About this Piece

Aaron Copland’s ballet Rodeo is a celebration of the American West and reflects an important image we have of ourselves. The commission for Rodeo came, surprisingly enough, from the classically oriented Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, with the music by Copland and the choreography and scenario by Agnes de Mille. The ballet was precedent-setting—there were said to be 22 curtain calls at its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on October 16, 1942—and the success of this ballet ensured that dance would thrive as an integral part of American musical theater. In 1945, Copland made a symphonic arrangement from the ballet, the Four Dance Episodes.

The genesis of the scenario is told by Agnes de Mille in her memoir Dance to the Piper. According to de Mille, the idea of doing a ballet for the Ballet Russe did not immediately inspire Copland in their first meeting. Nor did Copland inspire her; instead, he laughed out loud at some of her ideas for a scenario. De Mille invited him to “go straight to Hell”—an inauspicious beginning, to say the least. Something in their bantering and frank exchange seemed to work, however, because the very next day he called back to see if she would meet him for tea that afternoon. Ultimately, their collaboration proved momentous for American dance history.

The ballet is set at Burnt Ranch, where a Cowgirl finds herself competing with visiting city girls for the attention of the local cowboys, especially the Head Wrangler. The four episodes trace the narrative faithfully. The Buckaroo Holiday bursts forth like a herd of wild horses. It quickly shifts to a lilting melody that announces the Cowgirl, who makes her bid for the Head Wrangler, but she foolishly tries to ride a bucking bronco and gets thrown. The American folk song “If He’d Be a Buckaroo by His Trade” is quoted by solo trombone in this dance. The jaunty “Holiday” section ends with as much vim and vigor as it began.

Corral Nocturne, the second of the Four Episodes, is moody, yearning, and melancholy. The Cowgirl’s sadness is portrayed by Copland as he quotes the ballad “Sis Joe.” In this movement, the indispensable Western heroine prevails against the harshest of circumstances, in spite of the violence and narcissism of the menfolk.

The moodiness continues in the Saturday Night Waltz, as Copland quotes the song “Old Paint” while painting a picture of the Cowgirl’s isolation but also giving us hope that her plight is only temporary.

The famous and beloved Hoe-Down begins with dynamism and verve, signaling the Cowgirl’s rebirth: She has suddenly put aside her cowpoke duds and reappeared as the prettiest girl in the room. Copland borrows two square-dance tunes—“Bonyparte” and “McLeod’s Reel”—to aid in this romp, a fanciful and uplifting take on the American square dance. We have a typical, stand-up-and-cheer Hollywood Western ending, too, as the girl gets the right guy for her, not the aloof and snooty Head Wrangler after all, but the Champion Roper, who has shown her respect, kindness, and honor.

—Dave Kopplin