Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes

An abstract take on Aaron Copland’s well known Americana score, Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes pairs a lone woman with a cast of 15 jocular, energetic, and charming male dancers for a fresh and thrilling adventure that audiences adore.

Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor Justin Peck’s Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, with a cast of 15 male dancers and a single female principal dancer, was his eighth work for New York City Ballet. In 1942, the composer Aaron Copland wrote the iconic ballet score Rodeo for choreographer Agnes de Mille. Copland later rearranged the original score for symphony orchestra, which Peck has used for his ballet.

Upon the ballet’s premiere in February 2015, Peck wrote, “In creating the choreography, I divided the score into four distinct choreographic interpretations: The first movement takes on a kinetic, engine-like quality; the second movement elicits recurring weather patterns; the third movement calls to mind the synchronicity illustrated by two birds in flight; and finally, the concluding fourth movement communicates a sense of total vitality, bright fervor, and healthy competition.”

24 minutes