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.”

Notes by Doug Fullington.

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