''Mercurial Manoeuvres'' is a ballet choreographed by

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

to Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1, with costumes designed by Carole Divet. The ballet premiered on April 28, 2000 at the

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally ...

. The first movement features a male soloist, two female demi-soloists, four male demi-soloists and a ''

corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...

'' of twelve women. The second movement is a ''

pas de deux In ballet, a pas de deux (French language, French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The pas de deux is characteristic of classical ballet and can be fo ...

''. The entire cast then return to the stage for the final movement. ''Mercurial Manoeuvres'' was made as part of the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

's Diamond Project. The original cast includes

Miranda Weese Miranda Weese (born ) is an American former ballet dancer, teacher and ballet master. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1993 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1996. In 2007, she left to perform with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, first ...

Jock Soto Jock Soto (born 1965)Kisselgoff, Anna. "Not Only a Partner, a Dynamic Interpreter", ''The New York Times'', June 18, 2005. p. B7. is a former American ballet dancer and current ballet instructor. Career Jock Soto danced featured roles in over 40 ...

Edwaard Liang Edwaard Liang (born c. 1975/1976 Also available a. in Taipei, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese-born American dancer and choreographer. He grew up in Marin County, California. Career Liang began studying dance at the age of 5. He entered the School of Ame ...

, Audrey Morgan and Elena Diner. When the ballet was made, Wheeldon was dancing with the company as a soloist. He retired from performing after ''Mercurial Manoeuvres'' to become a full-time choreographer. In 2020, in response to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts, the New York City Ballet will release a 2017 video recording of the pas de deux from ''Mercurial Manoeuvres'', featuring

Tiler Peck Tiler Kalyn Peck (born January 12, 1989) is an American ballet dancer who is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. As well as ballet, she has performed in musical theatre shows and has made cameo appearances in films including ''Donni ...

and

Tyler Angle This is a list of New York City Ballet dancers. Principal dancers Soloists This is a list of New York City Ballet soloists. Corps de ballet The following is a list of the current members of the corps de ballet. * Victor Abreu * Devin Albe ...

References

2000 ballet premieres Ballets by Christopher Wheeldon Ballets to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich New York City Ballet repertory {{ballet-stub