School of the Hamburg Ballet: Erste Schritte

Hamburg State Opera
June 22, 2026

Founded in 1978 by John Neumeier, the School of the Hamburg Ballet is directly associated with the company with many of whose dancers having transitioned from one to the other over the years. Right from the three Preparatory Classes, through its six Training Classes and two senior Theatre Classes, classical ballet is at the heart of everything, as demonstration in this Erste Schritte (First Steps) programme.

Things got off to a flying start with Im Tanz mit Prokofjew (Dance with Prokofiev), a whole-school piece for all the training and theatre class dancers, created by teachers Carolina Borrajo, Kevin Haigen, Gigi Hyatt, Elizabeth Loskavio, Janusz Mason, Christian Schön and Anna Urban largely to the composer’s Classical Symphony but plus excerpts from Summer Day and Pushkin Waltzes.

The coordination was rather impressive, the different sections coming together and flowing quite seamlessly. One of the best moments, certainly the sweetest, came when a junior boy and girl join with two of the senior students. As they join in with them, their steps are sometimes identical, sometimes their own, simpler versions. When they later sit and watch, one senses that maybe they are dreaming that one day, this will be them.

Elsewhere, an excellent large male ensemble section stood tall, with all the leaps and turns impeccably landed. The double tours were especially noteworthy. All in all, a super piece that just keeps giving.

Next to the stage, the students of the Preparatory Classes performed Protos Choros by Konstantin Tselikov, a Greek folk-inspired piece to Sirtaki – Zorbas Dance by Mikis Theodorakis and Elliniki Hori, and Muses in Chorus by Georgia Kambou. The youngsters were delightfully enchanting. I loved the that saw the very orderly walk off after the bow break up into ‘kids being kids’.

Next up, an excerpt from Neumeier’s Spring and Fall, created in 1991 and danced to Dvorak’s String Serenade, opened with the fleet-footed male trio of Paulo Leanza, Quetzalcóatl Flores Candeña and Taichi Tishida, who again gave us some lovely turns. The ballet is about the moods and feelings that can arise between a group of friends and that feeling was very much to the fore. The men were later joined by Romane Cornu, with a subsequent pas de deux full of grace, poise and understated elegance.

Set to Bach cello suites, Ruska by Christian Lever for the senior students was the most contemporary work of the evening. It was also the most colourful with the large cast of senior students dressed in various shades of red, green, blue and yellow. Beautifully lit too.

Often very grounded, the group is apparently intended to represent the living parts of a single living that reinvents itself. I’m not sure I got that, but the Lever’s movement vocabulary, which includes a lot of overhead hand and arm gestures, is appealing and interesting. The best moments come in two duets, however, one for two men, then one male-female. It was almost a shame the second was interrupted by the arrival of the ensemble for the finale.

Erste Schritte closed with Neumeir’s Yondering, first premiered in 1996 by Canada’s National Ballet School. Specially choreographed for students (Neumeier will not allow companies to perform it), the work explores themes of innocence and adventure.

The title comes from a period in America when those that set out into the unknown West were said to be ‘yondering’. That clearly resonates with students who are about to transition from school to professional world; an exciting if daunting moment in their lives. The music is a selection of songs by the 19th-century American composer Stephen Foster, chosen for its folk-like quality, which is reflected in the choreography.

Each of the seven sketches was a joy to watch. Throughout, the folksy steps suggest time and place, but perhaps more than anything a sense of youthfulness, community and togetherness.

‘Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair’ sees the men dreaming of Jeannie as she wanders amongst them. There’s more looking longingly in ‘Open Thy Lattice, Love’, this time the men wandering through the women.

With its gentle physical humour and puppy love, ‘Molly! Do You Love Me?’ is always a favourite. Slightly bittersweet, Yuhi Fukuma and Rachele Borgis danced with charm, bringing the story truly to life. And the comedy was all timed to perfection.

After the especially folksy ‘Dancing on the River’, ‘Beautiful Dreamer’ is a trio with a lot of clever choreography as a woman is constantly passed between two men, mostly off the ground. Clara Buhs, Paolo Leanza and Quincy Ntshangana were excellent.

Yondering concludes with two ensemble sections. The men excelled in the upbeat and fast ‘That’s What’s the Matter’, before ‘Ah! May the Red Rose Live Always’ brought the excellent evening to a close. Apart, that is, from the very well-deserved loud applause and cheering for all involved.