Rock ballets

Choreographers were quick to pick up on the rock music phenomenon which dominated youth culture from the 1960s. Some chose to reflect the lives and views of the new teenagers, such as Darrell in Mods and Rockers (mus. The Beatles, 1963) or Arpino in the anti-Vietnam Trinity (mus. Ralph Holdridge, 1970) or Nault in Tommy (mus. The Who, 1970). Other choreographers exploited the rhythmic drive and energy of rock music to try and re-invigorate the classical vocabulary (and attract a new young audience to ballet). It has since become commonplace for choreographers of all backgrounds to use the music of popular culture, such as Rooster, C. Bruce's semi-nostalgic, semi-mocking portrayal of 1960s' youth (mus. early Rolling Stones, 1991), Michael Clark's frequent use of confrontational punk music such as the Sex Pistols, and the Fall, and the most famous rock ballet of recent years, the Joffrey Ballet's full-length Billboards (1993), set to songs by the artist formerly known as Prince, which broke company box office records.