About This Show
John Butler: An American Master celebrates the life and work of the important American choreographer. Presented by the John Butler Foundation, the program features The Richmond Ballet, which returns to the Joyce in order to perform Butler’s masterpiece, “Carmina Burana.”
A prolific and popular choreographer, John Butler (1918-1993) created works that have been performed by an extraordinary range of ballet and modern dance companies in the U.S. and Europe. As an artist, he tackled unconventional subjects and clarified their meanings to make an enormously strong impact on his audience. Butler ballets broke new ground, codifying subject, structure, kinetics and theatricality for generations of younger choreographers. For years he was a close collaborator with the composer Gian Carlo Minotti, choreographing many of the world premiere operas. His extensive knowledge of art and design led to many associations with prominent avant-garde painters, sculptors, musicians, and writers, such as Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Alban Berg, and Ezra Pound. His unique style and choreographic approach has resulted in ballets created on such luminary dancers as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova, Carla Fracci, and Judith Jamison. The John Butler Foundation was established in 1997.