A Midsummer Night's Dream - Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre

Carlo. A year later he formed a new company, Les Ballets 1933, with himself as chiefchoreographer. He did not think he was creating for posterity. He worked for the hereand now, referring to his ballets as butterflies and observing that no one wanted to look atlast year's butterflies. During the London performing season of Les Ballets 1933 anAmerican fledgling impresario named Lincoln Kirstein, from New York City, metBalanchine with the specific intention of inviting him to the United States to found aballet school and company.In 1934 the revolution of ballet in America began when Balanchine and Kirstein formedthe School of American Ballet and staged "Serenade", Ballanchine's first ballet created inthe United States. The dance company, American Ballet, was comprised of students fromthe school. After only two years, it became the resident company at the MetropolitanOpera House. Conflicts between the two organizations dissolved that relationship, and"Mr. B" went on to choreograph for the Broadway stage and Hollywood films until in1946, after WW II, Lincoln Kirstein formed Ballet Society making George Balanchine itsArtistic Director. Two years later, Ballet Society became the resident company at theNew York City Center for Music and Drama. The name was changed to New York CityBallet, and the ballet revolution in America continued.Mr. B died in 1983 from heart problems. During his choreographic career, beginning atage sixteen, he created over four hundred ballets, opera ballets, dance sequences formusicals, revues, dramatic productions, movies, cabaret specialties, televisionproductions and a circus parade for elephants and their riders, which he worked on withIgor Stravinsky, his longtime friend, associate and collaborator. It was for RinglingBrothers and the phone conversation is remembered like this:“I wonder if you’d like to do a little ballet with me,” Balanchine said, after Stravinskyanswered the phone, “a polka, perhaps.”“For whom?”“For some elephants,” Balanchine said.“How old?” asked Stravinsky cautiously.“Very young,” Balanchine assured him.There was a pause. Then Stravinsky said gravely, “All right. If they are very youngelephants, I will do it.”The score is Circus Polka by Igor Stravinsky and the dedication is “For a Young Elephant.”28