316. Agon 1957 | The George Balanchine Foundation

316. Agon 1957

Igor Stravinsky (1953-56, commissioned by the New York City Ballet with funds from the Rockefeller Foundation and dedicated to Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine)

George Balanchine

Lighting by Nananne Porcher

December 1, 1957, New York City Ballet, City Center of Music and Drama, New York. Conductor: Leon Barzin. (Preview: March of Dimes Benefit, November 27.)

PART I: PAS DE QUATRE: 4 men;
DOUBLE PAS DE QUATRE: 8 women;
TRIPLE PAS DE QUATRE: 8 women, 4 men;
PART II: FIRST PAS DE TROIS: SARABANDE: Todd Bolender;
GAILLIARD: Barbara Milberg, Barbara Walczak;
CODA: Milberg, Walczak, Bolender;
SECOND PAS DE TROIS: BRANSLE SIMPLE: Roy Tobias, Jonathan Watts;
BRANSLE GAY: Melissa Hayden;
BRANSLE DOUBLE (DE POITOU): Hayden, Tobias, Watts;
PAS DE DEUX: Diana Adams, Arthur Mitchell;
PART III: DANSE DES QUATRE DUOS: 4 duos;
DANSE DES QUATRE TRIOS: 4 trios; CODA: 4 men

Performance Type

Ballet

Video Archives Recording

George Balanchine Foundation Interpreters Archive (PAS DE DEUX), 2005

Note

Agon is the Greek word for contest; the movements of the ballet are named after French court dances. Although when commissioned the work was intended to complete a triad of ballets (with Apollo and Orpheus) on Greek themes, Stravinsky and Balanchine later noted that the historical references are pretexts. The composer and the choreographer together designed the structure of the ballet during the creation of the music. The outline for the score specifies in detail, with exact timings, the basic movements for twelve dancers.

Additional Productions

Revisions

Stagings

1963   Paris Opera Ballet
1965   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1967   San Francisco Ballet
1970   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1970   Stuttgart Ballet
1970   Grand Theatre de Geneve Ballet (Geneva, Switzerland)
1971   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1971   Ballett der Hamburgische Staatsoper (Hamburg, West Germany)
1973   Royal Ballet
1974   Paris Opera Ballet
1975   San Francisco Ballet
1976   Ballett der Hamburgische Staatsoper (Hamburg, West Germany)
1977   Dutch National Ballet
1978   Zurich Ballet (Ballett des Opernhauses Zurich)
1979   Hungarian National Ballet
1981   Royal Ballet
1982   Aterballetto-Centro Regionale della Danza (Reggio Emilia, Italy)
1982   New York Dance Theatre
1984   Ballet du Nord (France)
1984   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1985   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1986   San Francisco Ballet
1987   Ballet de Basler Theatres (Switzerland)
1987   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1987   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1987   NAPAC Ballet (Natal Performing Arts Council—Durban, South Africa)
1987   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1988   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1988   Dutch National Ballet
1988   PACT Ballet (Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal—Johannesburg, South Africa)
1988   Royal Danish Ballet
1989   Ballett des Stadtischen Bühnen (Frankfurt Opera)
1989   Ballet du Nord (France)
1989   Banff Center (Alberta, Canada)
1989   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1989   Royal Danish Ballet
1990   Ballet Oklahoma
1990   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1991   Ballet del Teatro Lirico Nacional (Madrid, Spain)
1991   Boston Ballet
1991   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1991   Frankfurt Ballet
1991   Royal Ballet
1992   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1992   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1992   Pennsylvania Ballet
1992   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1993   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1993   Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
1993   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1993   San Francisco Ballet
1994   Ballet de l’Opera du Rhin (Strasbourg, France)
1994   Cincinnati Ballet
1994   Dutch National Ballet
1994   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1994   Pennsylvania Ballet
1995   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1995   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1995   Miami City Ballet
1995   Paris Opera Ballet
1995   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1995   Royal New Zealand Ballet
1996   Birmingham Royal Ballet/Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet
1996   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1996   Houston Ballet
1996   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1996   Royal Ballet
1997   Dutch National Ballet
1997   Miami City Ballet
1997   PACT Ballet (Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal—Johannesburg, South Africa)
1997   Teatro Comunale (Florence, Italy)
1997   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
1998   Ballet Arizona
1998   Ballet de l’Opera du Rhin (Strasbourg, France)
1998   San Francisco Ballet
1998   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1999   Bolshoi Ballet
1999   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1999   James Sewell Ballet (St. Paul, Minnesota)
1999   National Ballet Lisbon
1999   Oregon Ballet Theatre
1999   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1999   San Francisco Ballet
1999   Washington Ballet
2000   Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
2001   Kansas City Ballet
2001   Royal Ballet
2001   Royal Swedish Ballet
2002   Dance Theatre of Harlem
2002   San Francisco Ballet
2003   North Carolina Dance Theatre
2003   Sacramento Ballet
2004   Ballet Arlington
2004   Bolshoi Ballet
2004   Dance Theatre of Harlem
2004   Dance Theatre of Harlem (English Tour)
2004   Dutch National Ballet
2004   Den Norske Opera [Ballet] (Norway)
2004   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2004   Pennsylvania Ballet
2004   The Australian Ballet
2004   Royal Ballet
2005   Ballet Arizona
2005   Ballet West
2005   Carolina Ballet
2006   Louisville Ballet
2006   Sadler’s Wells
2006   Scottish Ballet
2007   Birmingham Royal Ballet
2007   City Ballet of San Diego
2007   Los Angeles Ballet
2007   Miami City Ballet
2007   Milwaukee Ballet
2007   Orlando Ballet
2007   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2007   Paris Opera Ballet
2008   New Orleans Ballet Theatre (pas de deux)
2008   Suzanne Farrell Ballet (pas de deux)
2008   Louisville Ballet
2009   Oper Leipzig
2009   Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2010   Ballet San Jose
2011   Pennsylvania Ballet
2011   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
2011   Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2012   City Ballet of San Diego
2012   Royal Danish Ballet
2013   Dance Theatre of Harlem
2013   Festival Ballet Providence
2013   Het Nationale Ballet
2013   Los Angeles Ballet
2013   Suzanne Farrell Ballet, The
2014   Ballet Austin
2014   Oregon Ballet Theatre
2014   San Francisco Ballet
2016   American Contemporary Ballet
2016   Norwegian National Ballet
2016   Washington Ballet
2017   Ballet Arizona
2017   Paris Opera Ballet
2018   Ballet Idaho
2018   Sacramento Ballet Selections
2019   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2019   Royal Swedish Ballet
2020   Boston Ballet
2020   Los Angeles Ballet

