Maninyas
Choreography by Stanton Welch AM , for Mark Music by Ross Edwards Maninyas: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Presented under license by G. Schirmer, Inc., o/b/o Wise Music G. Schirmer Australia Pty. Ltd., copyright owners.
Costume Design by Stanton Welch AM Lighting Design by Lisa J. Pinkham
Denise Tarrant , Violin
World Premiere: February 28, 1996 by San Francisco Ballet at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California.
Houston Ballet Premiere: June 9, 2005 in the Brown Theater at Wortham Theater Center in Houston, Texas.
WHAT YOU’RE WATCHING Created in 1996 as his first American commission for San Francisco Ballet, Stanton Welch’s Maninyas features five couples whose fierce pas de deux and pas de trois capture the beauty and complexity of human connection. Maninyas delves into the process of unveiling oneself in a relationship, as Welch explains: “In relationships, as you get to know someone, you gradually unveil yourself, taking off different layers of your protections, until eventually you’re just your real self with somebody.” Throughout the ballet, these five couples interact in ways that reflect the daunting yet wonderful journey of self-revelation. At the conclusion, the veils fall away, and the couples move forward into a new, unguarded connection. After seeing Maninyas in 1997, Artistic Director Emeritus Ben Stevenson invited Welch to create his first work for Houston Ballet, marking the beginning of his relationship with the Company. WHAT YOU’RE LISTENING TO A work for solo violin and orchestra in three movements, Maninyas was co mposed by Australian composer Ross Edwards in 1988 and draws heavily from his connection to the natural environment, particularly the sounds of the Australian bush. The work is influenced by two distinct musical styles Edwards developed during his time in a coastal village near Sydney. The “sacred style” is marked by refined textures, while the “maninya style” incorporates lively rhythms and abstract bird and insect sounds. This latter style is central to Maninyas first and third movements, which incorporates energetic rhythms and vibrant orchestration. The second movement contrasts with a violin cadenza and serene chorale.
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The alluring Maninyas is darkly haunting, giving it that edginess that is usually associated with contemporary ballet. The emotions presented on the stage by the dancers are raw and primal. Sweeping arms, arched legs, hovering bodies, pointe work, and mind-bending agility all mix together in this piece to leave the audience entirely breathless.”
DAVID CLARKE BROADWAY WORLD (2014)
Nozomi Iijima and Ian Casady. Photo by Amitava Sarkar.
HOUSTON BALLET
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