Classical Mythology, 7th Edition - obinfonet: dia logou

744 THE SURVIVAL OF CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY
In 1957, again to music by Stravinsky, Balanchine choreographed a ballet
entitled Agon (the Greek spelling of this Greek word for contest is actually used),
which with Apollo and Orpheus was by intention to complete a Greek triad for
performance by the New York City Ballet. 60
Finally we mention Balanchine's Electronics (New York City Ballet, 1961),
with music by Remil Gassman in collaboration with Oskar Sala (for an electronic
tape). In this dance, Zeus, Mercury, and the other Olympians rule in a space age
of science fiction.
OTHER DANCE WORKS
God the Reveler (1987). Choreographer, Erick Hawkins. Music by Alan Hovhaness.
Erick Hawkins Dance Company. Dionysus battles unsuccessfully
with death; after his entrails are eaten by Titans, he is reborn. The dance
ends with a revel ("a kind of antique hoedown") for the god and his maenads
and satyrs. Erick Hawkins (1909-1991), an important figure in American
dance, has been deeply influenced by the Greeks (as well as by Zen
Buddhism). He majored in classics at Harvard and worked with George
Balanchine; he was the first male dancer to join Martha Graham's company
in 1938, and she created some of her best male roles for him. He
married Graham, and the ending of their marriage caused her much unhappiness.
The Minotaur (1947). Choreographer, John Taras. Music by Elliott Carter.
Ballet Society, New York. Lincoln Kirsten invited Carter to write the score
and Balanchine helped adapt the story for the stage. Motives reflect fragments
of ancient Greek music, for example, the Epitaph of Seikilos and
the hymns to Apollo inscribed on the Delphic Treasury of the Athenians.
The dance is in two scenes: King Minos' Palace in Crete; and Before the
Labyrinth. Among the episodes depicted are the following: Queen
Pasiphaë dances frantically with the sacred bull; Pasiphaë's heartbeat becomes
the pounding of hammers used in the building of the Labyrinth
amidst the howling of their offspring, the Minotaur, who is to be imprisoned;
various dances go on to depict Ariadne's love for Theseus, her help
in the killing of the Minotaur, and her abandonment. Carter composed an
abbreviated version of his score, The Minotaur, Suite from the Ballet.
Ovid, Metamorphoses (1958). Choreographer, Herbert Ross. Music by
Arnold Schônberg (Sonata for Violin and Piano). American Ballet Theatre
Workshop. Cast: Io and the Cloud, Narcissus and Echo, Daphne and
Apollo, Calpurnia, Caesar, and Venus.
Ulysses' Bow (1984). Music by John Harbison. Sections are entitled Prelude:
Premonitions; Ulysses' Return; Ulysses and Argos; The Suitors;
While the Suitors Sleep; Penelope; Penelope's Dream; The Trial of the Bow;