An extraordinary triple bill that celebrates musicality, choreographic innovation, and stylistic range. From the jazzy exuberance of Take Five…More or Less by Broadway legend Susan Stroman, to the striking modernism and depth of George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, and the elegant precision of his Divertimento No. 15,—this program offers a journey through rhythm, emotion, and the timeless beauty of ballet.
PERFORMANCE DATES
Oct 11 at 1:30pm
Oct 11 at 6:00pm
Oct 12 at 2:30pm
THEATER
TOUHILL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
TICKETS
TAKE FIVE..MORE OR LESS
Choreography by Susan Stroman
Music by David Brubeck Quartet and Paul Desmond
15 minutes
Jazzy fusion of Paul Desmond/Dave Brubeck music, dance and Matisse-inspired costumes, and lighting from acclaimed Broadway director and choreographer Susan Stroman.
Costumes featured in marketing images for "Take Five...More or Less" are for promotional purposes only. The costumes appearing in performances are original designs by Tony Award–winning designer William Ivey Long.
NOTES FROM STROMAN:
There have been many songs in my lifetime that I dream I might someday have the chance to choreograph. They stick with me and whenever I hear them, I imagine how I would translate that song into dance. That is true with the song “Take Five”.
“Take Five” was written by saxophonist Paul Desmond and recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Brubeck’s style was odd time signatures, improvised counterpoint, and distinctive harmonies. Brubeck asked Paul Desmond to write a song in 5/4 time. It was that time signature which intrigued me. I knew I was listening to something different – it was addictive. I first heard the album Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet around the age of eight, and I listened to that record for years until I completely wore it out. My older brother Corky, who had a great ear for jazz, had it in his collection and I gravitated to it even as a young child. I remember Corky saying, “This is the first jazz album to sell a million copies!” That seemed like a lot to an eight-year-old girl. Other songs on that album I adored were “Blue Rondo à la Turk”, which has an unusual rhythm that consists of three measures of 2+2+2+3 and one measure of 3+3+3 then repeats, and “Strange Meadow Lark”, a beautiful ballad that starts with a piano solo and moves into a 4/4 swing. Both written by Dave Brubeck. This music was a big part of my life growing up, and now, hardly a day goes by when I don’t listen to jazz.
FROM JAZZ TO CLASSIC...
Choreography by George Balanchine
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
performed by Chamber Music Society of St. Louis
33 minutes
George Balanchine’s only ballet set to a Mozart score, Divertimento No.15 is a ballet lover’s dream. Gorgeous costumes, ingenious choreography, technical prowess and glorious music.
DIVERTIMENTO NO. 15
Balanchine considered Mozart’s Divertimento No. 15 the finest ever written, and to compliment the sparkling score, he created a work of prodigious ingenuity featuring a regal cast of dancers.
LIVE Music for Divertimento No. 15
Music performed by Chamber Music Society of St. Louis
Conducted by Darwin Aquino
As part of Saint Louis Ballet’s Live Music Initiative, we are thrilled to welcome the Chamber Music Society of St. Louis, under the direction of conductor and composer Darwin Aquino, for live performances of Mozart’s Divertimento No. 15 in our Take Five series. Known for adventurous programming and vibrant artistry, the Chamber Music Society joins forces with Aquino—celebrated internationally for his energy, versatility, and championing of new music—to bring Mozart’s luminous score to life with elegance and vitality.
THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
Choreography by George Balanchine
Music by Paul Hindemith
32 minutes
A St. Louis premiere by George Balanchine that is at once classically grounded and utterly modern.
A ballet with
unceasing appeal,
The Four Temperaments references the medieval concept of psychological humors through its classically grounded but definitively modern movement.
Balanchine wrote of the ballet that it “is an expression in dance and music of the ancient notion that the human organism is made up of four different humors, or temperaments. Each one of us possesses these four humors, but in different degrees, and it is from the dominance of one of them that the four physical and psychological types — melancholic, sanguinic, phlegmatic, and choleric — were derived."
