Ragtime (I)
Encyclopedia
Ragtime is the second of three ballets made by New York City Ballet
's co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine
to Igor Stravinsky
's 1918 Ragtime for Eleven Instruments; with scenery by Robert Drew previously used for Lew Christensen
's 1947 work for Ballet Society, Blackface; costumes by Karinska
and lighting by David Hays
. The premiere took place on December 7, 1960, at City Center of Music and Drama
, conducted by Robert Irving, as part of a quartet of works titled Jazz Concert, together with dances by Todd Bolender
's Creation of the World, Francisco Moncion's Les Biches
and John Taras
' Ebony Concerto. Balanchine's 1966 Ragtime (II)
was also made for City Ballet; his previous ballet to Stravinsky's Ragtime was one of a number of "informal little things" made in St. Petersburg in 1922.
New York City Ballet
New 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...
's co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George 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 Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's 1918 Ragtime for Eleven Instruments; with scenery by Robert Drew previously used for Lew Christensen
Lew Christensen
Lewellyn Farr "Lew" Christensen was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952–1984...
's 1947 work for Ballet Society, Blackface; costumes by Karinska
Barbara Karinska
Varvara Jmoudsky, better known as Barbara Karinska or simply Karinska , was costumer of the New York City Ballet, and the first costume designer ever to win the Capezio Dance Award, for costumes "of visual beauty for the spectator and complete delight for the dancer".However, she designed the...
and lighting by David Hays
David Hays
David Leslie Hays was an English-born Scottish cricketer.David Hays was educated at Highgate and the University of Cambridge. He represented Cambridge University and Scotland in 25 first-class matches as a right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper between 1965 and 1980...
. The premiere took place on December 7, 1960, at City Center of Music and Drama
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
, conducted by Robert Irving, as part of a quartet of works titled Jazz Concert, together with dances by Todd Bolender
Todd Bolender
Todd Bolender was a renowned ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director. He was an instrumental figure in the creation and dissemination of classical dance and ballet as an American art form...
's Creation of the World, Francisco Moncion's Les Biches
Les Biches
Les biches is a ballet by Francis Poulenc, premiered by the Ballets Russes in 1924. The composer, who was at the time relatively unknown, was asked by Serge Diaghilev to write a piece based on Glazunov's Les Sylphides, written seventeen years earlier...
and John Taras
John Taras
John Taras was a prominent American balletmaster and choreographer. Born on the Lower East Side of New York City to Ukrainian parents, he was sent at age 16 to study ballet with Michel Fokine, Anatole Vilzak and Ludmila Shollar, and later to the School of American Ballet...
' Ebony Concerto. Balanchine's 1966 Ragtime (II)
Ragtime (II)
Ragtime is the third ballet made by New York City Ballet's co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine to Igor Stravinsky's Ragtime for Eleven Instruments . The premiere took place on July 15, 1966, at Philharmonic Hall, New York. The first City Ballet performance was on January 17, 1967, at New...
was also made for City Ballet; his previous ballet to Stravinsky's Ragtime was one of a number of "informal little things" made in St. Petersburg in 1922.
Original cast
- Diana AdamsDiana AdamsDiana Adams was an American dancer, leading dancer for the New York City Ballet from 1950 to 1963 and a favorite of George Balanchine, later became a teacher and a dean at the School of American Ballet. Adams was born in Staunton, Virginia and died in San Andreas, California....
- Bill Carter