The "Jellicle Ball" has earned Cats the reputation of being one of the hardest shows to perform in musical theatre history. The number is a full 9 minutes and 30 seconds (originally 10 minutes) of unbroken dance, demanding the highest calibre of dancing from performers who are also singers, actors, and playing cats.
The "Jellicle Ball" is often conflated with "The Song of the Jellicles", but it is the dance-only section of the overall Ball sequence.
Context[]
The Jellicle Ball is an annual celebration which has gathered all the members of the Jellicle Tribe together on this night. As the cats dance in celebration, Grizabella creeps into the shadows to watch. Victoria, the white cat, is symbolically mated with one of the male characters of similar age, after which everyone snuggles down to nap. However the magical cats - Mistoffelees, Coricopat and Tantomile, sense Grizabella's presence, and in retaliation the cats begin to dance again, even more spectacularly than before.
Throughout the number, many of the cast will usually leave the stage to dance along the aisles and interact with the audience.
Pas de Deux[]
In the middle of the "Jellicle Ball", Victoria performs a pas de deux with one of the male cats, exactly who varies between productions. The intimate choreography made up of balletic lifts is sometimes dubbed the "mating dance".
In the 1980s and 1990s, Victoria's dance partner was mainly either Admetus (UK) or Tumblebrutus (outside of the UK). More recent productions usually give this featured moment to either Admetus or Plato. The part has also gone to Pouncival, Carbucketty, Mistoffelees or Alonzo in major replica productions throughout the years.
Sections[]
The "Jellicle Ball" is made up of multiple sections, each of which were named by Gillian Lynne. Some sections have alternate names used by different productions and replicators. Additionally, some sections, mostly in the beginning half of the Ball, differ between productions and years. The Broadway revival in particular, fused the original Gillian Lynne choreography with new choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler.
Notably, Andrew Lloyd Webber cut out some bars of the music when he rearranged the show for the 2003 UK Tour, reducing the length of the Ball by around 30 seconds. This change has been incorporated into all replica productions since.
This video gives a general overview of all the post-2003 sections:
Jellicle Ball - choreographic sections
Sections of the Ball labelled on German Tour performance (shortened version)
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Descriptions[]
This section is still a work in progress
| Hip Wrench: | The cats, with Victoria in the forefront, swing their hips to the left |
| Attitude: | |
| Padding Feet: | |
| Pushing Walls: | |
| Fling: | |
| Pop-ups: | |
| Step Look Look: | |
| Bums: | |
| Minuet: | |
| Pirouettes: | |
| British Airways: | |
| Fugue: | |
| Girls: | |
| Mungo Entrance: | |
| Boys Jump: | |
| Tours: | |
| Bombalurina Section: | Bombalurina interrupts with a sensual solo. |
| Girls Join: | She is joined by the other adult female cats. |
| Boys Join In: | |
| Slithers: | |
| Boys Ballet: | |
| Spikey: | |
| Sways: | |
| Whirlygigs: | |
| Ricochet: | |
| Sensuals: | Victoria and a young male cat, usually Admetus/Plato/Tumblebrutus, tentatively approach each other. |
| White Cat Lift: | Victoria and the young male cat perform a series of balletic lifts, while the other cats gather around them to lay down and rest. |
| Pop Ups: | One by one, the cats suddenly pop up from their resting positions as they sense Grizabella's presence. One of the cats, usually Mistoffelees or Alonzo, goes to chase her away. |
| Judders: | |
| Copland: | |
| Prowl: | |
| Headrolls: | |
| Jeté: | |
| Cartwheels: | Mistoffelees and Carbucketty/Pouncival cartwheel, while Bill Bailey/Tumblebrutus does a tumbling pass from stage left to right. Alonzo and Admetus/Plato follow up with more cartwheels, while Bill Bailey/Tumblebrutus does another tumbling pass from stage right to left. |
| Big Boys: | |
| Girls Upstage: | The younger female cats, usually led by Victoria, enter upstage and interrupt the "Big Boys". |
| Girls Relevée: | As the girls dance, some productions have Mistoffelees do a variation of his Conjuring Turn in the back. |
| Build Up 1: | |
| Tugger Step: | |
| Hovers: | |
| Princess Louise: | |
| Punches: | |
| Paws: | |
| Attitude: | |
| Slow Paws: | |
| Arabesque: | |
| Warsaw: | |
| Drags: | |
| Pass Behind: | |
| Roll Backs: | |
| Hip Wrench: | |
| Sixes: |
Music[]
The music for the "Jellicle Ball" combines many of the melodies heard previously in the show, including the "Overture", "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats", and "The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball". The only character's melody we hear, however, is Old Deuteronomy's.
