''Glass Pieces'' 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 music by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive ...

, costumes designed by Ben Benson, lighting designed by Ronald Bates and production designed by Robbins and Bates. The ballet was premiered on May 12, 1983, 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 ...

, performed by 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 ...

Production

Choreographer

was first invited to direct

's opera, '' Akhnaten''. Due to the unusual nature of the opera, Robbins decided to make a ballet with the music first and figure out the stage directions. However, due to scheduling conflict, Robbins withdrew from the opera, but went ahead with the ballet. Though the score is minimal, Robbins decided to treat it differently. He made charts of the music's structure on graph paper, then worked with Ronald Bates, who also designed the lighting, to make backdrop that looks like a piece of graph paper. Robbins also added "Rubric" and "Façades" from Glass's ''

Glassworks Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...

'', as the scores "struck him as being markedly different in character". Robbins also claimed that since he was focused on the music during the creative process, he was surprised to see the critics interpret it as "images of urban life". On the entire ballet Robbins said it has a "a ritualistic sense" which may be "inevitable" due to Glass's music. The ballet was the first

(NYCB) work set to minimalist music and premiered shortly after the company's co-founder

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 ...

's death.

Structure

The first part, "Rubric", features dancers in bright color practice wears walking across the stage, and three main couples performing different choreography. Whenever the couples enter the stage, the corps de ballet changes its movements. Robbins said it is like a

rondo The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

. The middle section is set to "Façades", which Robbins described as "a songlike melody repeated five times". The principal couple is the equivalent of the score while an all-female corps dances at the back of the stage in a line, representing the accompaniment. The third and final movement, danced to "Akhnaten", is called "tribal" by Robbins, with dancers performing in bloc patterns.

Original cast

Rubric: Façades:

Revivals

Other ballet companies that have performed ''Glass Pieces'' include the Paris Opera Ballet,

Joffrey Ballet The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies and training institutions in the world today. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at Lyric ...

and

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

. The former two companies and NYCB all included the ballet in their Robbins Centennial celebrations.

Videography

In light of the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts, Paris Opera Ballet released a video recording of ''Glass Pieces'' as a part of the Tribute to Jerome Robbins program. NYCB released a 2017 video recording of the third movement.

References

External links

Justin Peck on ''Glass Pieces''
{{Jerome Robbins 1983 ballet premieres Ballets by Jerome Robbins Ballets designed by Ben Benson Ballets designed by Ronald Bates Ballets to the music of Philip Glass New York City Ballet repertory