After Neumeier,
the Storm

No one expected it to be easy for Demis Volpi. Of course, he couldn't take over the Hamburg Ballet without problems, friction, and losses, after John Neumeier had led and shaped the company for an incredible 51 years bringing it to world prominence. But the fact that less than a year after the handover, the crisis is already hitting hard is surprising. Initially, five soloists announced they were leaving Hamburg, and after Volpi initially didn't respond at all to this bloodletting and then responded with the insensitive statement that layoffs would also make room for younger talent, the majority of the dancers sent an open letter to Hamburg's Senator for Culture, Carsten Brosda, full of accusations against the artistic director: He's too rarely on-site, there's a lack of appreciation, and ...