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A black and white photo of a performance featuring Donna Wood, Peter Woodin, Freddy Romero, Sylvia Waters, Clive Thompson, Melvin Jones, and John Parks in Choral Dances. The dancers are grouped closely together, striking expressive and dynamic poses with their arms extended and faces turned upward. They are wearing light-colored costumes, and the background is dark, highlighting the dancers.

Repertory

Choral Dances

COMPANIES

CHOREOGRAPHER

WORLD PREMIERE

New York City Center, 1971

MUSIC

Benjamin Britten

COSTUMES

A. Christina Giannini

LIGHTING

Nicola Cernovitch

RUN TIME

10 Minutes

Set to six choral dances from the second act of Benjamin Britten’s opera Gloriana, which premiered at London’s Covent Garden in June 1953 in honor of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Choral Dances is a gentle, majestic work about community and nature. Though the work contains echoes of Alvin Ailey’s earlier works, including the postures and groupings of Revelations, in Choral Dances he creates a stylized but universalized folk vocabulary expressive of the most basic emotions—joy, peace, and strife. At its premiere, a live chorus sang the score. 

Black and white photo of a group of dancers huddled closely together, leaning on each other in a circular formation. They wear long, flowing dresses and form an intricate, unified shape, conveying a sense of harmony and connection.

Alistair Butler,Keith McDaniel,Clive Thompson, Charles Adams; Steve Mones, Maxine Sherman, Mari kajiwara, Michihiko Oka, Beth Shorter,Marilyn Banks, Masazumi Chaya, Enid Britten, Marla Bingham in Choral Dances

A black and white photo of a performance featuring Donna Wood, Peter Woodin, Freddy Romero, Sylvia Waters, Clive Thompson, Melvin Jones, and John Parks in Choral Dances. The dancers are grouped closely together, striking expressive and dynamic poses with their arms extended and faces turned upward. They are wearing light-colored costumes, and the background is dark, highlighting the dancers.

Donna Wood, Peter Woodin, Freddy Romero, Sylvia Waters, Clive Thompson, Melvin Jones, John Parks in Choral Dances. Rosemary Winckley

Black and white photo of Michihiko Oka, Sylvia Waters, Linda Kent, Clive Thompson, Donna Wood, Jodi Moccia, Freddy Romero, John Parks, and Dana Sapiro performing in Choral Dances. The dancers are in a group formation, each with arms and legs extended in intricate poses. They wear flowing costumes.

Michihiko Oka, Sylvia Waters, Linda Kent, Clive Thompson, Donna Wood, Jodi Moccia, Freddy Romero, John Parks, Dana Sapiro in Choral Dances Rosemary Winckley