Union Jack is a ballet made by
New York City BalletNew York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
co-founder and founding choreographer
George BalanchineGeorge Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
to traditional British tunes, hornpipe melodies and music-hall songs, ca. 1890–1914, adapted by
Hershy KayHershy Kay was an American composer, arranger, and orchestrator. He is most noteworthy for the orchestrations of several Broadway shows, and for the ballets he arranged for George Balanchine's New York City Ballet....
:
- "Keel Row"
- "Caledonian Hunt's Delight"
- "Dance wi' My Daddy"
- "Regimental Drum Variations"
- "Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
"
- "A Hundred Pipers
- Lyrics :These lyrics are in Scots.- Lyrics :These lyrics are in Scots.- Lyrics :These lyrics are in Scots.:Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a',:Wi' a hundred pipers, an' a', an' a',:We'll up an' gie them a blaw, a blaw...
"
- "The Sunshine of Your Smile"
- "The Night the Floor Fell In"
- "Our Lodger's Such a Nice Young Man"
- "Following in Father's Footsteps"
- "A Tavern in the Town"
- "Rule Brittania"
- and the Scottish theme from Händel's Water Music
Water Music may refer to*Water Music , orchestral suites by George Frideric Handel*Water Music , an orchestral suite by Georg Philipp Telemann*Water Music , a novel by T.C...
.
The premiere took place on May 13, 1976, at the New York State Theater,
Lincoln CenterLincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
, to honor British heritage in the United States its bicentennial with costumes by
Rouben Ter-ArutunianRouben Ter-Arutunian was a costume and scenic designer for dance, opera, theater and television.Born in Tiflis, Georgia, he attended the Reimann Art School from 1939 to 1941, studied film music at the Hochschule fur Musik and took courses at the Friedrich-Wilhelm University , 1941–43, and at the...
, original lighting by
Ronald BatesRonald Bates was production stage manager for New York City Ballet where he began working in 1957. He studied scenic design at Los Angeles City College after serving in the Navy...
and current lighting by Mark Stanley. It includes Scottish military tattoos and folk-dance forms; a music-hall pas de deux for the
costermongerCostermonger, or simply Coster, is a street seller of fruit and vegetables, in London and other British towns. They were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, and some are still found in markets. As usual with street-sellers, they would use a loud sing-song cry or chant to attract attention...
Pearly King and Queen; hornpipes, sea songs, work chants and jigs. At the finale the ensemble spells out "God Save the Queen" in semaphore code and the Union Jack unfurls. Principal dancer
Jock SotoJock Soto is a former American ballet dancer and current ballet instructor.-Career:Soto danced featured roles in over 40 ballets, of which more than 35 were created for him....
included an excerpt from
Union Jack in his farewell performance in June 2005.
original
- Sara Leland
- Kay Mazzo
- Karin von Aroldingen
- Suzanne Farrell
Suzanne Farrell is an eminent 20th century ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C....
- Patricia McBride
Patricia McBride is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet....
- Helgi Tomasson
Helgi Tómasson is a former Icelandic ballet dancer and current artistic director for the San Francisco Ballet and its ballet school.- Early life :...
- Jacques d'Amboise
- Peter Martins
Peter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was named man of the year by Danish American Society, 1980...
- Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux is a French ballet dancer and instructor. He is currently the artistic director at the North Carolina Dance Theatre and the Chautauqua Institution. At 14, Bonnefoux joined the Paris Opera Ballet, and became a star dancer at age 21. Under the direction of George Balanchine,...
- Victor Castelli
- Bart Cook
2008 Spring Dancers' Choice benefit
-
- MacDonald of Sleat
2009 Spring Dancers' Choice benefit
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- Royal Navy
- Ashley Laracey
- Dena Abergel
- Elizabeth Walker
- Jennie Somogyi
- Austin Laurent
- Allen Peiffer
- Troy Schumacher
- Jared Angle
- Robert Fairchild
Articles
Reviews
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F12F63B5916768FDDAD0994DD405B868BF1D3NY Times by Clive Barnes
Clive Alexander Barnes, CBE was a British-born American writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977 he was the dance and theater critic for the New York Times, the most powerful position he had held, since its theater critics' reviews historically have had great influence on the success or failure of...
, May 14, 1976]
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30E13F83B5413718DDDA90994D9405B8084F1D3NY Times by Jennifer Dunning
Jennifer Dunning 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 Alvin Ailey, a Life in Dance and the 1997 Great Performances: A...
, January 10, 1980]
- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/arts/dance/21soto.htmlNY Times by Jack Anderson
Jack Anderson is an American dance critic and author. Since 1978, he has been a contributor of dance reviews and other articles in The New York Times...
, June 21, 2005]
- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/arts/dance/30ball.htmlNY Times by Alastair Macaulay
Alastair Macaulay is a dance critic for the New York Times. He was previously chief dance critic at The Times Literary Supplement and chief theater critic of the Financial Times, both of London...
, June 30, 2008]
External links