Ballet by Christopher Wheeldon
Polyphonia is a one-act ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to music by György Ligeti, costumes designed by Holly Hynes, and was created for the New York City Ballet. It premiered on January 4, 2001 at the New York State Theater. 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, "Polyphonia" premiered on January 4, 2001 at the New York State Theater. 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's works, though reviewers have noted it also includes homage to Frederick Ashton and George Balanchine, especially the latter's "leotard ballets". The title is a reference to micropolyphony, a kind of polyphonic musical texture developed by György Ligeti, whose music is used in this ballet.
The cast includes four men and four women, including Wendy Whelan, 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's group Danses Concertantes which consisted of NYCB dancers, at Sadler's Wells Theatre. 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, where Wheeldon had also danced, and San Francisco Ballet 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, as part of a mixed bill honoring the 90th birthday of Pierre Boulez, a conductor and composer who knew Ligeti. Other companies that had danced it include Boston Ballet, The Washington Ballet and Miami City Ballet.
Music.
"Polyphonia" is set to György Ligeti's music, including:
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, Jovani Furlan, Roman Mejia and Silas Farley. Apart from Mearns, all the dancers were making their debut when the performance was filmed.
References.
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