Dance of the Hours
Composer:
Amilcare Ponchielli
Genre: Classical
Decade: before 1923
Submitted by: Russell Ambrose
Description:
Dance of the Hours is a short ballet from Act 3, Scene 2 of the opera La Gioconda composed by Amilcare Ponchielli. It depicts the hours of the day through solo and ensemble dances. The opera was first performed in 1876 and was revised in 1880. Later performed on its own, the Dance of the Hours was at one time one of the best known and most frequently performed ballets. It became even more widely known after its inclusion in the 1940 Disney animated film Fantasia where it is depicted as a comic ballet with ostriches, elephants, and other animals.
by: Russell Ambrose