Polyphonia
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''Polyphonia'' is a one-act ballet choreographed by
Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Early life Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at th ...
to music by
György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
, costumes designed by Holly Hynes, and was created for the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
. It premiered on January 4, 2001 at the
New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet and dance at Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally named the New York State Theater, the venue has been home to the New York City Ballet sinc ...
. It is regarded as Wheeldon's breakthrough, and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production in 2003.


Production

Performed by the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
, ''Polyphonia'' premiered on January 4, 2001 at the
New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet and dance at Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally named the New York State Theater, the venue has been home to the New York City Ballet sinc ...
. It was the first premiere of the company's winter season. ''Polyphonia'' is the first ballet Wheeldon created after he became artist-in-residence with the New York City Ballet and retired from dancing. It is plotless. Wheeldon described it as "romantic with comic twists", and said it was inspired by
Norman Morrice Norman Alexander Morrice (10 September 1931 – 11 January 2008) was a British dancer, choreographer and artistic director of both Ballet Rambert from 1966 to 1974 and the Royal Ballet from 1977 to 1986, two of the UK's major ballet companies. E ...
's works, though reviewers have noted it also includes homage to
Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositio ...
and
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
, especially the latter's "leotard ballets". The title is a reference to
micropolyphony Micropolyphony is a kind of polyphonic musical texture developed by György Ligeti, which consists of many lines of dense canons moving at different tempos or rhythms, thus resulting in tone clusters. According to David Cope, "micropolyphony res ...
, a kind of
polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...
musical texture In music, texture is how the tempo and the melodic and harmonic materials are combined in a musical composition, determining the overall quality of the sound in a piece. The texture is often described in regard to the density, or thickness, and ...
developed by
György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
, whose music is used in this ballet. The cast includes four men and four women, including
Wendy Whelan Wendy Whelan (; born May 7, 1967) is an American ballet dancer. She was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and performed with the company for 30 years, and toured in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential gue ...
, who went on to create 12 more roles for Wheeldon, and became his most frequent collaborator until she retired from NYCB in 2014. She later credited working with Wheeldon on ''Polyphonia'' for helping her "began to find herself as a dancer", and Wheeldon said Whelan "launched me as a choreographer".


Other companies and revivals

In 2002, ''Polyphonia'' premiered in London, danced by
Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has als ...
's group Danses Concertantes which consisted of NYCB dancers, at
Sadler's Wells Theatre 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 ...
. In the 2003 Laurence Olivier Awards, the production won Best New Dance Production, and Wheeldon was also nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for choreographing ''Polyphonia'' and ''Tryst''.
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 ...
, where Wheeldon had also danced, and
San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
both debuted ''Polyphonia'' in 2003. Wheeldon's own troupe, the Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, had also danced ''Polyphonia'', with a cast consisted of NYCB dancers, except 15-year-old Beatriz Stix-Brunell, later a Royal Ballet first soloist. In 2015, ''Polyphonia'' became Wheeldon's first work performed by the
Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...
, as part of a mixed bill honoring the 90th birthday of
Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...
, a conductor and composer who knew Ligeti. Other companies that had danced it include
Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. ...
, The Washington Ballet and
Miami City Ballet Miami City Ballet is an American ballet company based in Miami Beach, Florida, led by artistic director Gonzalo Garcia. MCB was founded in 1985 by Toby Lerner Ansin, a Miami philanthropist. Ansin and the founding board hired Edward Villella ...
.


Music

''Polyphonia'' is set to
György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
's music, including: * Désordre and Arc-en-ciel from Études pour piano, premier livre *No. 4 Tempo di Valse, No. 8 Vivace energico, No. 7 Cantabile molto legato, No. 3 Allegro con spirito and No. 2 Mesto, rigido e cerimoniale from ''
Musica ricercata ''Musica ricercata'' is a set of eleven pieces for piano by György Ligeti. The work was composed from 1951 to 1953, shortly after the composer began lecturing at the Budapest Academy of Music. The work premiered on 18 November 1969 in Sundsvall ...
'' *''
Invention An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...
'' *'' Three Wedding Dances'' *Capriccio No. 2 from '' Due capricci''


Casts

*World premiere:
Wendy Whelan Wendy Whelan (; born May 7, 1967) is an American ballet dancer. She was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and performed with the company for 30 years, and toured in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential gue ...
, Jennie Somogyi, Jennifer Tinsley, Alexandra Ansanelli,
Jock Soto Jock Soto (born 1965)Kisselgoff, Anna. "Not Only a Partner, a Dynamic Interpreter", ''The New York Times'', June 18, 2005. p. B7. is a former American ballet dancer and current ballet instructor. Career Jock Soto danced featured roles in over 40 ...
,
Edwaard Liang Edwaard Liang (born c. 1975/1976 Also available a. in Taipei, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese-born American dancer and choreography, choreographer. He grew up in Marin County, California. Career Liang began studying dance at the age of 5. He entered the ...
, Jason Fowler, Craig Hall *
San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
premiere: Yuan Yuan Tan, Lorena Feijoo,
Julie Diana Julie Diana Hench (born ) is an American ballet dancer, teacher, writer and arts administrator. She joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1993, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2000. In 2004, she joined the Pennsylvania Ballet, where she rema ...
, Kristin Long, Yuri Possokhov, Gonzalo Garcia, Ruben Martin, Zachary Hench *
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 ...
premiere:
Leanne Benjamin Leanne Faye Benjamin (born 13 July 1964) is a retired Australian ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. She was appointed artistic director at the Queensland Ballet in 2024. She stepped down from the positio ...
,
Alina Cojocaru Alina Cojocaru (born 27 May 1981) is a Romanian ballet dancer. She was previously a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet and a lead principal with the English National Ballet. Early years Alina Cojocaru was born and raised in Bucharest, Ro ...
, Jaimie Tapper,
Lauren Cuthbertson Lauren Louise Cuthbertson (born 11 June 1984) is an English ballet dancer, ballerina and a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Early life and education Lauren Cuthbertson was born in Devon in 1984. She began studying dance at a ...
, Jonathan Cope, Federico Bonelli, Valeri Hristov, Edward Watson *
Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...
premiere: Amandine Albisson, Lydie Vareilhes,
Léonore Baulac Léonore Baulac (born 10 May 1990) is a French ballet dancer. She is an ''Danseur étoile, étoile'' at the Paris Opera Ballet. Early life Baulac was born in Paris to a Norwegian-born mother. When Baulac was ten, she did not participate in the en ...
, Jennifer Visocchi, Stéphane Bullion, Marc Moreau, Germain Louvet, Axel Ibot


Videography

In 2020, in response to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts, the New York City Ballet will extracts from a performance filmed earlier that year online, including a pas de deux between Lauren Lovette and Andrew Veyette, and another section with Lovette, Veyette, Megan Fairchild, Alston Macgill,
Sara Mearns Sara Ann Mearns (born 19 January 1986) is an American ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer at New York City Ballet. Early life Mearns was born in Columbia, South Carolina. Her mother is a nurse. At age three, she began dancing with Ann Brodi ...
, Jovani Furlan, Roman Mejia and Silas Farley. Apart from Mearns, all the dancers were making their debut when the performance was filmed.


References

{{Reflist 2001 ballets Ballets by Christopher Wheeldon Ballets designed by Holly Hynes New York City Ballet repertory