The George Balanchine Foundation
Balanchine Catalogue
Balanchine Catalogue Archive

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Igor Stravinsky (Élégie-Elegy for solo viola, 1944)
George Balanchine
June 13, 1982, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater. On-stage violist: Warren Laffredo
Suzanne Farrell
Performance Type
Ballet
See Also
Note
Included in the Stravinsky Centennial Celebration. Balanchine first choreographed Stravinsky’s Élégie as a pas de deux in 1948, and then as a solo in 1966. At the opening and closing of this newly choreographed work the dancer kneels in a circle of light on the darkened stage. (See FESTIVALS DIRECTED BY BALANCHINE.)
Source Notes

Gordon Boelzner

Igor Stravinsky (Élégie-Elegy for solo viola, 1944)
George Balanchine
April 28, 1948, Ballet Society, City Center of Music and Drama, New York. Violist: Emanuel Vardi
Tanaquil Le Clercq, Pat McBride
Performance Type
Ballet
See Also
Note
As described by the choreographer, the music is reflected through the interlaced bodies of two dancers rooted to a central spot on the stage; referred to by the composer as a kind of preview of the Orpheus pas de deux. Originally presented (with Symphonie Concertante [241] and Circus Polka [230]) on the program of the National Orchestral Society entitled Adventure in Ballet, November 5, 1945, danced by students of the School of American Ballet, with Todd Bolender as guest artist. The Ballet Society premiere was part of an evening that included the premiere of Orpheus [246]. In 1966 and for the New York City Ballet Stravinsky Centennial Celebration in 1982, Balanchine choreographed new works to this music, both also called Élégie. (see FESTIVALS DIRECTED BY BALANCHINE.)