New York City Ballet

Sonatas and Interludes

Choreography by: Richard Tanner

Music by: John Cage

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Credits

Music: Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (1960)
Premiere: April 12, 1982, Eglevsky Ballet, Long Island, New York
NYC Ballet Premiere: May 5, 1988, American Music Festival, New York State Theater
Original Cast: Heather Watts, David Moore
NYC Ballet Original Cast: Heather Watts, Jock Soto
Length: 13 Min.
Costumes by: Carole Divet
Lighting by: Mark Stanley

Working their way through five piano pieces by John Cage, two dancers unfold through the fluid yet crisp movements of this quirky pas de deux.

Richard Tanner created this ballet for the Eglevsky Ballet in 1982, using five pieces, Entre (Sonata III), Pas de Deux (Sonata XIII), Variation (First Interlude), Variation (Sonata V), and Coda (Sonata XI), from Cage's much longer work, Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano. The term "prepared piano" refers to a concept developed by Cage around 1938. Cage experimented with changing a piano's sound by inserting bits of wood, paper, screws, or other objects between or on the strings at various points to produce a more percussive sound.

**View a slideshow of images from Sonatas and Interludes >**

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