The Four Moons

Composer: BALLARD, Louis Wayne
  • Written in 1967, The Four Moons is Ballard’s third ballet, commemorating the 60th anniversary of Oklahoma’s statehood.
    • The work was written for four Native American prima ballerinas: Yvonne Chouteau (Cherokee), Rosella Hightower (Choctaw), Moscelyne Larkin (Shawnee), and Marjorie Tallchief (Osage).1
    • Each of the four solos was created to “convey the spirit and characteristics of the tribe she represents.”
  • The ballet is divided into four sections:
    1. Overture (Landrush, Statehood, Pow-Wow)
    2. Dance of the Four Moons
    3. Solo Dances (Shawnee, Choctaw, Osage, Cherokee)
    4. Finale (Pas De Quatre)
  • In contrast to his first two ballets, which depicted mythology and folktales, The Four Moons is a historically-based work depicting The Trail of Tears.2
The Four Moons
The dancers for The Four Moons (image source)

Sources

  1. Dianna Everett, “Ballard, Louis Wayne,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed October 13, 2023, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=BA009.
  2. Karl Erik Ettinger, “Louis W. Ballard: Composer and Music Educator,” (PhD Diss., University of Florida, 2014), 103-106.

Cut IDs

25749