Music & Dance Intelligence
American Ballet Theatre at Bard
“Ballet is sort of a mystery to me. And I don’t want to unravel that mystery.” — Robert Caro
Twyla Tharp’s “Baker’s Dozen,” photo by Gene Schiavone
Since its founding in 1938, American Ballet Theatre has championed the classics (Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty) and encouraged innovative choreographers (Jerome Robbin, George Balanchine. Agnes de Mille, Twyla Tharp et al.) Now, the legendary troupe will be spending the weekend of October 17-19 at the Fisher Center at Bard College, where it will give five performances.
ABT’s program includes two signature dances by Twyla Tharp: Baker’s Dozen, which premiered in 1979 and mixes nostaglia and contemporary emotions with jazz by Willie “The Lion” Smith; and Sinatra Suite, a ballet for two that is set to five Frank Sinatra standards—Strangers in the Night, All the Way, That’s Life, My Way, and One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)—with costumes by Oscar de la Renta.
There are two company premieres on the program, too. Jiří Kylián’s Overgrown Path is based on Leoš Janáček’s intimate piano cycle, On an Overgrown Path, which he wrote gradually over a number of years. The highly autobiographical music memorializes the death of Janáček’s much-loved daughter Olga. In addition, there’s Paul Taylor’s Company B, a suite of dances choreographed to nine Andrews Sisters songs. The dance includes the title song, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B), as well as Yiddish tunes, Latin rhythms, and polkas from Pennsylvania.
American Ballet Theatre at Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY; 845-758-7900
October 17 -19
Tickets: $20, $40, $65
