''Tarantella'' is a ballet choreographed by

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 ...

to '' Grande Tarantelle'' by

Louis Moreau Gottschalk Louis Moreau Gottschalk (May 8, 1829 – December 18, 1869) was an American composer, pianist, and virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano works. He spent most of his working career outside the United States. Life and career Gottschalk ...

, arranged by Hershy Kay. The ballet premiered on January 7, 1964, at the

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

, performed by

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 ...

's Patricia McBride and

Edward Villella Edward Villella (born October 1, 1936) is an American ballet dancer and choreographer. He is frequently cited as America's most celebrated male dancer of ballet at the time. He has won numerous awards, including the Daytime Emmy Award for Out ...

Production

originally created ''Tarantella'', a

pas de deux In ballet, a ( French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The ''pas de deux'' is characteristic of classical ballet and can be found in many well-known ...

, to showcase

dancers Patricia McBride and

's techniques, especially the latter's speed and jumps. According to Villella, Balanchine created ''Tarantella'' between rehearsals of his other works, and each time they would only work on small sections and not in order. Villella only realized the stamina required when Balanchine put all the choreography together. He later recalled, "I would be flying parallel to the floor, and then I would be in the wings, on the ground, gasping for air". ''

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 ...

'' critic Anna Kisselgoff wrote that Danish choreographer

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the ne ...

's influence on Balanchine is "debatable", but ''Tarantella'' is one of Balanchine's ballets that "paid homage" to Bournonville. The title of the ballet is taken from

Tarantella Tarantella () is a group of various Southern Italy, southern Italian Italian folk dance, folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Sicilia, and Apulia. It is characterized by a fast Beat (music), upbeat tempo, usually in Ti ...

, a type of Neapolitan folk dance accompanied by

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

s. Hershy Kay rearranged

's '' Grande Tarantelle'' for the ballet. The costumes are designed by Barbara Karinska. The man dresses in red and black and wears a gold earring while the woman is in red and white. The dancers also uses tambourines. The ballet was NYCB's last premiere at the

before moving to New York State Theater.

Revivals

Other companies that have performed ''Tarantella'' include the Miami City Ballet, which Villella founded,

Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is an American ballet company based in Seattle, Washington. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dancers and hosts ...

Joffrey Ballet The Joffrey Ballet is an American dance company and training institution in Chicago, Illinois. The Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at the Civic Opera House, including its annual ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. In 2018, at New York City Ballet's festival "Balanchine: The City Center Years", ''Tarantella'' was performed by Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Marcelino Sambé, both from The Royal Ballet. New York City Ballet released a 2013 video recording of the ballet, featuring Megan Fairchild and Joaquín De Luz, in response to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

References

External links

Pacific Northwest Ballet in ''Tarantella''
{{Balanchine ballets 1964 ballets Ballets by George Balanchine Ballets to the music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk Ballets by Hershy Kay New York City Ballet repertory