Balletic Renaissance

he Antony Tudor Ballet Trust and the National Endowment for the Arts have teamed up with Duke to bring a new and remarkable production to campus. No, it isn't a miniature statue of James Duke submerged in a jar of urine, but a reproduction of a very special, nearly forgotten contemporary ballet.

"The Planets" will be performed in Reynolds Theater next Friday and Sunday and has created quite a bit of buzz. The ballet was created by Antony Tudor, one of the 20th century's most notable choreographers (but can anyone really hold a candle to Bob Fosse and those jazz hands?), creating such priceless gems of human expression as "Pillar of Fire," "Dark Elegies" and "Romeo and Juliet."

The ballet was completed by Tudor in 1934, and has not been performed in more than 50 years. The production includes the music of Gustav Holst and was popularized in Europe by Ballet Rambert before falling out of production. Many now see it as an essential element in the grand story of ballet as an art form, and its production will no doubt come as a great treat.

Duke students as well as guest dancers who study regularly at the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago will present the ballet--a work notable as much for its brevity as for its genius. The production lasts only about 15 minutes, which should stand as an open invitation to the short of attention span; it will end long before your ADD begins. Those wishing to delve more energetically into the production are invited to attend a pre-performance lecture on the ballet at 7pm on Friday, March 29, in Reynolds Theater. Further enrichment can be had by attending an Antony Tudor Symposium: "Reconstruction of the Planets" in Reynolds Theater from 10am to 2pm Saturday, March 30. Speakers will include Muriel Topaz and Donald Mahler, both of whose talents have gone a long way to make the production a reality.