Harlequinade (Graham)

About the show

Harlequinade was divided into two sections, Pessimist and Optimist. The biting portrait of the Pessimist and subtle portrayal of the Optimist were intended as symbols of all the tragedy and comedy in the world. The accompanying orchestra consisted of flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, trumpet, drums and voice. As with much of her early work, little is known about the choreography. Barbara Morgan's photographs of Graham dancing in the Harlequinade costumes are virtually all that is known about the piece. The two outfits were also described in The Christian Science Monitors 1938 review of a Boston performance. "Here the artist's own costuming - horizontal stripes for the former, billowing black taffeta, with a large red property handkerchief, for the latter, are punctuation marks."