Night Dances is one of the first compositions for orchestra written by British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage.
[2][3] The piece was premiered on February 1, 1982 at St John's, Smith Square by the London Sinfonietta conducted by Simon Bainbridge.
[4] This suite for orchestra is divided into four movements and takes around 14 minutes to perform.
The scoring can be divided into three groups: first, a full orchestra (two flutes, two piccolos, two clarinets in B-flat, a bassoon, two horns, a trumpet in C, a large percussion section consisting of a xylophone, a glockenspiel, a side drum, a woodblock, a tambourine, four tom-toms, claves, two suspended cymbals, a hi-hat, two large tam-tams and two very large tam-tam, and a string section consisting of twelve first violins, twelve second violins, eight violas, eight cellos, and four double basses); then, an amplified solo group consisting of an oboe, a cor anglais, a trumpet in B-flat, a harp, a celesta, and a piano; finally, an off-stage string quintet consisting of two violins, a viola, and two cellos.
One of the suite's most distinctive traits is the third movement, which is influenced by jazz music.