One Thousand Pieces
Music
Philip Glass
(“The Illusionist” from the motion picture soundtrack The Illusionist; “Tissue No. 7”; “Song VII” from Songs & Poems for Solo Cello; “Renfield,” “When the Dream Comes,” “Seward Sanatorium,” “The Crypt,” “Renfield in the Drawing Room,” “Carriage Without a Driver,” and “Dr. Van Helsing & Dracula” from the motion picture soundtrack Dracula; “Movement II” from Musical Portrait of Chuck Close; “Cassandra’s Dream” and “The Land” from Second Piano Concerto; “Mad Rush” from Glass Cages; “Knee Play No. 5” from Einstein on the Beach)
Choreography
Alejandro Cerrudo
Staging
Jessica Tong (2024)
Ana Lopez (2020, 2021, 2024)
Pablo Piantino (2020, 2024)
Scenic & Costume Design
Thomas Mika
Lighting Design
Michael Korsch
Duration
70 minutes
Premiere
October 18, 2012; Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Pacific Northwest Ballet Premieres:
September 24, 2021, excerpts; March 15, 2024, full work
PNB’s 2024 performances of One Thousand Pieces were supported by Lynne Graybeal & Scott Harron. The 2020 Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere of Alejandro Cerrudo’s One Thousand Pieces was generously underwritten by Susan Brotman.
Program Notes
“For me, a stained glass window is a transparent partition between my heart and the heart of the world. Stained glass has to be serious and passionate. It is something elevating and exhilarating” — Marc Chagall
One Thousand Pieces was created in celebration of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s 35th anniversary in 2012. Choreographed by Alejandro Cerrudo, the work was inspired by Marc Chagall’s America Windows, stunning panels of glowing stained glass created by the Russian-French artist and donated to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1977—the same year Hubbard Street was founded—to commemorate America’s bicentennial.
When asked during the creative process why he chose the title One Thousand Pieces, Cerrudo replied, “Literally because of the symbolism of the work, observing how each piece of glass combines to make a whole larger piece made from many individual pieces, the same way human beings come together to create a project. The windows have inspired my choreography, but I’m not intending to teach anyone about this artwork. Instead, it’s my personal interpretation. The set designer, the music by Philip Glass, and the dancers have all inspired me. I’m not trying to tell a story or represent the art. The work will have three sections, and the scenic design is quite abstract, yet I hope everyone will be immersed in the images that will appear and connect them to the windows.”