Today NYCB’s 2024-5 season opens and we are all glad to be back at the theater! Returning to the stage for opening night is Jerome Robbins’ masterwork Glass Pieces. In the footage below, we see the 2nd movement pas de deux performed by the original dancers Maria Calegari and Bart Cook. I reached out to Maria this weekend and she provided the following commentary on their Glass Pieces pas de deux:
“Jerry didn't talk about images most of the time. But he did demonstrate what he wanted well. Those Egyptian poses were important to him. And Bart and I always stress the parallel feet as in Egyptian statues [when they stage the ballet for other companies]. The most important challenge of the pas de deux is to keep the line of continuity just like the Phillip Glass music throughout until the very last lift off. Even when standing still. The lifts always reminded me of second movement Symphony in C.”
Maria also shared that she remembered the ballet being a huge success at its premiere and that Nureyev was in attendance!
Footage originally posted by Marcus Galante, edited by Lauryn Johnson
More notes from Maria Calegari on Glass Pieces AND the inside scoop on the grid backdrop!
"Bart was both the original ballet master and principal man for the second movement. He put so much into this ballet. He'd watch the ballet from the wings then run and do the pas then run back to the front wing. Bart’s notes are remarkable because it's so complicated, especially the back line of the second movement."
"The grid that became the backdrop came from Bart's papers he would throw on the floor on the stage for the corps and Jerry to look at it."
It was our first dance pairing...and well...the rest is history! :)
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