NYCB Vol. 19 No. 18 - Mestastaseis & Pithoprakta

"Within a few weeks there was genuine excitement when we premièred a very experimental new ballet. The company had danced the previous July in Montreal at Expo '67, and Balanchine, touring the various exhibitions, first heard the "music" of the Greek mathematical composer lannis Xenakis. It was played in conjunction with a light show that structurally mimicked the sounds, and I think that idea intrigued Mr. B. Xenakis' Mestastaseis & Pithoprakta consisted of sixty-one different sounds each made by a different orchestra member. Balanchine's ballet Mestastaseis had twenty-eight dancers dressed in white, forming a huge mass that altered its form through appropriate motions with the accompanying sounds.

"Pithoprakta had Arthur Mitchell and me with a corps of twelve dressed in black. With my hair loose and parted on one side, and wearing a white-and-gold fringed bikini, I danced a pas de deux with Arthur, who was bare-chested and wore sparkling long trousers. The motif of the dance was that we barely ever actually touched; but, as was often the case, this had come about by accident. Before the pre-mière we had filmed our dance as a record of the choreography, but because Arthur was unable to be there I danced the pas de deux alone. Mr. B thought this looked interesting, and when Arthur returned he told him only to pretend to partner me; thus our interactions took on an alienated tone. The première on January 18 was greeted with both cheers and boos, but despite rave reviews the ballet lasted only a few seasons, largely because the music was so difficult for the orchestra to play."

--Holding on to the Air by Suzanne Farrell

• 

• 

• 

• 

Arthur Mitchell and Suzanne Farrell. Photos by Martha Swope, 1968