Episodes

Episodes is a two-part ballet ballet made by Martha Graham and George Balanchine to Anton von Webern's Symphony, Op. 21; Five Pieces, Op. 10; Concerto, Op. 24; and the Ricercata in Six Voices from Bach's Musical Offering which Webern had arranged in homage to Bach as Balanchine conceived the ballet as one to Webern. The premiere took place under the ausipices of the Ballet Society on May 19, 1959, at City Center of Music and Drama, New York, with scenery and lighting by David Hays; the conductor was Robert Irving.

Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein invited Martha Graham to choreograph a joint work using all of Webern's orchestral pieces. The result was not a true collaboration but a work composed of two separate sections. Graham's contribution, Episodes I, danced by her company plus four dancers from New York City Ballet, was a depiction of the death of Mary, Queen of Scots. Dancers for this section were attired in ornate, Elizabethan costumes designed by Karinska.

Episodes II, Balanchine's contribution to the work, was danced by Ballet Society and Paul Taylor, who was then a dancer in Graham's company. This portion, definitively more abstract, dressed the performers in simple, non-descript, stark black-and-white practice clothing. The overall effect allowed Graham's portion to be perceived through a more classical focus — though created and performed by a modern dance company — while Balanchine's portion was viewed in the reverse: a modernist work being created and performed by classical dancers.

City Ballet ceased performing Graham's section in 1960 (at which time it was performed Balanchine's as Episodes II) ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} and in 1961 eliminated the solo variation which Paul Taylor had made on himself, since which the remaining four movements have been performed by NYCB under the original title, Episodes. ^[5] In 1986 Taylor reconstructed the solo on Peter Frame who danced it as part of the ballet that year and the next. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Casts

original

Episodes I

Episodes II

Ricercata in 6 voices from Bach's Musical Offering Melissa Hayden 14 women Francisco Moncion NYCB revivals 2008 Summer tour to Paris first cast Symphony Ellen Bar [Casts 3] Philip Neal Five Pieces Darci Kistler [Casts 3] Amar Ramasar Concerto Wendy Whelan Albert Evans Bach Maria Kowroski Charles Askegard second cast Symphony Abi Stafford Arch Higgins Five Pieces Teresa Reichlen Ask la Cour Concerto Janie Taylor Sébastien Marcovici Bach Sara Mearns Jonathan Stafford [Casts 3] Notes ^ NYCB ^ Martha Graham Dance Company ^ a b c first time in rôle Film 1973 RM Productions Television 1963 Concerto NBC 1970 Five Pieces CBC, Montreal 1973 RM Productions 1976 German television 1978 BBC, London Footnotes ^ Sunday NY Times review by John Martin, June 7, 1959 ^ NY Times article, December 17, 1959 ^ NY Times review by John Martin of George Balanchine's Episodes II, April 18, 1960 ^ NY Times review by John Martin of George Balanchine's Episodes, March 17, 1961 ^ George Balanchine Foundation catalogue ^ NY Times review by Anna Kisselgoff of George Balanchine's Episodes with Paul Taylor's restored solo, June 1, 1986 ^ NY Times review by Jack Anderson of George Balanchine's Episodes with Paul Taylor's restored solo, January 20, 1987 ^ NY Times review by Jennifer Dunning of George Balanchine's Episodes without Paul Taylor's restored solo, May 27, 1993 References Shearer, Moira (1987). Balletmaster: A Dancer's View of George Balanchine. G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-399-13184-1. , pages 148, 150 Taper, Bernard (1960). Balanchine: A Biography. Collier Books, a division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.  [1] pages 262, 263 http://www.cmi.univ-mrs.fr/~esouche/dance/Episodes.html See also Episodes stagings New York City Ballet repertory NYCB 2008 Summer tour repertory Category:Ballets by Martha Graham Reviews NY Times by John Martin of Graham and Balanchine's Episodes, May 15, 1959 NY Times by Clive Barnes, October 14, 1965 Sunday NY Times: Balanchine's Episodes by Anna Kisselgoff, January 8, 1978 NY Times: Graham's Episodes I by Anna Kisselgoff, April 25, 1980 NY Times: Balanchine's Episodes by Jennifer Dunning, May 20, 1983 NY Times by Jennifer Dunning, January 29, 2007 NY Times by Alastair Macaulay. October 9, 2008 External links Balanchine Foundation website Balanchine Trust website NYCB website Dance Pages website v • d • e Ballet General information History of ballet · Ballet timeline · Glossary of ballet · List of ballets · Ballet music · Ballet company · Ballet Portal Ballet by genre Classical ballet · Contemporary ballet · Neoclassical ballet · Character dance Ballet by region British ballet  · French ballet  · Italian ballet  · Russian ballet Ballet technique Balanchine method · Cecchetti method · Vaganova method · En pointe  · Royal Academy of Dance Ballet apparel Ballet shoes · Pointe shoes · Tutu