Red Angels
Music
Richard Einhorn
(Maxwell’s Demon, 1988-1990)
Choreography
Ulysses Dove
Staging
Peter Boal
Costume Design
Holly Hynes
Lighting Design
Mark Stanley
Duration
14 minutes
Premiere
May 9, 1994; New York City Ballet (Diamond Project)
PNB Premiere
September 17, 2005
Program Notes
Red Angels is a ballet of intense dramatic impact that is calculated to charge all the senses. Dressed in scarlet leotards and bathed in white and red hot light, four dancers perform with powerful athleticism to a riveting score for electric violin. Ulysses Dove commented on working with the dancers of New York City Ballet: “I wanted to deal with aspects of the Balanchine aesthetic I find appealing: the speed, legginess, the formality. As for the title, I think the dancers are angelic. And for me, the angels of the senses are red.” Composer Richard Einhorn has described Maxwell’s Demon as “a conscious attempt…to transmute American popular music into art…with a nod towards direct expression and to an audience steeped in American rock ‘n roll.”