The husband-and-wife team of Emily Frankel and Mark Ryder toured widely from 1955 to 1964 as the Dance Drama Company, presenting duets and chamber works from a number of choreographers. Frankel had performed with Charles Weidman in the late 1940s while Ryder created roles in several Martha Graham works during the same period. The work seen here just four months after its world premiere by these dancers is now more commonly known as The Still Point and it has been performed by companies including New York City Ballet and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The title is drawn from T.S. Eliot’s Burnt Norton, which contains the line, “At the still point, there the dance is.” Choreographer Todd Bolender (1914-2006) was a longtime member of New York City Ballet who co-founded the Pacific Northwest Ballet and directed the Kansas City Ballet for many years. Though he choreographed dozens of well-regarded works over an exceptionally long career, many consider this to be his masterpiece.
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