Line-up:
With music by: Alva Noto, Thom Willems, Peter I. Tchaikovsky

From Peter I. Tchaikovsky's »Orchestral Suite No. 3« (1884) to Thom Willems' »The Second Detail« (1991) to a brand-new composition by Berlin-based artist and musician Alva Noto (2019), Staatsballett Berlin's triple bill at Staatsoper Unter den Linden, which includes dance works by George Balanchine, William Forsythe and Richard Siegal, comprises 135 years of music history!

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THEME AND VARIATIONS
Ballet in one act by George Balanchine
Music by Peter I. Tchaikovsky

With a simple ‘battement tendu’ George Balanchine opens his ballet Theme and Variations to present the basic movements of classical ballet in their development from a simple to a virtuoso element in twelve variations. Balanchine’s intention to evoke the great era of classical Russian ballet would not have been possible without the input of Peter I. Tchaikovsky, whom he venerated all his life as a genius.

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THE SECOND DETAIL
Choreography by William Forsythe
Music by Thom Willems

This fast-paced work, one of Forsythe's earlier but most typical creations from 1991, is an analytical reference to the geometry of classical dance, pushing the dancers to their limits of balance and flexibility. Despite this intellectual approach, The Second Detail reaches the spectator in a direct and sensual way also because of its electronic score by Thom Willems, solely composed on an Atari computer.

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OVAL
Choreography by Richard Siegal
Music by Alva Noto (commissioned work)

Richard Siegal represents an individual style of contemporary choreographic work that does not deny its origins in traditional theater dance but rather explores its own identity in ever-changing contexts. His commissions from various art institutions include to media and architecture projects, workshops, experiments and a series of dance performances. To set music to his new creation,Siegal, once again, worked together with Berlin-based artist, label owner and electronic avant-garde musician Alva Noto.