Atlanta Ballet Lauds Schreier’s Talent

Since 2019, Atlanta has claimed an artistic treasure with the talented arabesques of Claudia Schreier, choreographer-in-residence at Atlanta Ballet. She has directed dance, opera, and film across the U.S. and internationally by creating more than 50 works for various companies, including San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Vail Dance Festival, Richmond Ballet, Guggenheim Works & Process, ABT Studio Company, Juilliard Opera, New York Choral Society, and New York Choreographic Institute.

Her works for Atlanta Ballet include “Nighthawks,” “Carnivale,” “Fauna,” “Pleiades Dances,” and “First Impulse,” named a 2019 Standout Performance by Pointe Magazine. In other words, the audience doesn’t see Claudia on stage, but they swoon over movements, design and vision in mapping out dancers’ details.

Claudia Schreier took an atypical route by not studying ballet at Harvard vs. a more focused higher education in dance // Photo Credit: Atlanta Ballet

What some may not know about Schreier is that she’s a Harvard University graduate; and charoset is her favorite food. She stated, “The best charoset has to balance the acid and sweetness and just the right amount of walnuts. I have fond memories of Rosh Hashana and Passover back home.”

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On a more professional note, her Atlanta Ballet contract has been extended to 2026. She is married to filmmaker Adam Barish with whom she shares a daughter. They reside on the north end of the BeltLine and have collaborated on many projects like a work for the Miami City Ballet in 2022, and created a music video, “Force of Habit,” during the pandemic, which was shot in Atlanta. The video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNC7M4tq5Kk.

Backing up to her childhood in Manhattan and then Westchester County, she started dancing (creative movement) at age 3 at the YMCA in the “East 60’s.” She describes her parents as “Jewish father, into classical music, and mother, a tall, graceful Jamaican woman.”

Thus, she draws from both cultures. After college, Schreier did administrative work at Alvin Ailey by day, then danced in the studio until 11 p.m. In January of 2017, she left her day job for a fellowship at New York University. Now, her choreography is sought after — through word of mouth, the grapevine, and invitations from various directors. She recalled, “My path was atypical … at that time, Harvard did not have a dance major or minor, as they do now. But there, at Harvard, is where I stumbled upon a high level of mentors and a community dedicated to collaboration and engaged in culture.”

Claudia (front) has created work from Miami to Washington, D.C., and dozens more top venues.

Looking ahead, Claudia is working with Leo Geyer, a doctoral candidate from Oxford University in London, on a magnificent major work, “The Orchestras of Auschwitz “, an opera/ballet. She said, “Geyer has unearthed these manuscripts from 1940-1945, found eight years ago, many of which have never been heard before. These fragments of music scores were hidden from the SS, where playing music was an act of defiance. They are rich with the telling of stories through music.”

Some sheets were marching music requested by the SS for use with prisoners. The musicians played for SS parties and themselves, which provided courage. The Polish national anthem was also woven in to give prisoners pride and resolve. The performance is scheduled for June.

Schreier and Atlanta Ballet partnered with the Cathedral Choir Society in 2022 to present Berlioz’s “Roméo et Juliette” at the Washington National Cathedral. In 2021, Schreier released “Force of Habit,” a film commissioned by Guggenheim Works & Process and co-presented by Atlanta Ballet. She has contributed to programs at the White House, jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, including the Kennedy Center Honors. Her work is the subject of two documentaries, most recently PBS’s Emmy Award-winning, “Dancing on the Shoulders of Giants,” (Capital Region). Schreier presented her TEDx talk, “Thinking On Your Feet,” at Columbia University in 2018. She is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award, Toulmin Fellowship at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, Lotos Prize, and Suzanne Farrell Dance Prize.

Witness Schreier’s  creativity from Feb. 7-14 as Atlanta Ballet premieres, “The Rite of Spring.” For more information, please visit https://www.atlantaballet.com/performances/the-rite-of-spring.