<strong>proGram</strong> SON OF cHAmbER SymPHONy PROGRAm A by arranGement with henDon music, inc., a boosey & hawKes company, publisher anD copyriGht owner AFTER THE RAIN © PROGRAm A choreoGraphy Christopher Wheeldon music Arvo Pärt costume Holly Hynes liGhtinG Jack Mehler aFter Mark Stanley staGinG Jason Fowler 6 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe lenGth 22 minutes worlD premiere January 22, 2005 New York City Ballet, New York State Theater New York, NY JoFFrey premiere October 13, 2010, Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL arvo pärt LuDuS From tabula rasa anD spieGel im spieGel useD by arranGement with european american music Distributors company, u.s. anD canaDian aGent For universal eDition vienna, publisher anD copyriGht owner choreoGraphy Stanton Welch music John Adams costume Travis Halsey AGE OF INNOcENcE PROGRAm b choreoGraphy Edwaard Liang music Philip Glass & Thomas Newman costume Maria Pinto liGhtinG Jack Mehler aFter Mark Stanley lenGth 30 minutes number oF Dancers 16 (8 couples) worlD premiere October 15, 2008, The Joffrey Ballet, Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL liGhtinG Jack Mehler lenGth 25 minutes worlD/JoFFrey premiere August 22, 2012 Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain is a ballet of bold movements and heartfelt emotion. In Part I, danced to the first movement of Pärt’s Tabula Rasa, the three couples’ opening movements find the men lying on the floor with the women standing over them, en pointe, with their left legs thrust in the air. From that powerful image, the couples perform a series of intricate lifts and turns that often mirror one another. They are dressed in steel gray, reflecting the striking backdrop, in which a revolving palette of grays resembles glass covered with raindrops. The colors and mood shift dramatically in Part II, a pas de deux danced to Spiegel im Spiegel. The ballerina is dressed in pink and her partner is bare chested. In a series of unfolding partnering moves, the dancers explore the shifting emotions of their relationship. At times they are close and tender with one another, while at other times they inhabit the same space but are separated and searching for one another. The ballet is short in length–lasting about 22 minutes–but rich in invention and feeling. While many dance companies have performed parts of this work, The Joffrey Ballet is the first company outside of the company for which it was created to be awarded the rights to perform the piece in its entirety. Repertory notes courtesy of and adapted from New York City Ballet Online Repertory Index. This ballet, inspired by the novels of Jane Austen, tells the story of females of the late eighteenth century and early nineteenthcentury. It’s a story of societal repression and of the strength of the human spirit. Age of Innocence was created with funds from the Prince Prize for Commissioning Original Work, which was awarded to Edwaard Liang and The Joffrey Ballet in 2008. movement 2 & 4 From symphony no. 3, the secret aGent by philip Glass © 1995 DunvaGen music publishers inc. useD by permission. by arranGement with G. schirmer, inc. publisher anD copyriGht owner. <strong>proGram</strong> IN THE mIDDLE, SOmEwHAT ELEvATED PROGRAm b choreoGraphy William Forsythe music Thom Willems in collaboration with Leslie Stuck staGinG Glen Tuggle scenic, costume & oriGinal liGhtinG DesiGn William Forsythe scenery & costume courtesy oF Adam Sklute THE RITE OF SPRING (LE SAcRE Du PRINTEmPS) choreoGraphy aFter Vaslav Nijinsky reconstructeD & staGeD Millicent Hodson music Igor Stravinsky scenario Igor Stravinsky & Nicholas Roerich costumes & Décors aFter Nicholas Roerich reconstucteD & superviseD Kenneth Archer artistic supervision oF reconstruction Robert Joffrey lenGth 26 minutes worlD premiere May 30, 1987, Ballet de l’Opera National, Paris JoFFery premiere October 15, 2008, The Joffrey Ballet, Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL liGhtinG Jack Mehler aFter Thomas Skelton scenic supervision & costumes executeD Robert Perdziola & Sally Ann Parsons lenGth 36 minutes worlD premiere May 29, 1913 Diaghilev ’s Ballets Russes, Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris, France us & JoFFrey premiere September 30, 1987, The Joffrey Ballet, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA William Forsythe’s athletic choreography is a union of classical ballet and modern dance—a bold regeneration of the academic dance vocabulary. Commissioned by Rudolf Nureyev in 1987 for the Paris Opera Ballet, Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated was recognized immediately as a contemporary masterpiece and has since entered the repertories of major companies around the world. The faux disdain of the dancers contrasts with the strict and severe technical demands of the choreography, while the electronic score by Dutchman Thom Willems cuts the air like thunder. “Originally created for the Paris Opera Ballet, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated is a theme and variations in the strictest sense. Exploiting the vestiges of academic virtuosity that still signify “the classical,” it extends and accelerates these traditional figures of ballet. By shifting the alignment and emphasis of essentially vertical transitions, the affected enchainments receive an unexpected force and drive that make them appear foreign to their own origins.” – William Forsythe act i — aDoration oF the earth SPRING. The Earth is covered with flowers. The Earth is covered with grass. A great joy reigns over the Earth. The men join in the dance and invoke the future according to the rites. The Sage among all the Ancestors (Elders) participates in the glorification of the Spring. All are made one (led to unite) with the abundant and rich Earth. Everyone tramples the Earth with ecstasy. PROGRAm A & b act ii — the sacriFice AFTER THE DAY: AFTER MIDNIGHT. On the hills are the consecrated stones. The (young) maidens carry-out the mystical games and look for the Great Path. They glorify, they exalt the maiden who is designated to be the chosen one of the god. They call the Ancestors, venerated witnesses. And the wise Ancestors of Men contemplate the (Dance of) Sacrifice. It is thus they sacrifice to Yarilo* the magnificent, the flaming. —From the original program, May 29,1913, Theatre des Champs- Elysees, Paris, France *In pre-Christian Slavic mythology, Yarilo was thought to be the sun-deity and ancient spirit of light and creativity. by arranGement with boosey & hawKes, inc., publisher anD copyriGht owner PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe 7