Evening With Balanchine: Allegro Brillante, Sonatine and Who Cares?

It was my honor to photograph the Indianapolis Ballet’s performance of George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Sonatine and Who Cares? I am constantly amazed by the beauty of these ballets and the incredible performances of the dancers.

Allegro Brillante is characterized by what Maria Tallchief (the ballerina on whom the bravura leading role was created) calls “an expansive Russian romanticism.” The music’s vigorous pace makes the steps appear even more difficult, but the ballet relies on strong dancing, precise timing, and breadth of gesture. Balanchine said: “It contains everything I know about the classical ballet in 13 minutes.”. Click here for the full program notes for Allegro Brillante.

Sonatine was presented as the opening ballet of the New York City Ballet Ravel Festival during the 1975 Spring Season, which marked the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth. In this work the pianist and dancers share the stage. Click here for the full program notes for Sonatine.

Who Cares? In 1937, George Gershwin asked Balanchine to come to Hollywood to work with him on Samuel Goldwyn’s “Follies.” Tragically, Gershwin was felled by a brain tumor before he completed the ballet music for the film. Thirty-three years later, Balanchine choreographed Who Cares? to 16 songs Gershwin composed between 1924 and 1931, including “Strike Up the Band,” “‘S Wonderful,” “Lady Be Good,” “The Man I Love,” “Embraceable You,” “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” “Who Cares?,” “My One and Only,” “Liza,”  and “I Got Rhythm.” Balanchine used the songs not to evoke any particular era but as a way to portray an exuberance that is both broadly American and charged with the distinctive energy of Manhattan. Click here for the full program notes for Who Cares?