Distant Cries

Distant Cries, an unusual pas de deux requiring two highly virtuosic dancers, begins and ends with a ballerina dancing in silence, alone in a spotlight. Her movements are lyrical, though sometimes sharp and almost awkward. As the music begins her partner comes forward from the dark at the back of the stage. Their pas de deux is fast, intricate, and ingenious. The choreography seems to suggest a relationship between the dancers, but it is not clear whether the relationship is prickly, tender or both. The woman repeatedly hides her face with her hands; from what she is hiding remains a mystery.
 
Tomaso Albinoni was born in Venice in 1671 and died there 80 years later. A contemporary of Vivaldi, he studied voice and violin as a child and became a prolific composer as an adult. Although Albinoni is reputed to have written as many as 81 operas, none of them were published during his lifetime and most of them are now lost. He is best known for his nine published collections of instrumental music.

8 Min.