[1] The name of the ballet is derived from that of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, which was Simon Jeffes' ensemble.
The ballet was conceived by David Bintley (at that time resident choreographer at Covent Garden), who approached Simon Jeffes about the music that was to be used in the choreography.
Most of the pieces were originally written for small ensembles, consisting of, for example, violin, cello, guitar and piano.
Each subsequent segment prior to the conclusion shows an endangered species (or, in the case of the Rain Forest People, a culture.)
The music for the ballet was released as an album, under Jeffes' name, together with an 18-minute suite called Four Pieces for Orchestra, comprising orchestral recordings of earlier PCO tracks: