Choreographer's note: Many of my favorite ballets are set to music by modernist and postmodernist composers. Their music, which breaks the traditional rules of tonality and pushes the boundaries of musical construction, is a perfect complement to choreography that pushes the aesthetic of lines, shapes, and movement. In listening to the Hindemith sonata, I decided to approach the two movements in different ways. For the first movement, I wanted to emphasize the lyricism of the music through the wafting promenades, floating lifts and floor skimming pushes and pulls of a pas de deux. In the second movement, I chose to work with two women to explore the wild kinaesthetics of the music before joining all four dancers in a rousing finale.

Choreography: Lauren Toole
Duration: 11 min.
Music: Paul Hindemith, Sonata for violin and piano (1936)
By arrangement with European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music, publisher and copyright owner.
Costumes: Candice Thompson
World Premiere: September 5th, 2008
Original Cast: Emily SoRelle Adams, Elizabeth Brown, Maddie Deavenport, Damien Johnson

Photos by: Kristin Lodoen Linder