Herman Schmerman | FORSYTHE

Herman Schmerman was William Forsythe’s second work for the New York City Ballet, a company that had a deep influence on him during his years at the Joffrey Ballet School. He had created Behind the China Dogs for New York City Ballet in 1988, and was subsequently pleased to be commissioned to made a work for festival of new choreography, the Diamond Project, in 1992.

Herman Schmerman was a 12-minute quintet for three women and two men, set to a spritely electronic score by Thom Willems. Later that year, with his own company in Frankfurt, he added a second section—a pas de deux— which City Ballet subsequently took into the repertory, and which is often performed as a stand-alone work.

In a 1992 interview, Forsythe talked about making the ballet. “For the Diamond Project, Peter Martins said, I want all you choreographers to come, and only do “ballet ballet.” And so, with no scenery and no costumes, we did ballet ballet. I wanted to exploit the City Ballet technique—the energy, the intentionality the speed and changes of dynamic and direction—which I think I was more interested in than they were! I’m really interested in the letting go, experiencing the heart of dancing, or the fact of dancing. I am always conscious that dancers can lose the joy of dancing, and I don’t want that. It sounds pretty goofy, but why dance unless you like dancing?”

Roslyn Sulcas

HERMAN SCHMERMAN | WILLIAM FORSYTHE
Choreography: William Forsythe
Music: Thom Willems
Lighting design: Tanja Rühl
Stage design: William Forsythe
Costume design: William Forsythe, Gianni Versace
Staged by: Stefanie Arndt & José Carlos Blanco Martínez
Duration: 25 min

Premiere on 26 May 1992 as part of the Diamond Project, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater, New York (quintett), 26 September 1992, Ballet Frankfurt, Opern House, (full version).
Premiere by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, on October 23rd 2025, Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo