistant Director - Erik Schmidt
Assistant Lighting Designer - Luca Stamm
Stage Assistant - Andris Andersons