Who Cares? (ballet)
Who Cares? is a ballet made by New York City Ballet's co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to songs by George Gershwin in an orchestration by Hershy Kay. The premiere took place on Saturday, February 7, 1970, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center with costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting by Ronald Bates; it was at first performed without décor but from November 1970 with scenery by Jo Mielziner.
The conductor was Robert Irving and the pianist on opening night Gordon Boelzner; the orchestration had only been completed for two songs, "Strike Up the Band" and "I Got Rhythm". "Clap Yo' Hands" was performed to a recording made by George Gershwin; this sequence was, however, eliminated by Balanchine in 1976.
Balanchine and Gershwin's plans to collaborate were frustrated by the composer's untimely death in 1937. Thirty-three years later, Balanchine chose seventeen of Gershwin's from Broadway musical songs for this ballet; Mayor John V. Lindsay presented Balanchine with the Handel Medallion, New York City's highest cultural award, on opening night.
The songs
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Casts
Original
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- Sweet And Low Down
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2009 Winter gala
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2010 Winter
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Videography and DVD
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Television
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Reviews
- NY Times review by Clive Barnes, February 6, 1970
- NY Times review by Jennifer Dunning, April 29, 2005