Todd Bolender
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Todd Bolender
Todd Bolender (February 27, 1914 – October 12, 2006) was a renowned ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director. He was an instrumental figure in the creation and dissemination of classical dance and ballet as an American art form. A child of the American Midwest during the Great Depression, he studied under George Balanchine and led the Kansas City Ballet in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1980 to 1995. Early life Born in Canton, Ohio on February 27, 1914, Bolender grew up in a family in which the arts, music and theater in particular, were an important part of life. The extremely lively child—one of four—was early on dubbed the dancer of the family and his physical energy channeled in lessons in acrobatic tap. In 1931, when he was 17, Bolender went to New York, which he said in an interview in 2002 seemed to him like a “kind of heaven”, to study theatrical dance. In 1933 he moved to New York for good, taking up full-time residence there at about the same ti ...
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Todd Bolender
Todd Bolender (February 27, 1914 – October 12, 2006) was a renowned ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director. He was an instrumental figure in the creation and dissemination of classical dance and ballet as an American art form. A child of the American Midwest during the Great Depression, he studied under George Balanchine and led the Kansas City Ballet in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1980 to 1995. Early life Born in Canton, Ohio on February 27, 1914, Bolender grew up in a family in which the arts, music and theater in particular, were an important part of life. The extremely lively child—one of four—was early on dubbed the dancer of the family and his physical energy channeled in lessons in acrobatic tap. In 1931, when he was 17, Bolender went to New York, which he said in an interview in 2002 seemed to him like a “kind of heaven”, to study theatrical dance. In 1933 he moved to New York for good, taking up full-time residence there at about the same ti ...
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Louis Horst
Louis Horst (born January 12, 1884, Kansas City, Missouri – died January 23, 1964, New York City) was a composer, and pianist. He helped to define the principles of modern dance choreographic technique, most notably the matching of choreography to pre-existing musical structure and the use of contemporary music for dance scores. Biography and work Horst was the musical director for the Denishawn company (1916-25) before working as musical director and dance composition teacher for Martha Graham's school and dance company (1926-48). One memorable piece of advice that Horst gave dancers in his lessons in the 1930s, at times delivered in a sarcastic tone: "when in doubt, turn." This is a variant of Ted Shawn's famous line "When in doubt, twirl." The Grateful Dead Almanac adopted it as their motto.Grateful Dead Almanac
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Renard (Stravinsky)
(The Fox: burlesque tale sung and played) is a one-act chamber opera-ballet by Igor Stravinsky, written in 1916. The Russian text by the composer was based on Russian folk tales from the collection by Alexander Afanasyev. The full Russian name of the piece is (– The Fable of the Vixen, the Cock, the Cat and the Goat. A burlesque for the stage with singing and music). History In April 1915, Winnaretta Singer, Princesse Edmond de Polignac, commissioned Stravinsky to write a piece that could be played in her salon. She paid the composer 2,500 Swiss francs. The work was completed in Morges, Switzerland in 1916, and Stravinsky himself made a staging plan, trying to avoid any resemblance to conventional operatic staging . He created, rather, a new form of theatre in which the acrobatic dance is connected with singing, and the declamation comments on the musical action. However, the piece was never performed in the salon of the princess. It was not in fact staged until 1922. The pr ...
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Four Temperaments (ballet)
''The Four Temperaments'' or Theme and Four Variations (''The Four Temperaments'') is an orchestral work and ballet by Paul Hindemith. Although it was originally conceived as a ballet for Léonide Massine, the score was ultimately completed as a commission for George Balanchine, who subsequently choreographed it as a neoclassical ballet based on the theory of the four temperaments. The music was premiered in Switzerland by the Stadtorchester Winterthur under the direction of Hermann Scherchen on March 10, 1943. However, Balanchine created the choreography a few years later. The ballet, ''The Four Temperaments'' was the first work Balanchine made for the Ballet Society, the forerunner of the New York City Ballet, and premiered on November 20, 1946, at the Central High School of Needle Trades, New York, during the Ballet Society's first performance. Though at the premiere, critics did not receive the ballet well, it was later acknowledged as a "masterpiece," and was revived by ...
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Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spring and a shorter season at the David H. Koch Theater in the fall; the company tours around the world the rest of the year. The company was scheduled to have a 5-week spring season at the MET preceded by a 2-week season at the Koch Theater beginning in 2020. ABT is the parent company of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, and was recognized as "America's National Ballet Company" in 2006 by the United States Congress. History In 1939 Pleasant and Chase committed to the creation of "a large scale company with an eclectic repertory". The pair and a small group from Mordkin Ballet formed Ballet Theatre. Their new company's first performa ...
