''Diversion of Angels'', initially titled ''Wilderness Stair'', is a Martha Graham ballet performed to an original score by
Norman Dello Joio
Norman Dello Joio (January 24, 1913July 24, 2008) was an American composer active for over half a century. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957.
Life
Dello Joio was born Nicodemo DeGioio in New York City to Italian immigrants. He began his music ...
. The premiere on August 13, 1948, at the Palmer Auditorium in
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...
, included a set designed by
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and severa ...
. It was eliminated at the second performance. ''Diversion of Angels'' is in the
Martha Graham Dance Company
The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...
Following the 1948 premiere, reviewer Frances Herridge described ''Wilderness Stair'' as a far cry from a significant addition to the Graham repertoire, being "without story or discernible comment" and lacking a performance by Graham. However, as an ensemble piece for the troupe, she thought it "superb."
On March 20, 1949, the dance was reintroduced with the title ''Diversion of Angels'' at the Eighth Street Theatre in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. The New York premiere took place later on January 22, 1950 at the 46th Street Theater. For this performance, Yuriko replaced May O’Donnell.
Theme and structure
Although the dance is story-less, Graham described it as a representation of three aspects of love. It may also be interpreted as three facets of one woman's character. Some Graham scholars claim the paintings of
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
influenced the work.
The piece is staged for three couples and a
corps de ballet
In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers.
...
. The women are costumed in yellow, red or white; the men, and corps members, are dressed in beige. The original performers were Helen McGehee and Stuart Hodes as Adolescent Love (yellow),
Pearl Lang
Pearl Lang (May 29, 1921 – February 24, 2009) was an American dancer, choreographer and teacher renowned as an interpreter and propagator of the choreography style of Martha Graham, and also for her own longtime dance company, the Pearl Lang ...
and Robert Cohan as Romantic Love (red) and Natanya Neumann and Mark Ryder as Mature Love (white). Dorothea Douglas, Joan Skinner, Dorothy Berea,
Erick Hawkins
Frederick "Erick" Hawkins (April 23, 1909November 23, 1994) was an American modern-dance choreographer and dancer.
Early life
Frederick Hawkins was born in Trinidad, Colorado, on April 23, 1909. He majored in Greek civilization at Harvard Univer ...
, May O’Donnell and Dale Sehnert completed the cast. Romantic Love was renamed Erotic Love during the 1980s.
At the ballet's premiere, the program notes contained a
Ben Belitt
Ben Belitt (May 2, 1911 – August 17, 2003) was an American poet and translator. Besides writing poetry, he also translated several books of poetry by Pablo Neruda and Federico García Lorca from Spanish to English.
In comparison to much of Graham's oeuvre, the ballet is joyful, exuberant and lyrical.