The Chairman Dances

The Chairman Dances is a 1985 composition by John Adams, subtitled Foxtrot for Orchestra and lasting about 13 minutes. A commission from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, it has several dance-like tunes and has been described by Adams as an "outtake" from Act III of the opera he was working on at the time, Nixon in China. The word "Dances" in the title is a verb, not a noun. In the opera, the music depicts Madame Mao gate-crashing a presidential banquet, hanging paper lanterns, and performing a seductive dance; Chairman Mao descends from his portrait, and the two dance a foxtrot, back in time together. The piece ends with the sound of a gramophone winding down.

The Chairman Dances was used in the Civilization IV and I Am Love soundtracks.

Instrumentation
The work is scored for a large orchestra.


 * Woodwinds
 * 2 flutes, both doubling piccolo
 * 2 oboes
 * 2 clarinets in B♭, second doubling bass clarinet
 * 2 bassoons


 * Brass
 * 4 horns in F
 * 2 trumpets in B♭
 * 2 tenor trombones
 * tuba


 * Percussion
 * glockenspiel
 * vibraphone
 * xylophone
 * crotales
 * sandpaper blocks
 * wood blocks, high and medium
 * crash cymbal
 * hi-hat
 * suspended cymbal
 * sizzle cymbal, suspended
 * claves
 * bell tree
 * triangle
 * tambourine
 * castanets
 * snare drum
 * pedal bass drum
 * timpani


 * Keyboards
 * piano


 * Strings
 * harp
 * string section