Chopin — Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57
- Music:
Chopin — Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57
- Original choreography by: Isadora Duncan (1914)
- Categories: lyrical dances
The Berceuse or "lullaby" introduces a solo figure emerging with careful slow undercurving steps as an invisible child is rocked in the arms. Angels or spirits in the forms of smoothly floating/running dancers enter one at a time as the phrasing of the music overlaps. The four figures swirl around the central figure as she lowers and rises in ecstatic and inclusive gestures from self to child to angels. In a moment, a frieze of dancers occurs upstage joining palms and changing places along a line which suggests protection and care. The dance ends in a final "tableau" as all gesture with a last breath to the child.
Reconstructed by Julia Levien in 1993, Adrienne Ramm danced the central figure and cast the essential qualities embodied in this unique work.
Videos
| Title | Date | Dancers | Full Dance? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duncan Dance Continuum performs Chopin's Berceuse | 1993 | Beth Jucovy, Marilyn Klaus, Judith Ann Landon, Adrienne Ramm, Christine Kuhnke | Yes |