Dance Works for Orchestra

Dance Works for Orchestra (2024)

2 fl; 2 ob; 2 cl; 2 bsn
2 hn; 2 tpt
timp
strings

Duration: c. 7.5 minutes

Dance Works for Orchestra reflects Charlie Barber’s long-standing connection with music for dance — a thread running through his career, from his early experiences as a pianist for dance classes to his first orchestral work Shut Up and Dance (1994), and on to the present day.

This three-movement suite celebrates diverse dance traditions, both historical and contemporary, through vibrant orchestral colour and rhythmic vitality.

1 Footnotes pays tribute to the popular dance music of the 1960s, particularly those records that played a significant role in the racial integration of popular music. The movement channels the spirit of that era’s driving beats and infectious rhythms, evoking a time when the dance floor became a space of social change as well as celebration.

2 Pasacalle (Street Dance) draws on an old traditional Spanish pasacalle melody, reimagined for the orchestra. With its origins in lively street processions, this movement blends folkloric charm with Barber’s distinctive orchestral voice, conjuring the energy and colour of open-air celebration.

3 Terpsichore in Sneakers takes its title from Sally Banes’ 1987 study of post-modern dance’s evolution, from avant-garde experiments to untraditional forms like breakdancing. Built around an energetic 13-beat Arabic rhythm, the movement fuses ancient pulse with contemporary edge, mirroring the innovative, boundary-pushing spirit of modern dance.

Through these contrasting yet connected movements, Dance Works for Orchestra invites the listener to experience the enduring dialogue between music and movement — a dialogue at the heart of Barber’s creative journey.