''Thou Swell'' is a ballet created 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 balletmaster-in-chief

Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish former ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and J ...

to the songs of

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

in an arrangement by Glen Kelly with orchestrations Don Sebesky. The music is performed by an on stage

trio Trio may refer to: Music Groups * Trio (music), an ensemble of three performers, or a composition for such an ensemble ** Jazz trio, pianist, double bassist, drummer ** Minuet and trio, a form in classical music ** String trio, a group of three ...

and two singers. During the course of the ballet one of the male dancers (Nilas Martins in the original cast) "sits in" at the piano. The premiere took place on 22 January 2003 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 ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, with scenery by Robin Wagner, costumes by Julius Lumsden, supervised by Holly Hynes, and lighting by Mark Stanley.

Featured songs

(Song used and date of composition): *"

Where or When "Where or When" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical ''Babes in Arms''. It was first performed by Ray Heatherton and Mitzi Green. That same year, Hal Kemp recorded a popular version. The song also appeared in the film version ...

" (1937) *"

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

" (1925) *"

Mountain Greenery "Mountain Greenery" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical ''The Garrick Gaieties'' (1926). It was first performed on stage by Sterling Holloway. Lyrics The lyrics display Hart's characteristic u ...

" (1926) *"

My Heart Stood Still "My Heart Stood Still" is a 1927 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was written for the Charles Cochran revue ''One Dam' Thing after Another'', which opened at the London Pavilion on May 19, 1927. The show ...

" (1927) *" This Can't Be Love" (1938) *"

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered "Bewitched (Bothered and Bewildered)" is a show tune and popular song from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical '' Pal Joey''. It is part of the Great American Songbook. The song was introduced by Vivienne Segal on December 25, 1940, in the Broa ...

" (1940) *"

The Lady Is a Tramp "The Lady Is a Tramp" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical '' Babes in Arms'', in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green. This song is a spoof of New York high society and its strict etiquette (the first line ...

" (1937) *"

Blue Moon A blue moon refers either to the presence of a second full moon in a calendar month, to the third full moon in a season containing four, or to a moon that appears blue due to atmospheric effects. The calendrical meaning of "blue moon" is unc ...

" (1934) *" Getting to Know You" (1951) *" Lover" (1932) *" The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (1935) *" With a Song in My Heart" (1929) *"

Isn't It Romantic? "Isn't It Romantic?" is a popular music, popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It has a 32-bar chorus in A–B–A–C form. Alec Wilder, in his book ''America ...

" (1932), *"

You Took Advantage of Me "You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, for the musical '' Present Arms'' (1928), where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley as the characters Edna Stevens and Dou ...

" (1928) *"

Thou Swell "Thou Swell" is a show tune, a popular song and a jazz standard written in 1927. History The music was written by Richard Rodgers, with words by Lorenz Hart, for the 1927 musical '' A Connecticut Yankee''. The lyric is notable, as indicated by t ...

" (1927) *" Falling in Love with Love" (1938)

Original cast

Maria Kowroski Maria Kowroski is an American ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet. Early life Kowroski was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She started ballet at the age of five. In 1992, she entered the School of American Ballet ...

Yvonne Borree Yvonne Borree is a former principal dancer at New York City Ballet. She was raised in Norfolk, Virginia, where she began her dance studies with the Tidewater Ballet Association at four years of age. She attended the School of American Ballet for t ...

Rachel Rutherford Rachel Rutherford (born Rachel Rutherford Englund Knapp) is a former soloist with New York City Ballet. Rutherford was born in New York City, the daughter of dancer and ballet teacher Gage Bush Englund. She began her training at age eight at the J ...

Darci Kistler Darci Kistler (born June 4, 1964) is an American ballerina. She is often said to be the last muse for choreographer George Balanchine. Early life Kistler was born in Riverside, California, the fifth child (with four older brothers) of a medic ...

Charles Askegard Charles Askegard is an American ballet dancer and ballet master at Pennsylvania Ballet. Early life and education Askegard was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 6 January 1969 and began his dance training at the age of five with Loyce Hoult ...

Nilas Martins This is a list of New York City Ballet dancers. Principal dancers Soloists This is a list of New York City Ballet soloists. Corps de ballet The following is a list of the current members of the corps de ballet. * Victor Abreu * Dominika A ...

* James Fayette *

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 ...

References

* ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...

'', New York City Ballet, Thursday, June 19, 2008 * ''Repertory Week'', New York City Ballet, Spring Season, 2008 repertory, week 8

Reviews

NY Times review
by Anna Kisselgoff, November 28, 2002

by

Alastair Macaulay Alastair Macaulay is an English writer and dance critic. He was the chief dance critic for ''The New York Times'' from 2007 until he retired in 2018. He was previously chief dance critic at ''The Times'' and Literary Supplement and chief theater cr ...

, June 10, 2008 Ballets by Peter Martins New York City Ballet repertory 2003 ballets Ballets to the music of Richard Rodgers Ballets designed by Robin Wagner Ballets designed by Julius Lumsden {{ballet-stub