The number begins with the orchestra returning to the start of "The Song of the Jellicles", playing almost exactly the same music, but without the speaking or singing. As the cats dance in unison, the borrowed arrangements and fragments of the Jellicle theme are combined into one large unit, slightly reorchestrated.[1]
As the cats split up for their individual sections, new arrangements of previous material are then introduced, such as the sultry swing arrangement of the Jellicle theme in four-phrases in the "Honky Tonk" section. During the "Boys Ballet", the Old Deuteronomy melody emerges from the orchestra, punctuated by snippets of the Jellicle theme in its more dissonant, agitated forms. The entire "Old Deuteronomy" refrain is played through three times, building up as Old Deuteronomy makes his way through the dancers. The refrain reaches a climax as Old Deuteronomy takes his usual seat upstage center, signaling the mid-point of the Ball.[1]
Old Deuteronomy's motif in the "whirlygigs" section of the Ball.
A few very soft, dissonant chords fall and rise slowly as Victoria's pas de deux begins. Victoria is eventually lowered to the floor, as the cats pile together, to a cascade of synthesized bells playing a loosely presented two-phrase form of the Jellicle theme.[1]
The tranquility is broken by the orchestra revisiting the opening eight phrases of "Jellicle Songs" for the "Pop Ups" section, as the cats sense Grizabella's reappearance. From here, the energy builds relentlessly to the end of the ball. First, the orchestra revisits music from "Jellicle Songs" in a loose series of variations. This builds up to the grand final section where the Jellicle theme, in full eight-phrase form, played almost exactly as it appeared at the end of the "Overture", drives vigorously to a sudden finish.[1]
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A variation of the chorus section of "Jellicle Songs" as heard in the "Girls Upstage" section.
Listen to a sample showcasing the "Jellicle Songs" chorus variation as heard in the Ball.
Audio[]
- "The Song of the Jellicles" and "The Jellicle Ball" from the 1981 London cast recording
- "The Song of the Jellicles" and "The Jellicle Ball" from the 1983 Broadway cast recording
- "The Jellicle Ball" from the 2018 Andrew Lloyd Webber Unmasked: The Platinum Collection (1998 film version)
- "The Jellicle Ball" from the 1998 Hey, Mr. Producer! live recording
- "The Jellicle Ball" by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (1988)
Video[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- A cover of "The Jellicle Ball" by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was used as the theme music for the BBC's broadcast of the 1982 World Cup
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Megamusical, Indiana University Press (2006). Pages 140-141. ISBN 978-0-253-34793-0.
| v • e Musical Numbers | |
|---|---|
| Productions | Broadway Score • Australian Score • 1998 Film Score • UK Tour 2003 Score • UK Tour 2016 Score • Broadway 2016 Score |
| Act One | Overture • Jellicle Songs • The Naming of Cats • Invitation • The Old Gumbie Cat • The Rum Tum Tugger • Grizabella: The Glamour Cat • Bustopher Jones • Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer • Old Deuteronomy • Pekes and Pollicles • The Song of the Jellicles • Jellicle Ball • Memory (Prelude) |
| Act Two | The Moments of Happiness • Gus: The Theatre Cat • Growltiger's Last Stand • Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat • Macavity • Macavity Fight • Magical Mister Mistoffelees • Daylight • Memory • The Journey to the Heaviside Layer • Ad-Dressing of Cats • Finale - Bows and Play-out |