Friederike Adolph, originally from Berlin, studied media and cultural studies and management.
Since the start of Demis Volpi's Artistic Directorship in the 2024/2025 season, she has been working as Press Officer for the Hamburg Ballet, the School of the Hamburg Ballet and the German National Youth Ballet.
She joined the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier in February 2021 and has since been a member of the Communications/PR and Dramaturgy department and contact person for press and public relations for the German National Youth Ballet.
She gained her first experience in press relations during her bachelor's degree at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, during which she worked in the press and public relations department of tanzhaus nrw and also did journalistic work; as a freelancer at the radio station Antenne Düsseldorf.
Friederike Adolph came to Hamburg for her Master's degree in Cultural and Media Management at the University of Music and Theatre. Here she worked from then on as a project manager in Tina Heine's office and was responsible, among other things, for the artistic operations office of the Jazz & The City Festival in Salzburg until February 2021.
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-916
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-917
Friederike.Adolph@hamburgballett.de
Nathalia Schmidt, born in Hamburg in 1990, is a scholar of comparative literature. With the beginning of Demis Volpi's artistic directorship in the 2024/2025 ballet season, she will support the team as an dramaturgy assistant and in the field of outreach.
She joined the Hamburg Ballet in the 2014/15 season. After an internship in the press office, she initially worked in communications/PR and dramaturgy and was also managing the "jung" program and social media channels. In the same year she completed her Master's degree with the thesis "Poetry and Dance in Stéphane Mallarmé. On the significance of écriture corporelle in his work".
While still studying comparative literature at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, she gained her first experience in PR and dramaturgy and supported artists at various dance and chamber music festivals, including the DANCE Festival in Munich and the International Mendelssohn Festival in Hamburg. Her work behind the scenes at the Hamburg Ballet brings her full circle, as she completed her professional dance education at the affiliated School of the Hamburg Ballet.
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-934
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-917
Nathalia.Schmidt@hamburgballett.de
Jean-Jacques Defago was born in Switzerland and began his ballet training in 1976 in Cannes at the Centre de Danse International Rosella Hightower. His most important teachers during his training included Rosella Hightower and José Feran. From 1977 to 1979 he received the Migros Culture Percentage Scholarship.
After graduating, he went to the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier in 1979, where he was a member of the company until 2000. In his 21 years as an active dancer, he took part of creation process of John Neumeier's ballets like "Requiem" and "Saint Matthew Passion". His repertoire included a leading role in "Tristan" and several solo roles in John Neumeier's ballets, including "Magnificat", "Romeo and Juliet", "Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler" and "Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler". He also danced in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, José Limón and Antony Tudor, among others.
While he was still a dancer with the Hamburg Ballet, he worked on designing and programming the Hamburg Ballet's first online presence in 1999.
Jean-Jacques Defago has been a member of the communications team since 2000 and is still responsible for the website and digital content. In addition to the Hamburg Ballet website, he also designed the website of the John Neumeier Foundation, the Foundation for the Promotion of the Hamburg State Opera and the Friends of the Hamburg Ballet Center, which he also looks after and maintains.
Jean-Jacques.Defago@hamburgballett.de
Catherine Dumont danced as Soloist with the Hamburg Ballet from 1995 to 2011. She then continued at the compangy as John Neumeier's assistant for 13 years. From August 2024, she will organize the numerous requests for rentals of John Neumeier's works to other companies and houses at both a national and international level.
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-911
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-918
Catherine.Dumont@hamburgballett.de
After graduating from a music high school in Gera, Luise Eckardt initially studied opera singing at the University of the Arts Bremen. Engagements later took her to the Theater Bremen, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Mecklenburgische Staatstheater Schwerin and the Stadttheater Bremerhaven, among others.
In 2019, she decided to complete a master's degree in cultural management at KMM Hamburg and worked in parallel as an assistant to the artistic director at the Opernloft im Alten Fährterminal Altona. After completing her studies, she joined the ballet company management of the Hamburg Ballet for the 2021/22 season.
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-913
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-926
Luise.Eckardt@hamburgballett.de
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-912
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-926
Nicolas.Hartmann@hamburgballett.de
Katerina Kordatou was born in Athens, Greece. She studied Business Administration at the Philipps University Marburg and at the Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf. After completing her studies, she worked in the Marketing Communication department of the musical theatre production company Stella Entertainment AG, which later became Stage Entertainment. In 2002 she moved to the PR & Communication Department of the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier. Since then, she has worked in the areas of Press and Public Relations for the Company and the School of the Hamburg Ballet. From the season 2024/25, she will be responsible for Marketing and Communication
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-916
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-917
Katerina.Kordatou@hamburgballett.de
Leonie Miserre, born in Nuremberg, is a cultural manager with an international focus. She studied European Studies in Chemnitz and Glasgow and completed her Master's degree in Arts and Media Management in Berlin.
From 2010-2013, she worked in artist management with artists including Till Brönner and Kurt Krömer. From 2016-2019, she called as stage manager opera and ballet performances at the Schleswig-Holsteinische Landestheater, and worked as freelance stage manager in England.
In 2016, her book on Dynamic Pricing in the Cultural Sector (“Dynamic Pricing im Kulturbetrieb”) was published by B&S Verlag Berlin.
Since 2019, she has been responsible for the planning and realisation of national and international tours of the Hamburg Ballet.
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-953
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-988
Leonie.Miserre@hamburgballett.de
Since the 1999/2000 season, Birgit Paulsen has worked as an assistant to the Managing Director of the Hamburg Ballet.
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-915
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-988
Birgit.Paulsen@hamburgballett.de
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-929
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-917
Joern.Rieckhoff@hamburgballett.de
Kiran West based in Hamburg, Germany, is a former soloist with the Hamburg Ballet turned filmmaker, artist, book/poster/program designer, and fine-art photographer. He specializes in concert, documentary, and dance theatre. Having traveled extensively, he has captured artists on many of the world's historic stages, such as the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Bunka Kaikan Theater in Tokyo, The Joyce Theater in New York City, and the Opera di Firenze in Florence, among others. His work is published in DVDs, within stage set projections, and in newspapers/magazines such as Der Spiegel, Arte, Dance magazine, Geo, Lufthansa, Die Zeit, and Die Welt. He also has a permanent photo exhibition at Hamburg International Airport.
T: +49 (0)40 35 68-922
F: +49 (0)40 35 68-988
Kiran.West@hamburgballett.de
