He began work on it in early summer of 1944, while the company was performing in Song of Norway, an operetta for which he had created dances and a ballet, in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
[4] With scenery and costumes designed by Eugene Berman, Danses concertantes had its premiere on 10 September 1944 at New York's City Center of Music and Drama, with Robert Balaban as conductor.
With its bright, carnavalesque décor by Nicholas Georgiadis, then still a student at the Slade School, it had its premiere on 18 January 1955 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London.
Macmillan's choreography for the suite of dances is sharp and spiky, with pointed fingers, angled ports de bras, and sudden changes of direction.
Clement Crisp wrote of the first night's performance, "I still recall how the eye was teased by the sparks of energy and wild originality given off by the movement, how the Georgiadis designs flowed and flashed, how bright-footed the young cast seemed.
With scenery and costumes designed by Tony Duquette, it had its premiere on 13 October 1959 at the War Memorial Opera House and was warmly received by critics and the public.
"[14] and Jack Anderson later observed that Christensen had "let viewers decide for themselves whether the slight plotline was just a pretext for dancing or a more pointed comment on the 'shows' that socialites often put on at opera openings.
With a later cast, including Attila Ficzere, Vane Vest, Damara Bennett, Roberta Pfeil, Betsy Erickson, and John McFall, it was filmed for archival purposes on 29 March 1976 at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco; the videorecording can be viewed at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
[16] Basic information on all works listed here can be found in the database of dances set to Stravinsky's music compiled by Stephanie Jordan and Larraine Nichols and mounted on the website of the University of Roehampton, London.