The Chairman Dances

For Peter Martins' ballet, see The Chairman Dances (ballet).

The Chairman Dances is a 1985 composition by John Adams. Subtitled Foxtrot for Orchestra, the piece lasts about 13 minutes. The piece was composed on commission from the Milwaukee Symphony, and is described by Adams as an "out take" from Act III of the opera he was working on at the time, Nixon in China.

Although the piece incorporates several dance-like tunes, the word "dances" in the title is a verb rather than a plural noun. It is meant to depict Madame Mao gatecrashing a presidential banquet, hanging paper lanterns, and performing a seductive dance. The Chairman Mao descends from his portrait, and the two dance a foxtrot, back in time together. The piece ends with the sound of a gramophone winding down.

The work has been recorded by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Edo de Waart) and by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Simon Rattle).

The work was also used by the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps as the opener for their 2008 production, "3hree: Mind, Body and Soul", and by the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps as the opener for their 2011 production, "A Dancer's Dream".

The Chairman Dances appears in the Modern Era soundtrack of Civilization IV, along with several other pieces by Adams. It also appears as a main track in the 2009 Italian drama film I Am Love.

External links

• Sound Clip of The Chairman Dances, and John Adams' Program Notes

This article about a classical composition is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Classical composition stubs Compositions by John Coolidge Adams Minimalistic compositions 1985 compositions Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Heracleidae (play) Episodic games Look at other dictionaries: The Chairman Dances — est une composition pour orchestre créée en 1985 par le compositeur de musique américain John Adams. La pièce fut commandée par l American Composers Orchestra ainsi que par le National Endowment for the Arts. Il s agit d un travail dérivé de l… …   Wikipédia en Français The Chairman Dances (ballet) — The Chairman Dances is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster in chief Peter Martins to John Adams eponymous music from 1985. The music was originally written for Adams opera, Nixon in China, but not used in production: the scene is… …   Wikipedia The Song of Hiawatha — is an 1855 epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow based on the legends of the Ojibway Indians. Longfellow credited as his source the work of pioneering ethnographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, specifically Schoolcraft s Algic Researches and History …   Wikipedia The Forbidden Dance — Infobox Film name = The Forbidden Dance image size = caption = Theatrical release poster director = Greydon Clark producer = writer = Roy Langsdon John Platt narrator = starring = Laura Harring Jeff James Angela Moya Sid Haig Shannon Farnon… …   Wikipedia Music in the Civilization video game series — Contents 1 Civilization II 2 Civilization III 3 Civilization IV 3.1 Overview 3.2 Music …   Wikipedia The Fulbari Resort & Spa — is a 5 Star hotel situated just at the outskirts of Pokhara. It offers one of the best accommodation facilities in Nepal and South Asia. The Resort LOCATION / TRANSPORTATION Located 200 km west of Kathmandu, a 5 hour scenic drive by car or a mere …   Wikipedia The Pembroke Hill School — Infobox Private School background = #f0f6fa border = #ccd2d9 name = The Pembroke Hill School motto = Freedom with Responsibility established = 1910 Pembroke Country Day (boys), 1913 Sunset Hill (girls), 1984 Pembroke Hill (coed) type = Private… …   Wikipedia The Brown Daily Herald — Infobox Newspaper name = The Brown Daily Herald caption = The front page of The Brown Daily Herald on February 15, 2007 type = Daily newspaper format = Tabloid foundation = 1866 price = Free owners = Independent publisher = editor = Simmi Aujla… …   Wikipedia Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — See also: Worship services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints A culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, reflecting the cultural impact of basic beliefs and traditions of the church, distinguishes church members …   Wikipedia Culture of the People's Republic of China — The Red Detachment of Women, one of the Eight model plays with Communist themes This article discusses the culture of the People s Republic of China. See also the culture of China, culture of Hong Kong, culture of Macau and culture of Taiwan. The …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”