Western Symphony Lavender

Music Traditional American Melodies orchestrated by Hershy Kay

Choreography by George Balanchine (1954)

Western Symphony exemplifies Balanchine’s fascination and desire to embrace American themes. While the ballet is very much a classical work, the melding of worlds in its choreography is evident as an amalgamation of American folk and cowboy culture with ballet.

The setting is a town in the Old West complete with cowboys and dance hall girls. The tutus are Moulin Rouge in their complexity and unexpected elegance. The construction is yard upon yard of unique profile tulle that ultimately creates an effect of endlessly overlapping leaves like that of spring cabbages.

This garment, with its layers of translucent tulle, is positioned in such a way that it reminds me of a cascading waterfall. The vertical movement ends in a torrent of jumbled edging. The elastics and hook and eyes at the top are a visual reminder of the inner structure of the tutu that makes it function throughout the production.