Glen Tetley would have celebrated his 100th birthday on February 3, 2026. With TRIBUTE TO TETLEY, the Stuttgart Ballet pays homage to the choreographer who revived the Stuttgart Ballet after John Cranko's death. As director of the company, Tetley exposed the dancers to new qualities of movement with a focus on breath. His choreography combined ballet and modern dance with enlivened synergy.
“The organ always seemed to me like the voice of God,” Tetley said. He choreographed Voluntaries to Francis Poulenc's organ concerto in 1973, broadening the horizons of the mourning Stuttgart company. The piece is reflective, mysterious, and expansive. Like the Voluntary in music, a free instrumental composition, Tetley's ballet seems to unfold as though improvised.
In the abstract pas de deux Ricercare, two dancers become a breathing sculpture, whether pulling apart, or melding into one. An arch of light at the stage’s center sometimes provides the couple respite and security, or stands as a lone structure in the background of the moving architecture. Limbs intertwine or explore the space individually, as if each dancer were grappling with inner demons and seeking relief.
Arms stretch, feet stamp and fists clench, bursting with energy. Tetley’s Le Sacre du Printemps transfers the power of Igor Stravinsky's masterful composition to dance. The dancers pay homage to the earth as though possessed. A chosen young man embodies the springtime, while a large ensemble creates an unbridled, pulsating energy, directed against suffering of the world – and in turn allowing the coming spring to germinate.
“The organ always seemed to me like the voice of God,” Tetley said. He choreographed Voluntaries to Francis Poulenc's organ concerto in 1973, broadening the horizons of the mourning Stuttgart company. The piece is reflective, mysterious, and expansive. Like the Voluntary in music, a free instrumental composition, Tetley's ballet seems to unfold as though improvised.
In the abstract pas de deux Ricercare, two dancers become a breathing sculpture, whether pulling apart, or melding into one. An arch of light at the stage’s center sometimes provides the couple respite and security, or stands as a lone structure in the background of the moving architecture. Limbs intertwine or explore the space individually, as if each dancer were grappling with inner demons and seeking relief.
Arms stretch, feet stamp and fists clench, bursting with energy. Tetley’s Le Sacre du Printemps transfers the power of Igor Stravinsky's masterful composition to dance. The dancers pay homage to the earth as though possessed. A chosen young man embodies the springtime, while a large ensemble creates an unbridled, pulsating energy, directed against suffering of the world – and in turn allowing the coming spring to germinate.
