The Unanswered Question (ballet)

The Unanswered Question is a ballet created in 1954 by the American choreographer John Taras for the New York City Ballet. It is set to the music of Charles Ives's eponymous 1908 composition, The Unanswered Question, a piece for string quartet, trumpet, and woodwinds.

The ballet is considered a landmark work, largely due to Taras's innovative approach to visualizing Ives's challenging and philosophical score. The choreography typically depicts three distinct groups of dancers, each representing a different element within Ives's musical structure. The strings often represent "the Druids" or a state of being, the trumpet embodies "the Perennial Question of Existence," and the woodwinds suggest "the Fighting Answerers" or attempts to find meaning.

The ballet's plot is often interpreted as a meditation on the nature of existence, questioning, and the difficulty of finding definitive answers. It explores themes of inquiry, doubt, and the tension between spiritual yearning and intellectual pursuit. The contrasting movements and interactions between the three groups of dancers mirror the philosophical and musical contrasts inherent in Ives's composition.

The Unanswered Question has been revived by numerous ballet companies since its premiere and remains a significant work in the repertoire of 20th-century American ballet. Its continued performance speaks to its enduring relevance and its ability to capture the intellectual and emotional complexities of Ives's original musical vision.