Dance Studies

Synopsis:

At the opening of this piece, Tudor catches the audience off guard. The stage is designed with an unlikely set that reminds one of a circus tent, with swinging ropes and a ballet barre upstage. Two men and ten women dance in this piece. Then, unexpectedly, a big gorilla enters for a short time while one woman performs an adagio combination. Tudor emphasizes birdlike arm movements [and] keeps adding on and peeling off the different dancers. [At one point] six women playfully hang on the ropes. The stage darkens and the dancers come out to bow to one another. Two men and ten women bow in canon to each other. During the next scene, the women look up at the rope and the barre in dismay. The last dancer finally comes out to bow while the stage-shy gorilla makes a last entrance, playfully jumping on the rope.

Ballet Synopsis excerpted with permission from the Ballets of Antony Tudor by Judith Chazin-Bennahum.

Choreography: Antony Tudor.

Music / Composer: Elliot Carter, Etude III from Eight Etudes and Fantasy for Woodwind Quartet.

First Performance: New York. The Juilliard School, May 8th, 1961. Juilliard Dance Ensemble.

Notated: Excerpts notated in 1963 by student Kelly Hogan.

Average Length: A 14 minute film was made on March 8, 1962 on the Juilliard stage.

Number of Dancers: 10 Women, 2 Men.

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