Before You Go: Saint Louis Ballet presents “Feels Like Broadway” on April 26-27, 2025

On the weekend of April 26th and 27th, The Saint Louis Ballet will premiere its triple bill “Feels Like Broadway.” Accompanied by live music performed by the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, this production will bring together the worlds of Broadway and ballet. This came to be because of Artistic and Executive Director, Gen Horiuchi. Horiuchi has had an impressive career in both ballet, working with Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine, and on Broadway. His connections helped bring this remarkable and ambitious production to life. In this article, we will explore each of the program's three ballets: George Balanchine’s Who Cares, Jerome Robbins’ Interplay, and Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel.

George Balanchine’s Who Cares, which premiered in 1970, is a jazzy neo-classical ballet set to seventeen songs from the famous American composer George Gershwin. Who Cares is what most people would consider one of Balanchine's last great “Americana” ballets. While his other “Americana” pieces like Western Symphony, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, and Union Jack are all astounding ballets that show his love for all things American, Who Cares truly encapsulates the American spirit and style. The dance style consists of Balanchine's signature Neo-Classical steps but with a jazzy twist. What truly gives this piece that American-Broadway feel is Balanchine’s music choice. Gershwin is a Broadway staple thanks to his impressive and essential works in the early 1900’s. Balanchine, having also been involved in Broadway during his early years in America, even crossed paths with Gershwin in 1937 when he was asked to choreograph for Gershwin’s, Goldwyn’s Follies. Thanks to this and his deep love for New York City, Who Cares is an extravaganza of Americana thanks to its jazzy choreography, the sheer magnitude of the piece, and the all too recognizable music of George Gershwin.

Jerome Robbins’ Interplay, set to music by Morton Gould, was created shortly after the success of his first ballet Fancy-Free in 1945. This light-hearted 16-minute piece depicts eight dancers interacting in four play-themed movements.  Robbins wanted to capture a glimpse of the American lifestyle in the mid-forties by choreographing in a more “pedestrian” style. Using moves such as cartwheels, the jitterbug, and swing dance, Robbins created a scene depicting eight kids playing in the streets of New York City. Jerome Robbins was an integral figure in the American dance and commercial theater world. His human-like movement style made his dances feel uniquely American and that is precisely what made him quickly sought after by Broadway, a uniquely American institution. He choreographed and produced many iconic Broadway productions, but most know him for his work on West Side Story. Jerome Robbins’ choreography is what makes this piece perfect in representing the Broadway feel Saint Louis Ballet is highlighting. It would not be a proper Broadway celebration without some representation of Jerome Robbins. 

The final piece to explore, Carousel, is easily the best representation of Broadway as it was based on a Broadway Musical. Before it was a ballet, Carousel was the 2nd prominent musical the famous duo Rodger and Hammerstein wrote in 1945. The musical was loosely based on the 1909 play Liliom and tells the tragic love story between a carousel barker, Billy Bigelow, and a mill worker, Julie Jordan. It was a colossal success on Broadway and was quickly made into a film in 1956 which also received great reception. In 2002, in honor of Richard Rodger’s centennial celebration New York City Ballet commissioned then-resident choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon to create a ballet. Wheeldon utilized music from Richard Rodger’s Carousel: Carousel Waltz and If I Love You. Wheeldon was inspired by the 1956 movie adaption and its grand dance number that can be found in the second half. The result is a more sweeping, almost dream-like sequence which was popular during Richard Rodger’s time and what we associate with the golden era of movie musicals today. Carousel has all the elements that one considers when thinking of a Broadway musical: a massive cast of dancers, a leading couple with a love pas that tells a story, an American leaning towards jazz-styled choreography, and larger-than-life music thanks to Richard Rodgers. Carousel was meant to be a one-time piece but after its great reviews, it was quickly revitalized and has been revered ever since. Christopher Wheeldon, much like Balanchine and Robbins before him, would become a highly sought after choreographer for Broadway, eventually becoming a Tony Award winner for multiple works including An American in Paris in 2015 and recently MJ the Musical in 2022.

Thanks to the music from Who Cares, the choreography from Interplay, and the current Broadway relevance of Carousel, Saint Louis Ballet’s “Feels Like Broadway” is sure to be an impressive program with some of the ballet world’s most sought-after works. For ticket information visit Saint Louis Ballet’s website; stlouisballet.org. We hope to see you there!

Photo by Kelly Pratt