Recorded Performances

Videos/DVD

1995, Nonesuch, The Balanchine Library:Dancing for Mr. B (PAS DE DEUX [excerpt]);
1996, Nonesuch, The Balanchine Library: The Balanchine Celebration, Part Two (FIRST PAS DE TROIS, SECOND PAS DE TROIS, PAS DE DEUX [1993]);
2001, Kultur, Peter Martins: A Dancer (PAS DE DEUX [excerpt]);
2002, George Balanchine Foundation, Music Dances: Balanchine Choreographs Stravinsky (FIRST PAS DE TROIS; BRANSLE GAY; PAS DE DEUX [2001]);
2004, Kultur, Balanchine (PAS DE QUATRE [partial], PAS DE DEUX);
2008, City Lights Media, Bringing Balanchine Back: The Historic Return to Russia (PAS DE DEUX [excerpt]);
2014 Video Artists International, New York City Ballet in Montreal, Vol. 2 (complete recorded 1960)

Film

1973, RM Productions;
1978, The Film Company, Peter Martins: A Dancer (PAS DE DEUX [excerpt]);
1989, Seahorse Films, Dancing for Mr. B (PAS DE DEUX [excerpt])

Television

1960 (CBC [Montreal], L’Heure du Concert)
1962 pas de deux (CBC [Montreal], L’Heure du Concert, “Stravinsky at 80”)
1966 excerpts (PBS, U.S.A.: Dance)
1969 excerpt (NBC)
1973 (RM Productions)
1973 (BBC 2 [London])
1977 (French television, FR3, “Balanchine à Arc et Senans”)
1983 (PBS Great Performances/Dance in America, “Balanchine Celebrates Stravinsky”)
1984 pas de deux (PBS, Dance in America, “Balanchine”)
1993 excerpts (PBS, Dance in America, “The Balanchine Celebration”)

Source Notes

Revisions information provided by Nancy Goldner, Stephanie Jordan, Leigh Witchel