CHOREOGRAPHER WINS $400,000 KYOTO PRIZE

Choreographer John Neumeier has received the 2015 Kyoto Prize in the category of arts and philosophy, according to the New York Times‘ Roslyn Sulcas. Japanese chemist Toyoki Kunitake has won the prize for advanced technology, while Swiss astrophysicist Michel Mayor, has received the award in the category of basic sciences.

Neumeier has been the artistic director of the Hamburg Ballet since 1973, and has worked as guest choreographer for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in the early 1970s. He has also received the Deutscher Tanzpreis award, as well as the Prix Benois de la Danse for his choreography.

The Kyoto Prize seeks to honor “those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of mankind.” It was established in 1985 by the Inamori Foundation in Japan, which, in announcing the awards, praised Neumeier for “raising the art to a new level.”