Limelight · Ballet

I'm Old Fashioned (1983)

Choreography by Jerome Robbins

I'm Old Fashioned (The Astaire Variations) is a 1983 New York City Ballet work made by Jerome Robbins to Morton Gould's variations on Jerome Kern's song 'I'm Old Fashioned', a piece written to evoke the Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth dance sequence from the 1942 film You Were Never Lovelier. It premiered at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, on June 16, 1983, initially under the title Variations on "I'm Old Fashioned" before being shortened within a week.

What is danced

The article does not describe the choreographic vocabulary, structure, or any specific steps, sections, or roles danced by the six original cast members (Judith Fugate, Kyra Nichols, Heather Watts, Joseph Duell, Sean Lavery, Bart Cook). It gives no synopsis, act or scene divisions, or named variations within the piece, so nothing about partnering, formations, or technical demands can be drawn from it directly.

Context

No historical framing is given in the article beyond the bare premiere date, company, and venue.

How to watch it

The article gives no guidance on what to watch for in performance; a viewer would need to consult the score's relationship to Gould's variations and the Astaire-Hayworth film sequence independently, since none of that is described here beyond the naming.

Credits

  • composer: Morton Gould

Questions

Is this ballet based on a Fred Astaire film?
The music, Morton Gould's adaptation of Jerome Kern's 'I'm Old Fashioned', was written in reference to a Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth dance sequence in the film You Were Never Lovelier. The article does not say the choreography itself restages or quotes that film sequence.
Why did the title change shortly after the premiere?
The article states it was titled Variations on "I'm Old Fashioned" at its first performance on June 16, 1983, and the name was truncated to its current form the following week, but gives no reason for the change.
Who danced in the original cast?
The original cast listed is Judith Fugate, Kyra Nichols, Heather Watts, Joseph Duell, Sean Lavery, and Bart Cook, though the article does not assign them specific roles.
Where and when did it premiere?
It premiered on Thursday, June 16, 1983, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, made for New York City Ballet.
This entry was written from “I'm Old Fashioned (ballet)” on English Wikipedia (revision 1315946424), used under CC BY-SA 4.0. The link points at the exact revision this text was written from, so it shows the words we actually used rather than whatever the article says today. Credits and premiere data come from Wikidata (CC0), cited per field.
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