TheatreHD: Neumeier: Phantom Light

Dances, piano and lantern: a collection of miniatures based on Neumeier's ballets. When the performance in the theater ends, everyone leaves the building, the lights go out and life freezes until the morning. But the lantern remains burning on the stage. There is only one source - ghostly light. And in this light, ghosts come on stage to dance - the souls of those who lived in the theater. John Neumeier staged "Ghost Light" at a time when, in fact, no one but ghosts were allowed on stage. This is a ballet-memory and confession, a ballet-dream. A walk through existing performances and a path into the wonderful world of pure dance. "Ghost Light. A long-standing superstition among theater artists. One lamp must always burn while the whole theater is in darkness, so that the spirits can play their performances.” Joseph O'Connor, "Ghost Light". The rule of leaving technical lights on on stage comes from Victorian England. Of course, this is primarily related to safety, but the theater would not be a theater if it did not try to romanticize this tradition. Ghost light for theatrical souls. While it is burning, living people cannot step on the stage. During the coronavirus pandemic, a ghost light — a pole with a lantern installed on the stage — remained constantly burning in 23 theaters on Broadway that were closed to performers and audiences for a long time. John Neumeier read an article about this in the New York Times and took it as the starting point for his performance. He managed to overcome sanitary restrictions by gathering artists in small groups, with whom they initially did a morning class. Neumeier's inspiration came from these daily activities, once a routine that became the only opportunity for artists to do what they loved. In order for the play to be allowed to go on stage, they did not make special costumes and abandoned the orchestra. The ballet is set to music by Schubert: Musical Moments, Allegretto in C minor D 915, Four Impromptu, Sonata No. 18. However, dancing to the piano or even in silence is not the first time for Neumeier. A series of beautiful visions passes before us. Among them are the well-known Margarita and Arman, the heroes of “The Nutcracker”; and those whose dances remind us of other works of the master, and completely new solos and duets. All the actors of the troupe are involved in the performance, including Silvia Azzoni, Alexander Ryabko, Edvin Revazov, Anna Laudere. From the sequence of miniatures they performed, a tender and thoughtful declaration of love is assembled to the theater, stage and dance, which is life.