Robbins’ “Concertino” was originally the third part of a four-part ballet titled “Four Chamber Works” but it was clear to Anna Kisselgoff right from the start that Concertino would become a stand-alone piece:
“Eventually one predicts ‘Concertino,’ the superbly imaginative their section, danced with sensational flair by Merrill Ashley, Sean Lavery and Mel Tomlinson, will be used in the repertory by itself. […] The ‘Concertino’ is like a rocket blast. Mr. Ashley, Mr. Lavery, and Mr. Tomlinson burst in and the tailspin pace barely lets up. The choreography is a combination of teamwork and competition. It is bracing. In their tank top leotards, the dancers often to the same movement, with Miss Ashley, terrific in speed and technique, holding her own with the men. She exits in a horizontal life on Mr. Lavery’s shoulder with Mr. Tomlinson holding her as if she were a board.”
—Anna Kisselgoff, New York Times, 1982
Merrill Ashley, Sean Lavery and Mel Tomlinson. Photo by Martha Swope, 1982.
Photos by Martha Swope, 1982.
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