What do ballet and square dancing have to do with each other (other than, of course, the tutu-like effect of extreme crinolines)? Not a whole lot (other than that they’re both dance forms), but there is a connection via George Balanchine’s ballet Square Dance, a ballet performed to music by Vivaldi and Corelli, using a real square dance caller, at least until 1976, when it was revived without a caller.

The ballet, including a real caller, was recently performed by The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The caller was a friend of mine, John Oldfield.

I’ve found two reviews of this production: one was a review posted on John’s site:

George Balanchine was a Georgian-born, Russian-bred choreographer, but like many of America’s greatest directors who were immigrants, he saw this country with a unique vision.  In his 1957 “Square Dance,” he mixed the traditional ballet vocabulary and classical music (by Corelli and Vivaldi) with the speed, structure and language of all- American folk dancing.

The result is a nifty (and deceptively difficult) piece for a large ensemble and authentic caller (the playful, witty, John Oldfield).  The bravura, intensely musical lead couple were Tracy Julias-with flawless footwork, an exquisite line and the elegance of an English rose-and Willy Shives, a dancer of silky lyrical expressiveness.

The other reviewer didn’t much care for the caller’s role: Metromix Dance Review: The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago:

For his “Square Dance,” George Balanchine first combined classical ballet, live music by Vivaldi and Corelli, American folk-dance traditions and an authentic square-dance caller nearly half a century ago.

Balanchine’s main point was that both types of movement are obsessed with order and what the choreographer once termed the “richness of metrical invention.” Aside from the interest of the deconstructive juxtaposition, this piece is still a lot of fun, even if the loose-limbed elegance of Tracy Julias was best enjoyed when the caller was not yacking about the dancer’s legs going “wickety-wack” or some such nonsense.

Balanchine is not the only ballet choreographer to look at square dancing: see Aspen Ballet for a great picture of dancers not in square dance attire (but hey, she’s wearing a crinoline…).

Brimming with tongue-in-cheek humor, Square Dance, a lively and flamboyant piece by modern dance pioneers Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith, returns to delight audiences. Aspen Ballet Company kicks off their pointe shoes to dance barefoot and revel in the sometimes bizarre world of American rural dance halls!