Hamburg Ballet in turmoil under Volpi - German media

Hamburg Ballet is spiralling into chaos under Demis Volpi, who succeeded John Neumeier as Artistic Director in August 2024.

German media outlets have been reporting over the past few weeks that five out of eleven principal dancers of Hamburg Ballet have resigned after falling out with Volpi, and that 36 of the company’s 63 dancers have written to the Hamburg’s cultural senator to complain about toxic work environment.

Alexandr Trusch, who has spent 18 years with the company, is among the dancers who resigned. He gave German TV station NDR an interview on 7th May 2025, criticising Volpi for lacking artistic quality.

NDR and Der Spiegel newspaper further reported on 14th and 13th May, respectively, about new allegations against Volpi. They received letters from 17 current and former dancers of Balletts am Rhein Düsseldorf, where he had been Artistic Director over four years prior, that they support the complaint by Hamburg Ballet’s dancers, mentioning “an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty” under his directorship.

Volpi denied accusations, according to reports.

Updated media links on 21th May 2025.