Sep 20, 2021
Host Silas Farley delves deep into the creation of Jerome
Robbins’ Glass Pieces in part two of this new Hear the Dance
episode. Former NYCB Principal Dancers and husband and wife duo
Maria Calegari and Bart Cook share intimate details about the
second movement pas de deux, the development of which marked the
beginning of their relationship; Corps de Ballet Member Gretchen
Smith remarks on the shared legacy of performing these roles and
knowing that “Everything we’re taught now is learned through those
that were in the room”; and former Principal Dancer Helene
Alexopoulos reflects on the importance of Glass Pieces as a
celebration of the Company through its focus on the corps de
ballet—and an important statement from Robbins, as the work
premiered just two weeks after George Balanchine’s death.
(30:07)
Written by Silas Farley
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Reading List:
Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins by Amanda Vaill
Words Without Music by Philip Glass
Jerome Robbins: By Himself by Amanda Vaill
Music:
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor
Stravinsky
Rubric and Façades from Glassworks, excerpts from the opera
Akhnaten by Philip Glass
All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra.