The Suzanne Farrell Ballet | A Collection of Balanchine Ballets

When watching ballet, it is natural to imagine a story behind the relationships we see on stage.

These are people dancing, after all! Even though these Balanchine ballets are story-less, you might have imagined your own narratives. Pick one of the ballets, and write down a story you created to go with it. Share the story with your class.

About Suzanne Farrell Suzanne Farrell is regarded as one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. She has danced in more than 100 ballets, nearly one-third of which were created expressly for her by choreographer George Balanchine (pronounced BAH-lahnsheen), known as “the father of American ballet.”

Farrell utilizes her memories of and personal experience with Balanchine’s choreography when working with her own dancers.

The costumes for Diamonds are a brilliant white with shimmering rhinestones and pearls. Imagine the

David M. Rubenstein Chairman Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education The Suzanne Farrell Ballet is generously sponsored by The Shen Family Foundation and Emily Williams Kelly.

Additional support is provided by Monica Lind Greenberg, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, and Elizabeth and Michael Kojaian.

Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts, Capital One Bank, the Carter and Melissa Cafritz Charitable Trust, The Clark Charitable Foundation, Fight for Children, Inc., Mr. James V. Kimsey, The Kirstein Family Foundation, Inc., The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., Linda and Tobia Mercuro, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Park Foundation, Inc., Mrs. Irene Pollin, Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk, The Theodore H. Barth Foundation, Inc., the U.S. Department of Education, and the Verizon Foundation.

Major support for the Kennedy Center’s educational programs is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

costumes for the other two sections of the full ballet

Suzanne Farrell Ballet Working Rehearsal

A Collection of Balanchine Ballets

Performance Guide

Story in Your Head

Cuesheet

The

Ten Years!

Suzanne Farrell has chosen to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her company by presenting two allBalanchine programs during the Company’s annual Kennedy Center engagement. Today, you will see three ballets by George Balanchine: Serenade, Concerto Barocco, and Diamonds in this working rehearsal. All three are abstract ballets with no definitive story or narrative, but they are chock full of dramatic and mysterious content.

titled Emeralds and Rubies. www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org Cuesheets are produced by ArtsEdge, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

ArtsEdge is a part of Verizon Thinkfinity, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning.

Learn more about Education at The Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. © 2011 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Natalia Magnicaballi and Momchil Mladenov in Diamonds Photo by Carol Pratt

Please recycle this Cuesheet by sharing it with friends!

Natalia Magnicaballi and Momchil Mladenov in Diamonds Photo by Carol Pratt

No Story Needed: Three Balanchine Ballets The first movement of Serenade features only women, because when this work was created Balanchine had only women and no men in his class. Eventually this work was expanded to include six men.

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet in Serenade Photo by © Paul Kolnik

Serenade Choreographed in 1934 Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (pronounced chy-KOFF-skee) Serenade was the first ballet created

by Balanchine after he moved to this country from his native Russia.

Balanchine created the ballet so his students could practice performing on stage. The ballet has four parts: n

The Sonatina. At one rehearsal, a dancer showed up late, so Balanchine kept that moment in the choreography. Watch for the woman who enters toward the end of the first section to join the group. (A sonatina is a short sonata or musical piece composed for one or two instruments.)

n

Concerto Barocco

Diamonds

Choreographed in 1940 Music by Johann Sebastian Bach

Choreographed in 1967 Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Balanchine said that Concerto Barocco “has no ‘subject matter’ beyond the score to which it is danced and the particular dancers who execute it.” Like many of Balanchine’s ballets, including Serenade and Diamonds, there is no concrete story or plot.

Diamonds is part of a full-length ballet called Jewels. Balanchine created Diamonds specifically for Ms. Farrell.

As part of the Company’s Artistic Partnership program, dancers from The Sarasota Ballet, Iain Webb, Artistic Director, will join The Suzanne Farrell Ballet for the performance of this work.

Concerto Barocco is an interpretation of the musical score and has the same structure. The choreography has three movements just like the music, but Balanchine did not want to copy the score exactly. This is the first time The Suzanne Farrell Ballet performs Concerto Barocco.

The Waltz. In time, male dancers joined Balanchine’s class, so he worked them into the choreography. Watch for the moment when the male dancer lifts his partner high above his head. (A waltz is a dance with three beats per measure as in 1-2-3, 1-2-3.)

Watch: n

how the two dancers in the first movement enter as the two solo violins take up their parts in the music. Notice how movement phrases reappear as the violinists repeat and develop their musical themes.

n

The Russian Dance. This section is full of energetic footwork. One night during rehearsal a woman fell, so Balanchine included this moment in the dance.

Watch when the dancer suddenly finds herself alone on the floor.

n

at the end of the second movement, how the male dancer swings his female partner low across the floor three times.

She rises from the sweeping movement, showing the underlying strength of the lyrical music.

n

Elegy. In this movement, a female dancer brings a male dancer forward to the woman lying on the floor.

Listen for the sad, mournful music.

n

how the complexity and rhythmic energy of the music in the third movement is expressed through jumps and quick arm gestures by the dancers.

Balanchine created the ballet after being inspired by the work of jeweler Claude Arpels. The costumes for the dancers sparkle and shine, just like the gems. n

You will be given headsets to listen to the commentary about the ballets as you watch the rehearsal. Share something you learned from the commentator with your class.

