Allyson Green
Allyson Green and Jose Navas
Allyson Green
ALLYSON GREEN DANCE
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Ancient Noises - December 3-4 David Lang Grind to a Halt Local Premiere Bela Bartok Cantata Profana Gyorgi Ligeti Poeme Symphonique Local Premiere Igor Stravinsky Les Noces Two brilliant folk-tales from the early twentieth century: Stravinsky's portrait of a folk wedding in pagan Russia, featuring four pianists, chamber chorus, and Lux Boreal dancers choreographed by UCSD's Allyson Green; and Bartok's magical story of nine young hunters transformed into wild stags scored for orchestra and chorus. Plus two much more recent pieces: György Ligeti's daring work for 100 metronomes, each at a different tempo, and David Lang's rambunctious Grind to a Halt. SATURDAY @ 7:30PM / SUNDAY @ 2PM TICKETS AT 858-534-4637 ONLINE AT WWW.LAJOLLASYMPHONY.COM Choreographer's Notes There is a rich choreographic history of artists who have been inspired by the beautiful music and story of Igor Stravinsky's Les Noces, from Bronislava Nijinska's original seminal version in 1923, to others including Jerome Robbins, Maurice Bejart, Angelin Preljocaj, and Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker. Therefore it was a daunting but exciting challenge to create my own version of this iconic ballet, when Steven Schick invited me to make a work in the "Stravinsky Circus" season. I was thrilled and grateful to collaborate again with the excellent La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, as the opportunities for live music and dance performed on this scale are all too rare. I researched Stravinsky's original intentions in the libretto and let the haunting melodies and driving rhythms of the music serve as my movement inspiration guide. Stravinsky wrote in his autobiography, "My idea was to compose a sort of scenic ceremony, using as I liked those ritualistic elements so abundantly provided by village customs which had been established for centuries in the celebration of Russian marriages. I took my inspiration from those customs, but reserved to myself the right to use them with absolute freedom." I have tried to honor Stravinsky's original intent of a love song to his native home, finding a more joyous celebration in Part II than in Nijinska's version. But following in the tradition of the lamenting Russian betrothal songs, "the bride weeps," as Stravinsky writes, "...because she must weep," in Section 1 of the work. Ligeti's Poeme Symphonique for 100 metronomes provides an exciting sonic setting for our tableau of the matchmaking ritual that initiated all Russian folk weddings. Working with the extraordinary dancers of Lux Boreal of Tijuana is always a delight, and we were intrigued by the similar ideas and customs in both Mexican and Russian folk weddings, particularly of the Ukraine. Borrowing as freely as Stravinsky did to create his score, we have "married" movement ideas of Mexican folklorico to folk dances I have learned in my extensive travels in Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and Russia. -Allyson Green