Union Jack (ballet)
Encyclopedia
Union Jack is a ballet made by New York City Ballet
co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine
to traditional British tunes, hornpipe melodies and music-hall songs, ca. 1890–1914, adapted by Hershy Kay
:
The premiere took place on May 13, 1976, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center
, to honor British heritage in the United States its bicentennial with costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian
, original lighting by Ronald Bates
and current lighting by Mark Stanley. It includes Scottish military tattoos and folk-dance forms; a music-hall pas de deux for the costermonger
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 Soto
included an excerpt from Union Jack in his farewell performance in June 2005.
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...
co-founder and founding choreographer 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 traditional British tunes, hornpipe melodies and music-hall songs, ca. 1890–1914, adapted by Hershy Kay
Hershy Kay
Hershy 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 GraceAmazing 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 PipersA 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 MusicWater MusicWater 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 Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln 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-Arutunian
Rouben Ter-Arutunian
Rouben 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 Bates
Ronald Bates
Ronald 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 costermonger
Costermonger
Costermonger, 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 Soto
Jock Soto
Jock 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 FarrellSuzanne FarrellSuzanne Farrell is an eminent 20th century ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C....
- Patricia McBridePatricia McBridePatricia McBride is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet....
- Helgi TomassonHelgi TomassonHelgi 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 MartinsPeter MartinsPeter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was named man of the year by Danish American Society, 1980...
- Jean-Pierre BonnefouxJean-Pierre BonnefouxJean-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
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- MacDonald of Sleat
- Savannah Lowery
- NYCB ensemble
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
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10E16FD3458167493C1A8178ED85F428785F9NY Times by Anna KisselgoffAnna KisselgoffAnna Kisselgoff is a dance critic and cultural news reporter for the New York Times. She began at the Times as a dance critic and cultural news reporter in 1968, and became its Chief Dance Critic in 1977, a role she held until 2005...
, May 13, 1976] - http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F1FFD3F5B177B8EDDAA0A94DD405B868BF1D3Sunday NY Times by Clive BarnesClive Barnes (critic)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 23, 1976]
Reviews
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F12F63B5916768FDDAD0994DD405B868BF1D3NY Times by Clive BarnesClive Barnes (critic)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 DunningJennifer DunningJennifer 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 AndersonJack Anderson (dance critic)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 MacaulayAlastair MacaulayAlastair 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]