Rodeo
(1942)
A One-Act Ballet in Four Sections • Buckaroo Holiday • Saturday Night Waltz • Corral Nocturne • Hoe-Down
Mixed Repertory
Choreography by Agnes de Mille (de MIL) Music by Aaron Copland (COPE-land)
An American Creative Team
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During World War II, Agnes de Mille was commissioned to choreograph an “American” ballet for a European company’s U.S. performances. The result: Rodeo, a ballet with a ranch setting and costumes, comedy, and tap and square dance. With its American look was an American sound—music composed by Aaron Copland.
She prefers riding a horse to wearing a dress. That’s our heroine, a cowgirl on a southwestern ranch. She’s secretly in love with the head wrangler and tries but fails to impress him at the rodeo. Both the cowboys and the city girls reject her. After the champion roper encourages her to clean up for a dance, she puts on a dress and charms both the wrangler and the roper. Which one will she choose? Listen for... ...the country and western-style sounds of the music. FYI... After Rodeo’s success, de Mille was invited to create the dances for Oklahoma!, a musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein. She introduced to musical theater the idea that dancing could advance the plot.
Cuesheet, American Ballet Theatre Working Rehearsal Editorial and Art Direction: Lynne B. Silverstein Writer: Marcia A. Friedman Design: The Kirwan Company
© 2007, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
MARIAN BUTLER IN RODEO. PHOTO BY GENE SCHIAVONE
Notice the mix of ballet, folk dancing, and stylized steps (like riding a horse).
PHOTOS: ERICA CORNEJO IN RODEO PHOTO BY MARTY SOHL, MICHELE WILES IN DARK ELEGIES PHOTO BY GENE SCHIAVONE; COMPANY MEMBERS IN LA BAYADERE PHOTO BY GENE SCHIAVONE.
An American Love Story Circa 1900
t this working rehearsal, members of American Ballet Theatre (ABT) will perfect their work on their mixed repertory program. You will see two short ballets and one scene from a full-length ballet. These stylistically different ballets – pictured from top, Rodeo, Dark Elegies, The Kingdom of the Shades, are from choreographers whose work broke new ground in the world of dance. ABT, based in New York City, was established more than 65 years ago to preserve great ballets from the past and to offer opportunities for choreographers to create new ballets. The company has built its reputation on the diversity of its repertory (all the ballets a company performs) and the excellence of its dancers. Today ABT performs across the United States and around the world. As you watch the rehearsal, compare and contrast the three ballets.