Junk Duet

Junk Duet
World premiere date
Premiere location venue
Premiere location place
Copenhagen, Denmark
Composer
Costume designer
Lighting designer
Commissioner

Alexander Kølpin

Dancers

Stacy Caddell, Alexander Kølpin

Total number of dancers
2
Runtime
00:10:32

Junk Duet was commissioned by Alexander Kølpin for the Sommerballett Festival in Denmark. He performed the classically structured pas de deux with Stacy Caddell. The duet was later included in Known By Heart, commissioned by American Ballet Theatre.

Tharp pits the two dancers against one another in a cartoonish competition. The percussive score by Donald “The Junkman” Knaack is played on 100% recycled materials. The scrapheap sounds enhance the comedic blend of exaggerated pantomime and classical ballet vocabulary. The ballerina dominates her partner until he cowers behind her henpecked and she takes her final bow. 

  • Ethan Stiefel and Susan Jaffe of American Ballet Theatre in Junk Duet, as performed in Known By Heart.

    <p>© Rosalie O'Connor</p>

  • Ethan Stiefel and Susan Jaffe of American Ballet Theatre in Junk Duet, as performed in Known By Heart.

    <p>© Paul Kolnik</p>

  • Ethan Stiefel of American Ballet Theatre in Junk Duet, as performed in Known By Heart.

    <p>© Paul Kolnik</p>

  • Ethan Stiefel and Susan Jaffe of American Ballet Theatre in Junk Duet, as performed in Known By Heart.

    <p>© Paul Kolnik</p>
Video Description

Excerpts from dress and studio rehearsals featuring Ethan Steifel and Susan Jaffe of American Ballet Theatre.

Full music program

Junk Music
Composed by Donald Knaack
Released by The Moo Group - 1996

Junk Duet | Introdans
Arnhem, Netherlands
Junk Duet | Tom Gold Dance
Melia Theater
Havana, Cuba
Junk Duet | Nantucket Atheneum
Nantucket Atheneum
Nantucket, MA
Junk Duet | The Santa Fe Concert Association
The Lensic Performing Arts Center
Santa Fe, NM
Junk Duet | Beijing Dance Academy
Beijing Dance Academy
Beijing, China
Junk Duet | American Ballet Theatre
Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theater
Tbilisi, Georgia
Junk Duet | American Ballet Theatre
TED Conference
Long Beach, CA
Sinatra Suite - Junk Duet - In The Upper Room | American Ballet Theatre
New York City Center
New York, NY
Junk Duet | American Ballet Theatre
Cedar Lake Theatre
New York, NY
Junk Duet | American Ballet Theatre
Sadler's Wells
London, United Kingdom
Junk Duet | Tom Gold Dance
Tel Aviv, Isreal
Junk Duet | Oregon Ballet Theatre
Newmark Theatre
Portland, OR
Octet - Junk Duet | Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
Benedum Center
Pittsburgh, PA
Sinatra Suite - Junk Duet | American Ballet Theatre
New York City Center
New York, NY
Junk Duet - The Fugue - Westerly Round - Surfer At The River Styx |Twyla Tharp Dance
McCarter Theatre Center
Princeton, NJ
Junk Duet - The Fugue - Westerly Round - Surfer At The River Styx |Twyla Tharp Dance
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
Junk Duet - The Fugue - Westerly Round - Surfer At The River Styx |Twyla Tharp Dance
Sadler's Wells
London, United Kingdom
Junk Duet - The Fugue - Westerly Round - Surfer At The River Styx |Twyla Tharp Dance
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
The One Hundreds - Junk Duet - Westerly Round | Twyla Tharp Dance
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
Hammerklavier (premiere) - Junk Duet - Westerly Round (premiere) | Twyla Tharp Dance
Ahmanson Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
Junk Duet - Push Comes To Shove | American Ballet Theatre
New York City Center
New York, NY
Junk Duet (premiere) | Stacy Caddell and Alexander Kølpin
Sommerballet på Frederiksberg
Copenhagen, Denmark