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Americans We

Herrera and Corella in a publicity shot. Photo by Roy Round.

Members of Twyla Tharp Dance in an early version of Americans We, followed by an excerpt featuring members of American Ballet Theatre.

Corella and Herrera in a publicity shot. Photo by Roy Round.

Premiere

  • Date

    1 May 1995

  • Location

    New York, NY

Production

  • Choreographer

    Twyla Tharp

  • Composers

    Henry Fillmore,
    Stephen Foster,
    Niccolo Paganini

  • Arranger

    Donald Hunsberger

  • Live Music by

    American Ballet Theatre Orchestra

  • Lighting Designer

    Jennifer Tipton

  • Costume Designer

    Santo Loquasto

Dancers

Principals
Susan Jaffe

Michael Owen, Johan Renvall

 

Soloists
Gabrielle Brown, Christine Dunham, Elizabeth Dunn, Julie Kent, Amanda McKerrow, Laura Martin, Rosalie O’Connor

Charles Askegard, Victor Barbee, Ethan Brown, Robert Hill, Christopher Martin, Parrish Maynard, Keith Roberts

 

Ensemble
Christina Fagundes, Denise Lewis, Veronica Lynn, Valentina Scala, Amy Wilder

Jonathan Fagan, Mark Grothman, Steven Hyde, Benjamin Pierce, Brian Reeder

 

 

 

  • Number of Dancers

    27

Dance Sections

I. Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms
Kent, Hill, Dunham, Askegard, McKerrow, Maynard, Roberts and Fagundes, Lewis, Lynn, Scala, Wilder, Fagan, Grothman, Hyde, Pierce, Reeder

II. Circus Bee, Rolling Thunder
Renvall with Maynard, Roberts and Fagundes, Lewis, Lynn, Scala, Wilder, Fagan, Grothman, Hyde, Pierce, Reeder

III. Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair
Jaffe, Brown, Dunn, Martin, O’Connor, Barbee, Brown, Martin, Kent, Hill, Dunham, Askegard, McKerrow, Maynard, Roberts and Owen

IV. The Old Folks Quadrille
Brown, Dunn, Martin, O’Connor, Barbee, Brown, Martin and Owen, Fagundes, Lewis, Lynn, Scala, Wilder, Fagan, Grothman, Hyde, Pierce, Reeder

V. The Glendy Burk
Renvall, Barbee, Brown, Fagan, Grothman, Hyde, Martin, Pierce, Reeder

VI. Hard Times, Come Again No More
Jaffe, Kent, Hill, Dunham, Askegard, McKerrow, Maynard, Roberts and Owen, Brown, Ferrel, Fagundes, Lewis, Lynn, Martin, O’Connor, Scala, Barbee, Brown, Fagan, Grothman, Hyde, Martin, Pierce, Reeder

VII. Moto Perpetuo, Opus 11
Jaffe, Renvall, Kent, Hill, Dunham, Askegard, McKerrow, Maynard, Roberts

VIII. Americans We
Company

  • Runtime

    00:27:30

Description

During a residency at the Kennedy Center in 1994, Tharp began work on a series of phrases that later evolved into Americans We, a work for American Ballet Theatre.

 

The choreography is quick and lively. Tharp’s distinctive combination of folk, popular and classical forms is decidedly American – a melting pot of movement. The music, rooted in the works of songwriter Stephen Foster, infuses the ballet with the nineteenth century nationalism of the pre-Civil War era.

 

Past Performances

American Ballet Theatre

Americans We (premiere) – How Near Heaven – Jump Start (premiere) | American Ballet Theatre

Metropolitan Opera House

New York, NY

May 1 1995 Premiere

American Ballet Theatre

Elements (premiere) – How Near Heaven – Americans We | American Ballet Theatre

Metropolitan Opera House

New York, NY

May 3 1996 Dance

  • 1995
  • 1996