Which brings me to one of two quibbles I had with the revival: the first concerns the costumes. The gold-fringed bikini originally worn by Farrell was replaced with a white unitard with a gold pleated faux skirt. And the gold pants worn by Mitchell were replaced by a plain white unitard with a gold belt. These anodyne onesies felt too safe, like taking a few steps back from Balanchine’s ledge. The bikini was a major talking point in all the original reviews; people couldn’t believe Balanchine’s audacity. And Nancy Reynolds quotes Mitchell on his “Pithoprakta” costume in “Repertory in Review”: “Balanchine would say, ‘Oh, he’s too dressed. Take something off him.’ He never liked me to have a lot of clothes on in that ballet.” Balanchine was crossing a line, on purpose. Some six decades later, I think we could still handle that shock.

My other issue was the isolation of “Pithoprakta,” which, in the 60s, was the second part of a diptych, always following “Metastaseis”—a short ensemble piece to another Xenakis composition, danced in white unitards. Revivals are difficult. Farrell singlehandedly kept “Pithoprakta” alive. Perhaps there is simply no one to resuscitate “Metastaseis” (although the rehearsal tape does seem to contain the full cast).

I also bring up “Metastaseis” to support my point about the costumes. With that ballet in all white unitards, and the corps in “Pithoprakta” all in black unitards, it means something that Balanchine put Farrell and Mitchell in sparkling, scanty gold. Some dancers from that era told me that they thought “Pithoprakta” was Balanchine’s take on Studio 54. At the very least, I think there is something significant about separating Farrell and Mitchell from the pack and highlighting them as glittery stars, which they certainly were. Xenakis derived this score mathematically, using formulas for the statistical movements of gases exposed to temperature fluctuations. “Pithoprakta” means “action through probability” in Greek, but there seems to me little left to chance in Farrell’s eventual conquest of the stage. If you turned up the heat, which Balanchine certainly did, it was inevitable that she’d end up alone on center stage, vibrating. Farrell’s still got it, by the way. She earned a partial ovation when she bowed. Nadon, who was sensational in this dance, has it too.           

Since “Pithoprakta’s” return was so electric (really, it was the most cutting-edge dance I’ve seen in ages), I’m keen to see “Metastaseis” as well. Would completing the set unlock further “Pithoprakta” revelations? I saw Balanchine’s “Episodes” in an entirely new—and improved—light when the fourth movement (a solo made on Paul Taylor) was reinstated in 2020 after a 30-year absence. Then again, on this very bill “Theme and Variations” and “The Unanswered Question” proved that sometimes dances are just as strong, or even stronger, in excerption. I have no idea which way “Pithoprakta” would go, but I’d love to find out one day.