Balanchine's 'Pithoprakta': An Eerie Ballet Revived

Suzanne Farrell is reviving George Balanchine's nearly forgotten ballet, "Pithoprakta," a work from 1968 that is eerie and tense. The ballet, meaning "action by probabilities," is set to Iannis Xenakis's unsettling score. Farrell, a former principal dancer and muse for Balanchine, is coaching New York City Ballet dancers in this unique piece.

"Pithoprakta" was unlike anything seen before, with a tone described as feral, feverish, and otherworldly, contrasting with Balanchine's more glittering works. The ballet has a unique gravity, with dancers moving in angular, disjointed ways, sometimes rolling on the floor. The lead couple maintains a distinct distance, their interactions charged with unspoken tension.

Balanchine was fascinated by Xenakis's music and the avant-garde atmosphere of the late 1960s, including the space race. The ballet's original film documentation from 1968 was incomplete, leading Farrell to reconstruct choreography for the male lead based on memory and photographs. This revival marks the first time "Pithoprakta" is being performed by the company since 1969.

Dancers describe the choreography as liberating, evoking a sense of urgency akin to a spacewalk with dwindling oxygen. The ballet's mood conveys anxiety and a struggle for connection, a human experience condensed into ten minutes. Farrell emphasizes a raw, grounded approach, urging dancers to embody the choreography's inherent danger and power.