No Story Needed: Three Balanchine Ballets The first movement of Serenade features only women, because when this work was created Balanchine had only women and no men in his class. Eventually this work was expanded to include six men.

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet in Serenade Photo by © Paul Kolnik

Serenade Choreographed in 1934 Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (pronounced chy-KOFF-skee) Serenade was the first ballet created

by Balanchine after he moved to this country from his native Russia.

Balanchine created the ballet so his students could practice performing on stage. The ballet has four parts: n

The Sonatina. At one rehearsal, a dancer showed up late, so Balanchine kept that moment in the choreography. Watch for the woman who enters toward the end of the first section to join the group. (A sonatina is a short sonata or musical piece composed for one or two instruments.)

n

Concerto Barocco

Diamonds

Choreographed in 1940 Music by Johann Sebastian Bach

Choreographed in 1967 Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Balanchine said that Concerto Barocco “has no ‘subject matter’ beyond the score to which it is danced and the particular dancers who execute it.” Like many of Balanchine’s ballets, including Serenade and Diamonds, there is no concrete story or plot.

Diamonds is part of a full-length ballet called Jewels. Balanchine created Diamonds specifically for Ms. Farrell.

As part of the Company’s Artistic Partnership program, dancers from The Sarasota Ballet, Iain Webb, Artistic Director, will join The Suzanne Farrell Ballet for the performance of this work.

Concerto Barocco is an interpretation of the musical score and has the same structure. The choreography has three movements just like the music, but Balanchine did not want to copy the score exactly. This is the first time The Suzanne Farrell Ballet performs Concerto Barocco.

The Waltz. In time, male dancers joined Balanchine’s class, so he worked them into the choreography. Watch for the moment when the male dancer lifts his partner high above his head. (A waltz is a dance with three beats per measure as in 1-2-3, 1-2-3.)

Watch: n

how the two dancers in the first movement enter as the two solo violins take up their parts in the music. Notice how movement phrases reappear as the violinists repeat and develop their musical themes.

n

The Russian Dance. This section is full of energetic footwork. One night during rehearsal a woman fell, so Balanchine included this moment in the dance.

Watch when the dancer suddenly finds herself alone on the floor.

n

at the end of the second movement, how the male dancer swings his female partner low across the floor three times.

She rises from the sweeping movement, showing the underlying strength of the lyrical music.

n

Elegy. In this movement, a female dancer brings a male dancer forward to the woman lying on the floor.

Listen for the sad, mournful music.

n

how the complexity and rhythmic energy of the music in the third movement is expressed through jumps and quick arm gestures by the dancers.

Balanchine created the ballet after being inspired by the work of jeweler Claude Arpels. The costumes for the dancers sparkle and shine, just like the gems. n

You will be given headsets to listen to the commentary about the ballets as you watch the rehearsal. Share something you learned from the commentator with your class.

When watching ballet, it is natural to imagine a story behind the relationships we see on stage.

These are people dancing, after all! Even though these Balanchine ballets are story-less, you might have imagined your own narratives. Pick one of the ballets, and write down a story you created to go with it. Share the story with your class.

About Suzanne Farrell Suzanne Farrell is regarded as one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. She has danced in more than 100 ballets, nearly one-third of which were created expressly for her by choreographer George Balanchine (pronounced BAH-lahnsheen), known as “the father of American ballet.”

Farrell utilizes her memories of and personal experience with Balanchine’s choreography when working with her own dancers.

The costumes for Diamonds are a brilliant white with shimmering rhinestones and pearls. Imagine the

David M. Rubenstein Chairman Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education The Suzanne Farrell Ballet is generously sponsored by The Shen Family Foundation and Emily Williams Kelly.

Additional support is provided by Monica Lind Greenberg, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, and Elizabeth and Michael Kojaian.

Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts, Capital One Bank, the Carter and Melissa Cafritz Charitable Trust, The Clark Charitable Foundation, Fight for Children, Inc., Mr. James V. Kimsey, The Kirstein Family Foundation, Inc., The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., Linda and Tobia Mercuro, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Park Foundation, Inc., Mrs. Irene Pollin, Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk, The Theodore H. Barth Foundation, Inc., the U.S. Department of Education, and the Verizon Foundation.

Major support for the Kennedy Center’s educational programs is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

costumes for the other two sections of the full ballet

Suzanne Farrell Ballet Working Rehearsal

A Collection of Balanchine Ballets

Performance Guide

Story in Your Head

Cuesheet

The

Ten Years!

Suzanne Farrell has chosen to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her company by presenting two allBalanchine programs during the Company’s annual Kennedy Center engagement. Today, you will see three ballets by George Balanchine: Serenade, Concerto Barocco, and Diamonds in this working rehearsal. All three are abstract ballets with no definitive story or narrative, but they are chock full of dramatic and mysterious content.

titled Emeralds and Rubies. www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org Cuesheets are produced by ArtsEdge, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

ArtsEdge is a part of Verizon Thinkfinity, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning.

Learn more about Education at The Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. © 2011 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Natalia Magnicaballi and Momchil Mladenov in Diamonds Photo by Carol Pratt

Please recycle this Cuesheet by sharing it with friends!

Natalia Magnicaballi and Momchil Mladenov in Diamonds Photo by Carol Pratt