A dance to Ellington - choreographer Talley Beatty's new work, a tribute to Duke Ellington, 'Ellingtonia'

American Visions, June-July, 1994 by Anthony C. Murphy

In 1993, the American Dance Festival (ADF)--which has been promoting and celebrating modem dance in America for 60 years--honored choreographer Talley Beatty with its Samuel H. Scripps Award for life-time achievement in choreography. Beatty, who performed and taught with Katherine Dunham, has been a prominent figure in dance since the 1940s.

The ADF also approached Beatty to set a ballet for the Denver-based Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. He responded with Ellingtonia, which honors composer Duke Ellington. "It is designed to show the enormous range of Duke's music," Beatty explains. "I'd been working with Ellington since I was in my teens. I did several shows with him, and I think he's the greatest composer that America has produced."

Ellingtonia will have its premiere at the ADF on the campus of Duke University in Durham, N.C. "This piece is hot!" exclaims company founder Cleo Parker Robinson. "It's powerful, colorful, and I think he uses the images of Romare Bearden, who used to design sets for him." Musically, Ellingtonia interprets four of Ellington's songs: "The Three Black Kings"; "Happy-Go-Lucky Local"; "Come Sunday," from Ellington's musical Black, Brown and Beige; and "Ballet of the Flying Saucer," which, according to Beatty, is from a 1960s television show, A Drum Is a Woman, featuring Beatty as a principal dancer and Duke Ellington and his orchestra.

"We feel really blessed to work with such a genius," says Robinson. "I think it's so important that we really celebrate those who've come before us. It's marvelous to be able to recognize them while they're here."

The American Dance Festival, which runs June 9 to July 23, features the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble premiere of Ellingtonia June 16 to 18.