Dance of the Pink Flamingos

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Overview

The pink flamingo is the national bird of the Bahamas, and is most common to the country’s southern-most island, Inagua. At first glance, it is quite a remarkable-looking creature. Its bill is perfectly angled in order to collect food when it sticks its head into the water. What looks like its knee when bent backwards, is actually a flamingo’s ankle. Its elegant feathers are a rich pink because of the largest part of its diet: shrimp!

Many people don’t know, but flamingos tend to be monogamous. Before choosing a partner, male flamingos ritually gather in a pack and perform a dance for onlooking females. During the performance, heads turn, and feet move in rhythm as the males swiftly move in order to attract a female. After the show, an impressed female will pair-up with her male partner, bringing a most beautiful concert to an end.

The Dance of the Pink Flamingos is a symphonic poem depicting images of flamingos during their mating ritual: dancing, romancing, consummating, and roosting.

 

Orchestration

Woodwinds

  • Piccolo

  • 2 Flutes

  • 2 Oboes

  • English Horn

  • 2 Clarinets in B-flat

  • Bass Clarinet

  • 2 Bassoons

  • Contra Bassoon

Brass

  • 4 Horns in F

  • 3 Trumpets in B-flat

  • 2 Trombones

  • Bass Trombone

  • Tuba

Percussion

  • Timpani

  • Snare Drum

  • Triangle

  • Bass Drum

  • Suspended Cymbal

  • Piatti

  • Tam-tam

  • Tambourine

  • Wood Block

  • Tubular Bells

  • Glockenspiel

  • Marimba

Harp/Keyboard

  • Harp

  • Piano

Strings

  • Violin 1

  • Violin 2

  • Viola

  • Cello

  • Double Bass

Stefan Thompson