Performance Dates
BALANCHINE’S VISION OF BALLET AMERICANA TAKES CENTER STAGE
Balanchine’s deep affection for his adopted home animates this program of ballets all set to American music. Western Symphony is a vivacious suite of dances taking inspiration from the mythical Wild West. A similarly buoyant spirit infuses Stars and Stripes, with Balanchine seamlessly wedding classical steps with the rhythmic marches of John Philip Sousa, orchestrated by Hershey Kay. Tarantella employs a sprightly piece of music by Louis Moreau Gottschalk for a zesty and playful pas de deux that never fails to delight. Rounding out the program is The Unanswered Question from Ivesiana, a hypnotically alluring dance that captures the haunting, otherworldly music of Charles Ives.
Ballets on this Program
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Western Symphony
Western Symphony is a rodeo of frisky fillies and lonesome cowpokes with a rousing, non-stop finale that brings the curtain down.
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The Unanswered Question (from Ivesiana)
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Tarantella
The virtuosic pas de deux Tarantella showcases two pyrotechnical dancers in an ever growing profusion of steps.
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Stars and Stripes
Set to Sousa's buoyant marches and dressed in Karinska's delightful all-American costumes, Stars and Stripes contains as much pure dancing as many full-length classical ballets.
