Undertow

Synopsis:

The original program notes were too lengthy for Tudor's liking, thus ten years later, in 1956, the program notes shrank considerably to include just the following:

The ballet concerns itself with the emotional development of a transgressor. The choreographic actions depicts a series of related happenings, beginning with his babyhood when he is neglected by his mother. The frustrations engendered by this episode are heightened during his boyhood by his sordid experiences in the lower reaches of a large city, and only resolve themselves in his murder of a lascivious woman.

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

Choreography: Antony Tudor.

Music / Composer: Commissioned score, William Schuman.

First Performance: New York. Metropolitan Opera House. April 10th, 1945. Ballet Theatre.

U.S. Performance Casting: Hugh Laing, Diana Adams, John Kriza, Nana Gollner, Alicia Alonso, Janet Reed, Lucia Chase, Shirley Eckl, Patricia Barker, Regis Posers, Stanley Herbertt, Michael Kidd, Fernando Alonso, Kenneth Davis, Roy Tobias, Roszika Sabo, Cynthia Riesly, Dick Beard, Marjorie Tallchief, June Morris, Mildred Ferguson.

Costumes / Scenery: Raymond Breinin.

Revival U.S. Premiere: Syracuse, New York. February 20th, 1976. Syracuse Ballet Theatre.

French Premiere: Paris. Opera Comique. February 18th, 1985. Paris Opera Ballet "Hommage a Antony Tudor".

Notated: 1973 by Ray Cook (Incomplete) 1978-1983 by Airi Mynninen (Labanotation).

Number of Dancers: 5+7 Women, 2+7 Men.

Average Length: 45 minutes.

Costumes / Scenery: ABT, Royal Swedish Ballet.

‍

‍