Meet Remi Wörtmeyer

By Helena Gjone

Published in Print Nov 2024 order now!

In June 2024, BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, appointed Australian-born Remi Wörtmeyer as their new Artistic Director. I had the pleasure of interviewing Remi in August while he was vacationing in Italy, enjoying a short break with his husband and dog before stepping into his new role. Even though he’d risen early for our conversation and hadn’t yet finished his morning coffee, Remi’s energy and passion shone through the Zoom call, especially as he discussed the future of ballet, and his innovative vision for BalletMet.

Perhaps one of Australia’s most successful and versatile artists, Remi Wörtmeyer’s international career encompasses dancing, choreography, painting, sculpting, and costume/fashion design. He views these diverse disciplines not as separate pursuits but as interconnected facets of his creative expression. “Being a dancer is about shaping the body. There’s an element of sculpture because you’re literally sculpting the position, the shape in space.” Remi explains. “Choreography is also a form of sculpture in time and space, creating emotional responses just as visual art does.”

His creative journey began in Adelaide, at just two-and-a-half, when his grandma dragged him along to free dance classes at the local church. “I was the first boy at the school,” Wörtmeyer recalls, “I didn’t like it the first day, until they started galloping around the room. And then I was like: “Oh, I can do that!” And I got up and joined in.”

However, it wasn’t until Remi performed his first solo role, aged six or seven, that he truly began to fall in love with the art form. “I remember coming home that night, and telling my mom it was the best day of my life,” he laughs. “It was like an adrenaline hit.”

Soon, Remi also became addicted to the extreme dedication and discipline that pre-professional ballet training demands. “It gave me outlet from school, which I didn’t enjoy, I think maybe because I was a little different and artistic and gay, which I didn’t really understand at the time, I didn’t fit in. And even though I was academically strong, I always felt really out of place. “Whereas at ballet, with the other students I was in my element. We all had this need to express ourselves creatively in common.”

After commencing his formal dance training with Terry Simpson Studios, he became Dux of his Australian Ballet School year, leading to a contract with the Australian Ballet company, where he performed for eight years. Eager for new challenges, Remi then accepted a six-month scholarship to dance with the American Ballet Theatre. Several years later, he ventured overseas again, securing a contract with Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, where he quickly rose to the rank of Principal Artist.

When asked to share some career highlights, Remi beamed and rattled off a long and impressive list, including dancing iconic roles in Romeo and Juliet to more modern ballets by William Forsythe and Jiří Kylián, as well as developing new works with choreographers like Christopher Wheeldon and Wayne McGregor. In particular, he recalls the thrill of being thrown onstage last moment to dance the lead in Neumeier’s Sylvia. “I’d only just moved over to Holland and on the night before the performance, Neumeier put me in the opening night as the main role. He gave me so much trust and believed in me in that role. And I went on stage so strong mentally, so assured.”

The special thing about Neumeier’s work, he explains, is that “every single step has a meaning to the narrative. So there’s no dancing for the sake of dancing. His work is driven from a real storytelling point of view.” As someone who considers himself a very light and happy person in life, Remi also enjoyed the challenge of sinking his teeth into more ‘gritty’ roles, embodying more tragic characters through Neumeier’s work. “This is what I love about ballet and the arts in general. You can escape into another personality, into another world. If you do the research and allow yourself to embody and really fall into the characters, you’re able to really empathise with people in different situations. On some level you’re connecting to a situation that your life maybe hasn’t exposed you to.”

Another big milestone in Remi’s career was winning the Audience Award in 2015, followed by the Mr. Expressivity title in 2016 at the Dance Open Festival in St. Petersburg. For someone who began their journey at a modest ballet school in Australia—a country with a relatively young ballet tradition—the idea of performing in Russia, much less being celebrated there, exceeded his wildest dreams.

Despite earning a name for himself as one of Europe’s leading male dancers, Remi’s journey as a choreographer has taken a less straightforward trajectory. “The situation with choreography, and with directing too, is that there’s no direct pathway. It’s not like how you get into the Australian ballet school and you train to be a professional ballet dancer, and then, if all goes well, you have the credentials to get into a ballet company … It’s more about making it up as you go along.” He began experimenting with movement as a young kid, staging one-man shows in his living room. “I had full ballets in my head. I’d be doing the corps de ballet on the side, and then I’d rewind the music and I’d do the leading dancers in the middle, and then rewind the music and do the character roles.” He grimaces, thinking of his poor parents; forced to listen to the same music on repeat.

While a professional dancer Remi seized every opportunity to continue developing his choreographic skills, participating in choreographic workshops, putting his hand up for the Australian Ballet’s annual Bodytorque showcase, and choreographing for the Melbourne Ballet when it was first established. These early experiences allowed him to develop his artistic voice, a process which he reflects was filled with trial and error. “The first few pieces you create might be hit or miss, maybe even the first fifteen.” He adds, smiling, “but it’s crucial to keep pushing forward.”

Through years of experimentation, persistence, and putting himself out there, Remi has become a sought-after choreographer, developing new works across the globe, for companies including Altana Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Queensland Ballet, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Benois de la Danse, and a bespoke pas de deux – Penumbra – for Roberto Bolle and Melissa Hamilton.

In June 2020, Remi combined his passion for choreography and costume design with the creation of Safe Distance Ballet, a unique collaboration between Dutch National Ballet and G-Star RAW. Central to this project was a denim tutu spanning three meters in diameter. Inspired by social distancing measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, the tutu became a symbol of separation and connection, and went on to feature at a major fashion exhibition in Amsterdam. “Seeing my name up there on a billboard next to Galliano was just incredible. I feel so fortunate.” Remi says.

In addition to his extensive dance and choreographic experience, Wörtmeyer established his own line of bespoke fashion accessories, Maison Remi, and has been a Jewellery Designer & Runway Director at Paris Fashion Week for sustainable couture fashion brand RVDK. I asked him how on earth he found the time and energy to explore so many creative interests, while still performing at an elite level. “It was hard.” Remi admits. “My first employment responsibility was to the ballet company as a performer. And while that was never like pushed upon me in any way, that was the reality. Especially when you’re at the level of Principal, you want to maintain that.” Ultimately, after a few years of juggling competing interests, Remi chose to step away from the stage to focus more on choreography and design. “I was so grateful for all the different opportunities I’ve had. My cup was full. And I thought, what else am I going to do? I don’t need to do it all again. You know, I really enjoyed each moment, and I’m so grateful. But what else is there? What else can I learn from this world? What else can I experience? What else can I give back?”

BalletMet’s rich history of innovation makes it an ideal company for Remi Wörtmeyer to continue his creative journey. Since its inception in 1978, BalletMet has made the commission and performance of new works a core organisational priority, with more than 200 World Premieres and hundreds of Company Premieres performed throughout its history. BalletMet stages 60 to 70 performances each year at home and on tour. The company has toured to 28 U.S. states and internationally to Russia, Poland, Egypt, Spain and Canada.

Remi’s first new work for the company will be a large-scale production of West Side Story, involving Opera Columbus, Columbus Symphony and Columbus Association for Performing Arts. “This collaboration is exactly what I believe in: bringing together different audiences and different art forms to create a unique experience and a new performance.”

“I really do believe in the future of ballet,” Remi stresses. “I think it’s an incredible art form, an incredible discipline, and it’s as relevant now as it was hundreds of years ago.” He sees ballet as dynamic, capable of both preserving classical traditions and embracing new interpretations and is eager to contribute to the art form’s ongoing evolution through his new role with BalletMet.