ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
created in 1974 by
Kenneth MacMillan
Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...
for
The Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...
The Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...
on 7 October 1974 at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
, Covent Garden, with costume designs by Ian Spurling, lighting designs by John B. Read and staging by Julie Lincoln. The ballet is for 12 dancers. It is described as having an up-beat, hip swinging aura of spontaneity, with 'easygoing rhythms'. The band, also 12-strong, sit casually at the back of the stage playing while the dancers perform in front of them, adding to the 1920s party-like atmosphere.
A BBC film of ''Elite Syncopations'' was also made in 1975 and danced by The Royal Ballet's original cast, in Battersea's Big Top. The piece entered the repertory of
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...
on 10 February 1978 at
Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...
Theatre.
Music
The 'Classic' ragtime composers represented in the production are:
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...
James Scott James Scott may refer to:
Entertainment
* James Scott (composer) (1885–1938), African-American ragtime composer
* James Scott (director) (born 1941), British filmmaker
* James Scott (actor) (born 1979), British television actor
* James Scott (Sh ...
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...
. Joplin also wrote a ballet called ''The Ragtime Dance'' (performed in 1899) as well as two operas, only one of which survived, called 'Treemonisha' (1902).
MacMillan added some additional
ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...
tunes to complete his ballet: Paul Pratt's ''Hot-house Rag'' and James Scott's ''Calliope Rag'' for piano; Joseph Francis Lamb's ''Ragtime Nightingale'' orchestra and ''Alaskan Rag'' for piano; Max Morath's ''The Golden Hours'' for piano; Donald Ashwander's ''Friday Night'' and Robert Hampton's ''Cataract Rag'' for orchestra.
The full score list is:
*" Sunflower Slow Drag" (1901) – Scott Joplin (1867/8–1917) with Scott Hayden (1882–1915)
*"
Elite Syncopations
"Elite Syncopations" is a 1902 ragtime piano composition by American composer Scott Joplin, originally published in 1903 by John Stark & Son.nd Robert Darch*"Ragtime Nightingale" (1914) – Joseph F. Lamb (1877–1960)
*"The Golden Hours" (1966) – Max Morath (b. 1926)
*"Stoptime Rag" (1910) – Scott Joplin
*"The Alaskan Rag" (posthumously published) – Joseph F. Lamb
*" Bethena: a Concert Waltz" (1905) – Scott Joplin
*"Friday Night" (1965) – Donald Ashwander (1929–94)
*"Cataract Rag" (1914) – Robert Hampton (1890–1945)
Original cast
The ballet was premiered in Covent Garden on 7 October 1974: The principal roles were danced by:
* Merle Park – Stop Time Rag
* Donald Macleary
*
Monica Mason
Dame Monica Margaret Mason (born 6 September 1941) is a former ballet dancer, teacher, and director of The Royal Ballet. In more than a half-century with the company, she established a reputation as a versatile performer, a skilled rehearsal d ...
Wayne Sleep
Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's '' The Real Full Monty''.
Early life
Wayne Sleep was born in Plymou ...
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' and ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' found the piece vulgar and unstylish,Percival, John. "Great Scott! Another Joplin ballet", ''The Times'', 8 October 1974, p. 13 but ''Dance and Dancers'' thought it "cheerfully diverting" with "some of the Royal Ballet’s best and most distinctive principals displaying new facets of their artistry in the choreography MacMillan devised for them." When the piece was presented in New York in 1976, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' gave it enthusiastic praise, and it has remained popular with audiences.Felciano, Rita. "San Francisco Ballet", ''DanceView'' 20.4 (Autumn 2003), pp. 29–33 In 2003 ''DanceView'' commented, "''Elite's'' humor is broad and the choreography simple minded. However, the work offered opportunities for dancers to let loose".