''Andantino'', originally titled ''Pas de Deux'', is a ballet choreographed by

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

to the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. The ballet was made for 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 Tchaikovsky Festival, and premiered on June 4, 1981, 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. Original ...

, originated by

Darci Kistler Darci Kistler (born June 4, 1964) is an American ballerina. She is often said to be the last muse for choreographer George Balanchine. Early life Kistler was born in Riverside, California, the fifth child (with four older brothers) of a medic ...

and

Ib Andersen Ib Andersen (born 14 December 1954) is a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, and painter. Biography Early days Born in Copenhagen, Andersen was first exposed to dance through ballroom dancing. At age 7, he was accepted into the Royal Danish ...

Choreography

''Andantino'' is a

pas de deux In ballet, a pas de deux (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 found in many well- ...

set to the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. It does not follow the structure of a classical pas de deux, and has neither solos nor the coda. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic

Anna Kisselgoff Anna Kisselgoff (born 12 January 1938) is a dance critic and cultural news reporter for ''The New York Times''. She began at the ''Times'' as a dance critic and cultural news reporter in 1968, and became its Chief Dance Critic in 1977, a role she h ...

and writer

Amanda Vaill Amanda Vaill is an American writer and editor, noted for her non-fiction. She lives in New York City. A graduate of Harvard University, she worked in publishing before becoming a writer full-time in 1992. In the 1970s Vaill was an editor at Viki ...

both compared its choreography to

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

. Kisselgoff also commented, "There's more than a hint of a romantic relationship and embraces."

Production

''Andantino'' was created for the

's Tchaikovsky Festival, and was Robbins' first ballet to Tchaikovsky's music. The festival was conceived by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

. Robbins, however, was not interested in choreographing to Tchaikovsky's works. He nevertheless choreographed three ballets for the festival. He later recalled, "Two months before the Tchaikovsky festival, I thought, I don't like Tchaikovsky... Why should I do Tchaikovsky? Because Mr. Balanchine wants me to do Tchaikovsky? But you don't necessarily have to enjoy doing something for it to be good." The ballet was created on

, a fifteen-year-old who was just handpicked by Balanchine to join the company from the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

, and

, a new principal dancer who was previously a member of the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...

. The costumes were designed by Ben Benson. The lighting was designed by

Ronald Bates Ronald Bates (July 14, 1932 - August 25, 1986) was an American ballet lighting designer, particularly for the New York City Ballet. Early life and career Bates was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1932. He studied scenic design at Los Angeles City ...

, who was also the stage manager. ''Andantino'' was among the ballets performed on the opening night of the Tchaikovsky Festival. Robbins had planned ''Andantino'' for a "special place in the program", but found out it would be included on that day through the presentation order, which was changed by Balanchine. It resulted in the only serious clash between Robbins and Balanchine, though Balanchine apologized the following day. It premiered under the title ''Pas de Deux'', but was renamed to its current title later that year.

Performances

''Andantino'' premiered on June 4, 1981, at the

. It was included in New York City Ballet's Jerome Robbins Celebration, held in honor of the 90th anniversary of Robbins' birth and 10th anniversary of his death. In 2018, for Robbins' centenary, it was performed by New York City Ballet members at

Jacob's Pillow Dance Jacob's Pillow is a dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The organization is known for a Summer dance festival. The facility also includes a professional school and extensive archives a ...

Festival.

Critical reception

Following the premiere,

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' commented that although the ballet was Robbins' first ballet to Tchaikovsky's music, he "managed to create a major work in the process."

References

External links

''Andantino''
on New York City Ballet's website {{Jerome Robbins 1981 ballet premieres Ballets by Jerome Robbins Ballets to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky New York City Ballet repertory