''Ives, Songs'' is a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

made by

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 fir ...

ballet master

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 songs of

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

: * "The Children's Hour" * "Memories, Part A: Very Pleasant" * "Waltz" * "The Cage" * "The See'r" * "Two Little Flowers" * "At the River and Serenity" * "He is There" * "Tom Sails Away" * "White Gulls"cut from the ballet in June, 1990 * "

Songs My Mother Taught Me Songs My Mother Taught Me may refer to: Books * ''Songs My Mother Taught Me'', Audrey Thomas 1973 * Songs My Mother Taught Me (Marlon Brando book), ''Songs My Mother Taught Me'' (Marlon Brando book), an autobiography by Marlon Brando * ''Songs My M ...

" * "There is a Lane" * "In Summer Fields" * from the "Incantation" * "Autumn" * "Like a Sick Eagle" * "Elegie" The premiere took place on February 4, 1988 at the

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet and dance at Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally named the New York State Theater, the venue has been home to the New York City Ballet sinc ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, with scenery by David Mitchell, costumes by

Florence Klotz Florence Klotz (October 28, 1920 – November 1, 2006) was an American costume designer on Broadway and on film. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, to parents who owned a millinery store, she graduated from Parsons School of Design, and ...

and lighting by

Jennifer Tipton Jennifer Tipton (born September 11, 1937) is an American lighting designer. She has designed for dance, theater, and opera. She is known for working on many productions of American Ballet Theatre. Life and career Tipton was born in Columbus, Ohi ...

. The singer was

Timothy Nolen Timothy Nolen (July 9, 1941 – August 31, 2023) was an American actor and baritone who had an active career in operas, musicals, concerts, plays, and on television for over four decades. He was the second actor to play the title role in Andre ...

and the pianist Gordon Boelzner. Other works to the music of Ives in the City Ballet repertory include

Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish former ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and J ...

' ''Calcium Light Night'',

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

's ''

Ivesiana ''Ivesiana'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to compositions by Charles Ives. The ballet premiered on September 14, 1954, four months after Ives's death, at the City Center of Music and Drama, performed by the New York City Ballet ...

'' and

Eliot Feld Eliot Feld (born July 5, 1942) is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer, teacher, and director. Feld works in contemporary ballet. His company and schools, including the Feld Ballet and Ballet Tech, are involved in dance and dance ed ...

's ''

The Unanswered Question ''The Unanswered Question'' is a musical work by American composer Charles Ives. Originally paired with ''Central Park in the Dark'' as ''Two Contemplations'' in 1908, ''The Unanswered Question'' was revised by Ives in 1930–1935. As with many ...

''.

Original cast

Maria Calegari Maria Calegari (born March 30, 1957) is an American ballet dancer, teacher and répétiteur. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1974 and became a principal dancer in 1983. She left the company in 1994, then occasionally performed until 2004. ...

* Stacy Caddell * Katrina Killian * Margaret Tracey *

Lauren Hauser Lauren is mostly a feminine given name. The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius ...

* Melinda Roy * Lisa Jackson *

Florence Fitzgerald Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence was a centre of medieval European tr ...

Stephanie Saland Stephanie Saland (born ) is an American former ballet dancer and teacher. She was spotted by George Balanchine whilst a student at the School of American Ballet, then joined the New York City Ballet in 1972, and was promoted to principal dancer i ...

* Alexandre Proia * Jeppe Mydtskov * Laurence Matthews *

Michael Byars Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

* Tom Gold * Robert Lyon *

Damian Woetzel Damian Woetzel (born May 17, 1967) is an American choreographer. Woetzel was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, where he performed from 1985 until 2008. He also frequently performed with companies like the Kirov Ballet and Amer ...

Philip Neal Philip H. Neal (born in Richmond, Virginia) was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. Career He studied from age 11 at the Richmond Ballet School. After studying there, Edward Villella arranged a summer scholarship for him at NCYB's School ...

* Jeffrey Edwards * Otto Neubert

Footnotes

References

* ''Repertory Week'', New York City Ballet, Spring Season, 2008 repertory, week 5 * ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...

'', New York City Ballet, Friday, May 30, 2008

Articles

Reviews

''NY Times'', Anna Kisselgoff, February 6, 1988

Jennifer Dunning Jennifer Dunning (born February 4, 1942) is a writer and critic for ''The New York Times'' on the subjects of dance and ballet. She is the author of the 1985 ''But First a School: The First Fifty Years of the School of American Ballet'', the 1996 ...

, February 11, 2008
''NY Times'' review
by

Roslyn Sulcas Roslyn Sulcas is a dance critic and culture writer for ''The New York Times''. She was raised in Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Pa ...

, May 29, 2008 {{Charles Ives Ballets by Jerome Robbins Ballets to the music of Charles Ives Ballets designed by David Mitchell Ballets designed by Florence Klotz Ballets designed by Jennifer Tipton 1988 ballets New York City Ballet repertory