IVESIANA (choreo: Balanchine)

This is a 1964 Canadian video; with the NYC Ballet as it looked then, in one of George Balanchine’s most odd, yet beautiful modern ballets. He choreographed this in 1954 and shows he was light years ahead of his time. The music is 4 separate pieces by avant garde American composer Charles Ives, and all were composed between 1904 and 1908. Each movement has a theme, if you will, and even though there is no “story“ each section has a “meaning,“ This looks quite different onstage as the lighting is generally darker which gives it an almost nightmarish quality. 1st Mov. “Central Park in the Dark“ (Sara Leland and Francisco Moncion, originally Janet Reed and Moncion) 2nd Mov. “The Unanswered Question“ (Suki Schorer and Deni Lamont, originally Allegra Kent and Todd Bolender) 3rd Mov. “In the Inn“ (Patricia Neary and Arthur Mitchell, originally Tanaquil Leclercq and Bolender again as there were originally more movements, but Balanchine cut them down to 4 f
Back to Top