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The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)
''The Sleeping Beauty'' ( rus, Спящая красавица, Spyashchaya krasavitsa ) is a ballet in a prologue and three acts, first performed in 1890. The music was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Opus 66). The score was completed in 1889, and is the second of his three ballets. The original scenario was conceived by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and is based on Charles Perrault's '' La Belle au bois dormant''. The choreographer of the original production was Marius Petipa. The premiere performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on January 15, 1890. The work has become one of the classical repertoire's most famous ballets. History Tchaikovsky was approached by the Director of the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg, Ivan Vsevolozhsky on 25 May 1888 about a possible ballet adaptation on the subject of the story of ''Undine''. It was later decided that Charles Perrault's '' La Belle au bois dormant'' would be the story for which Tchaikovsky would co ...
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Barn Dance
A barn dance is any kind of dance involving traditional or folk music with traditional dancing, occasionally held in a barn, but, these days, much more likely to be in any suitable building. The term “barn dance” is usually associated with family-oriented or community-oriented events, usually for people who do not normally dance. The caller will, therefore, generally use easy dances so that everyone can join in. A barn dance can be a ceilidh, with traditional Irish or Scottish dancing, and people unfamiliar with either format often confuse the two terms. However, a barn dance can also feature square dancing, contra dancing, English country dance, dancing to country and western music, or any other kind of dancing, often with a live band and a caller. Modern western square dance is often confused with barn dancing in Britain. Barn dances, as social dances, were popular in Ireland until the 1950s, and were typically danced to tunes with rhythms.Vallely, F. (1999). Th ...
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Catherine Littlefield
Catherine Littlefield (1905–1951) was an American ballerina, choreographer, ballet teacher, and director. She founded the Philadelphia Ballet (originally the Littlefield Ballet) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1935. It was the first American ballet company to tour Europe and the first to present a full-length (or three-act plus prologue) version of '' The Sleeping Beauty'' in the United States. In addition to producing American-themed ballets such as ''Barn Dance'', ''Terminal'', ''Cafe Society'' and ''Ladies' Better Dresses'', Littlefield choreographed Broadway musicals and Sonja Henie's professional ice skating shows. She was among the first class of inductees (1987) into the National Museum of Dance’s Hall of Fame. Childhood Littlefield was born in a Philadelphia rowhouse in 1905 to James H. Littlefield and Caroline Doebele Littlefield (also known as "Mommie"). Her father was a native of Maine who worked for the YMCA and later founded a newsreel business. Her mother ...
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Littlefield Ballet
Littlefield may refer to: Jurisdictions in the United States * Littlefield, Arizona * Littlefield, Texas * Littlefield Township, Michigan Other * Littlefield (surname) * Institutions: ** In Arizona (in or near town of Littlefield): Littlefield Unified School District ** In Texas: *** In or near city of Austin: **** Littlefield Fountain **** Littlefield House *** In or near town of Littlefield in Lamb County: **** Littlefield Municipal Airport **** Littlefield Independent School District Littlefield Independent School District is a public school district based in Littlefield, Texas (USA). In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the b ... See also * Littleton (other) {{disambiguation, geo ...
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Piano-Rag-Music (Bolender)
{{Italic title ''Piano–Rag–Music'' is a ballet made by Todd Bolender to Stravinsky's eponymous music from 1919. The premiere took place on June 23, 1972, as part of New York City Ballet's Stravinsky Festival at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center. Original cast * Gloria Govrin * John Clifford External links NY Times reviewby Clive Barnes, June 24, 1972NY Times reviewby Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, ''The New York Post.'' Barnes had sign ..., February 4, 1973 New York City Ballet repertory New York City Ballet Stravinsky Festival Ballets by Todd Bolender 1972 ballet premieres Ballets to the music of Igor Stravinsky ...
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Serenade In A
In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italian word , which itself derives from the Latin . Sense influenced by Italian ''sera'' "evening," from Latin ''sera'', fem. of ''serus'' "late." Early serenade music In the oldest usage, which survives in informal form to the present day, a serenade is a musical greeting performed for a lover, friend, person of rank or other person to be honored. The classic usage would be from a lover to his lady love through a window. It was considered an evening piece, one to be performed on a quiet and pleasant evening, as opposed to an aubade, which would be performed in the morning. The custom of serenading in this manner began in the Medieval era, and the word "serenade" as commonly used in current English is related to this custom. Music performed follo ...
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