Sufjan Stevens Music Used for New Ballet

A new ballet with music by Sufjan Stevens will have its world premiere at New York's Lincoln Center on Oct. 5. Pitchfork is reporting that 'Year of the Rabbit' will feature 18 members of the New York City Ballet dancing to 30 minutes of Stevens' music.

Choreographed by Justin Peck, 'Year of the Rabbit' is based on music that first appeared on Stevens' 2001 electronic work, 'Enjoy Your Rabbit.' Eight years later, an orchestral version of that album, 'Run Rabbit Run,' was recorded in 2009 by the Brooklyn-based string quarter Osso. The ballet will contain new orchestral arrangements written by Stevens, Peck and Michael Atkinson.

'Year of the Rabbit' is the second collaboration between Stevens and Peck. In 2010, the duo created 'Tales of a Chinese Zodiac' for the New York Choreographic Institute.

The ballet will be performed four times in October, and again in January and February. The complete schedule can be found at the New York City Ballet's website.

Watch Osso Perform Sufjan Stevens' 'Year of the Boar'