American choreographer Alvin Ailey revolutionized dance in the 1970s by mixing classical ballet with rhythms and tones from the African-American dance tradition and experience. The Lark Ascending was originally created for 12 dancers of the American Dance Theater to music of the same name composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The theme of the lyrical, low-key ballet was love and affection, as well as an attempt to translate Scotland’s mysterious elegance into elegant dance. The choreography was based on Martha Graham’s spatial patterns and vocabulary. At its premiere in April 1972, The New York Times wrote:
“The Lark Ascending is that kind of ballet that is fuzzy around the edges, if one could find the edges.”
Singing till his heaven fills,
Tis love of earth that he instills
And ever winging up and up,
Our valley is his golden cup
And he the wine which overflows
To lift us with him as he goes.”
(from Poems and Lyrics of the Joys of Earth)-Noel Goodwin