John Neumeier Foundation

John Neumeier‘s dance and ballet collections, accumulated since childhood, form a unique amalgamation of a dance art collection, a library, an archive of photography, documents, correspondence and memorabilia which preserve, define and portray the history of dance. The collection is renowned in academic circles around the world. The function and aim of the Foundation is to combine this unique collection which John Neumeier has used over the years to research and inspire his own creations.

Although the collections cover all periods of dance history the central focus is undoubtly the Serge de Diaghilev era and particularly the dancer-choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky.

The John Neumeier Foundation was founded on February 23, 2006 – as a place intended for dance studies and research. It represents, in a sense, a "third pillar" of John Neumeier‘s artistic activities in Hamburg. Together with the Hamburg State Opera, the performance venue of John Neumeier‘s ballets and the Ballet Centre Hamburg, where ballets are created, and the home of the Hamburg Ballet School and the National Youth Ballet, where young dancers learn their craft, the Foundation augments the significance of Hamburg as a center of dance.

At present, the John Neumeier Foundation continues the extensive task of cataloguing the collections and can offer only limited access. It is planned to eventually open the institute to the public, as well as to developing the scope of academic activities. The Foundation is currently seeking further financial means to achieve these goals.

The World of Dance and Ballet

The extensive world of dance in its broadest sense is documented in the library.
Sacred, antique and ethnic-geographical forms of dance as well as folk and social dance are represented together with a multitude of books recording the history and development of classical ballet, the Diaghilev period and the development of international ballet companies. The library also documents in thousands of volumes the development of Modern dance including other forms of movement such as musical, jazz, film, tap dance, acrobatics and ice dance.

Thousands of photographs dating from the beginning of photography itself, near the end of the 19th Century and continuing into the Diaghilev era, the German expressionist dance movement, American modern dance as well as photos capturing important performers of the dance world until our time can be found in the photographic collection.

Stage designs, ballet costume sketches and images of famous theatres as well as etchings are the hallmarks of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marie Sallé, La Camargo, Jean Georges Noverre, Gaetano and Auguste Vestris, to name but a few personalities can be found in numerous etchings, lithographs and paintings. A collection of porcelain figures, created by important European manufacturers of the 18th Century, add a three-dimensional aspect to this collection.

The Pre-romantic and Romantic Ballet movements are also represented by a substantial collection of paintings, drawings, etchings and lithographs, bronze sculptures and porcelain figures. The materials that record this period – the time of Fanny Elssler, Marie Taglioni, Fanny Cerrito and others – include memorabilia, programmes, letters and manuscripts.
The Fanny Elssler collection includes in addition lithographs, bronze sculptures, porcelain figures, rare oil paintings, personal objects, letters and family photographs.
A highlight of the Elssler collection is certainly the pair of ballet slippers worn during a performance of Giselle in Hamburg in 1843.

The period spanning classical-academic dance up to the time of the Ballets Russes is also reflected in the collection‘s treasures, covering a spectrum of various schools and companies with important figures of the time, including Marius Petipa, Mathilde Kschessinska,

Virginia Zucchi and an extensive collection of material concerning the Imperial Ballerina Olga Preobrajenska as well as later Soviet dancers such as Galina Ulanova.
The collection includes not only works of art and photographs, but also personal documents such as diaries, correspondence as well as choreografic and pedagogical notes.

The John Neumeier Archive

The collection of John Neumeier’s personal working materials concerning his extensive oeuvre – currently comprising over 170 ballets – documents the conception, creation and development of his choreography. Original set and costume designs by John Neumeier and other notable designers and artists represent an important aspect of the private archives. Audiovisual material taken from rehearsals, premieres, performances, workshops and the annual Nijinsky Gala complement the written materials.

The collection also contains posters, programmes, calendars, flyers and postcards documenting performances of John Neumeier‘s work with the Hamburg Ballet both in Hamburg and on extensive tours around the world, as well as performances of his ballets by other international companies. Furthermore, a collection of press cuttings and audiovisual material such as recordings of presentations, interviews and workshops, as well as an archive of articles from books and magazines concerning the choreographer, allow for a further, differentiated insight into Neumeier‘s astonishing body of work and the Hamburg Ballet history. The collections also document John Neumeier‘s personal life. Diaries, personal papers, private files, tributes and personal photos can be found, as well as documents that chart his social activities, including numerous correspondence with a variety of public figures. Conserved at the moment in the artist home, documents, personal objects and the various fragments of his artistic "work in progress" complement and complete a picture of the artist John Neumeier.

The John Neumeier Foundation secures the survival and future utilization of this unique facility.

Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes

It is fascinating to imagine what the atmosphere must have been like during the days when the Ballets Russes, under their director and impresario Serge de Diaghilev, took Paris by storm. The newly reopened Théâtre du Châtelet was the setting for a series of legendary performances. The extraordinary movement dynamic, technique and colorful presentation of the Russian dancers amazed and delighted the audience, who quickly found their favorites among the company. One young dancer was particularly captivating – a dancer whose elevation and magical presence was astounding – Vaslav Nijinsky.

Inspired by Diaghilev‘s fusion of different art forms, the first season of the Ballets Russes in Paris became ballet history and lead to the birth of the Gesamtkunstwerk in dance, an art form encompassing multiple disciplines. The Ballets Russes, whose roots reached far back into historical Russian traditions, also had a cosmopolitan flair that prompted a euphoric following in both Europe and later in America.
In short: Diaghilev created a success story without which contemporary ballet would be unthinkable.
Still today, his legacy informs our understanding of dance.

All the noteworthy figures of this era are represented within the collection – Serge de Diaghilev, Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Michel Fokine, Léonide Massine and Bronislava Nijinska to name but a few. Their world can be rediscovered in thousands of works of art, photographs, print materials as well as documents and memorabilia that characterize and record this unique period of dance history.

Thanks to the recent generous donation of Chevalier Tony Clark, the collection has been significantly expanded.

Vaslav Nijinsky

The documentation of the life and work of Vaslav Nijinsky, the most important aspect and the heart of the John Neumeier Foundation, is unique.

The various collections that focus on the dancer-choreographer Nijinsky – sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, personal documents and letters – illuminate the various phases and stages of Nijinsky‘s life and work as a dancer, choreographer, painter and author.

The collection of Vaslav Nijinsky‘s sketches and drawings – the largest in the world – is of particular importance. The exceptional scope of this collection allows a unique perspective on Nijinsky‘s work as a visual artist. Although Nijinsky gave no titles to his works, the color, visual rhythm, subject matter and design, provide the basis for categorizing the works into series. Created for the most part in 1917-19 in St. Moritz, the Nijinsky drawings owned by the John Neumeier Foundation have been and continue to be shown in major international exhibitions.

Lately expanded by the Nijinsky Family Collection with further drawings, costumes and documents, the extent and variety of this Nijinsky collection is unique in the world.

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John Neumeier’s Biography

US donors considering tax deductible donations may contact:

FRIENDS OF JOHN NEUMEIER FOUNDATION
A 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization
c/o Larry Selander
Duane Morris, LLP
190 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 3700
Chicago, IL 60603

lselander@duanemorris.com

+1 312-499-0147

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