Duo Concertant (ballet)

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Duo Concertant
Choreographer George Balanchine
Music Igor Stravinsky
PremiereJune 22, 1972 (1972-06-22)
New York State Theater
Original ballet company New York City Ballet
Created for Kay Mazzo
Peter Martins
Genre Neoclassical ballet

Duo Concertant is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Stravinsky's score of the same name. The ballet was created for New York City Ballet's Stravinsky Festival, a tribute to the composer a year after his death, and premiered on June 22, 1972, at the New York State Theater, danced by Kay Mazzo and Peter Martins.

Contents

Choreography

Duo Concertant is danced by a man and a woman, alongside a pianist and a violinist, both onstage. [1] Kay Mazzo, an original cast member of Duo Concertant, said, "In Duo Concertant Peter Martins and I just did the same thing over and over. Balanchine said that's what the music does." [2]

In the first of five movements, Cantilena, the dancers simply stand and listen to the music. According to Mazzo, Balanchine told her, "Now we're going to have them listen." [3] :279–280 In the next movement, the first Eclogue, [3] :280 the two dancers, as New York Times critic Anna Kisselgoff described, "start dancing as if the music impels them to do so." [1] Commenting on this movement of the ballet, dance critic Richard Buckle wrote, "The two dancers experiment." [3] :280 The pair retreat to the piano when the second Eclogue begins, he then "leads her to a pas de deux." This is followed by the Gigue, which Buckle described, "They dance both alone and together." [3]

There is a blackout before the final movement, Dithyrambe. This movement is performed under a spotlight. [3] :281 Kisselgoff analysed, "the woman seemingly represents a muse. She and the man cannot find each other at first but finally she remains rooted to the spot as he kneels at her feet: the lover before his feminine ideal, the cavalier before the ballerina, Balanchine's artistic ideal." [1] Mazzo was stunned by the emotional ending, "It was quite unusual for [Balanchine] in his Stravinsky ballets." [3] :280

Production

Stravinsky and Balanchine collaborated for many years until the former's death in 1971. The latter then decided to have the New York City Ballet hold the week-long Stravinsky Festival to honor the composer. [3] :266–267 [4] There were at least 20 premieres, [4] seven of which were choreographed by Balanchine. [5] :317

Duo Concertant was made on Kay Mazzo and Peter Martins. [2] The festival marked the first time Balanchine choreographed on Martins, who in addition to Duo Concertant, also created a role in Stravinsky Violin Concerto . [5] :350 Rehearsals started on April 11, 1972, and according to author Nancy Goldner, it was given fourteen hours. Mazzo, however, felt it was not complete until the last minute. [3] :279 The dress rehearsal was held on the morning of the premiere. Balanchine did not tell the dancers he planned to have a blackout before the fifth movement until that rehearsal. [3] :280

Prior to Balanchine's death, he gave the rights of Duo Concertant to Mazzo. [3] :317

Performances

Duo Concertant premiered on June 22, 1972, at the New York State Theater. [6] Other ballet companies that have performed the ballet include The Royal Ballet, [7] American Ballet Theatre, [8] Boston Ballet, [9] Birmingham Royal Ballet, [10] Pacific Northwest Ballet [11] and the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. [12]

Videography

In 1975, Mazzo and Martins reprised their roles in Duo Concertant for the PBS Great Performances program "Three by Balanchine with the New York City Ballet." [13]

In 2004, Duo Concertant was filmed for a PBS Live from Lincoln Center broadcast performance, this time for Balanchine's centenary celebration, with dancers Yvonne Borree and Peter Boal, violinist Cho-liang Lin and pianist Cameron Grant. [14]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York City Ballet released a 2019 archival recording of Duo Concertant online, featuring dancers Megan Fairchild and Anthony Huxley, violinist Arturo Delmoni and pianist Elaine Chelton. [15]

In 2021, for New York City Ballet's first virtual gala, an excerpt of Duo Concertant, danced by Ashley Bouder and Russell Janzen, was featured in a film made by Sofia Coppola. [16]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Kisselgoff, Anna (June 15, 1992). "Review/Ballet; A Baryshnikov Debut at Age 44, In Balanchine's 'Duo Concertant'". New York City Ballet.
  2. 1 2 Tracy, Robert; DeLano, Sharon (1983). Balanchine's Ballerinas: Conversations with the Muses. p. 164. ISBN   9780671461461.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Buckle, Richard (1988). George Balanchine: Ballet Master : a Biography. ISBN   9780241121801.
  4. 1 2 Kisselgoff, Anna (June 17, 1972). "City Ballet Opens Salute To Stravinsky Tomorrow". New York Times.
  5. 1 2 Taper, Bernard (1987). Balanchine: A Biography. ISBN   9780520060593.
  6. ↑ Craine, Debra; Mackrell, Judith (August 19, 2010). The Oxford Dictionary of Dance. p. 144. ISBN   978-0199563449.
  7. ↑ Constanti, Sophie (March 31, 1995). "The magic in the mixing". The Independent.
  8. ↑ Seibert, Brian (May 22, 2014). "The Parisian Life Beckons, Waiting to Become Unforgettable". New York Times.
  9. ↑ Temin, Christine (March 26, 2004). "The Ballet steps into new scenes". The Boston Globe.
  10. ↑ "Stravinsky! A Celebration, Hippodrome, London". The Independent. October 5, 2011.
  11. ↑ Sulcas, Roslyn (August 21, 2006). "East Coast Alumnus Returns, Leading Pacific Northwest Ballet". New York Times.
  12. ↑ Khadarinia, Oksana (November 19, 2013). "Suzanne Farrell Ballet – Pas de Dix, Duo Concertant, Tempo di Valse, Agon – Washington". DanceTabs.
  13. ↑ O'Connor, John (May 21, 1975). "TV: Music, Dance and Funeral Industry on P.B.S." New York Times.
  14. ↑ Kisselgoff, Anna (May 7, 2004). "Dance Review; Artists of All Disciplines Celebrate an Exhilarating Forerunner". New York Times.
  15. ↑ "New York City Ballet Digital Season Announces Week Three Programming". BroadwayWorld. October 6, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Sofia Coppola to Direct a Film for NYCB's 2021 Spring Gala and Digital Season". BroadwayWorld. April 1, 2021.
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