Maple Leaf Rag (ballet) she exits, the ensemble returns to joyous movement. The ballet is approximately 15 minutes in length. Three Scott Joplin rags provide the work's structure: "Maple Leaf Rag" (1899) opens the dance, followed by the waltz "Bethena" (1905) and "Elite Syncopations" (1902); a reprise of "Maple Leaf Rag" concludes the dance. The work is brimming with parodies of Graham's signature moves and send-ups of her best-known dances. Her twirling white-clad surrogate crosses the stage intermittently, accompanied each time by ill-boding percussive piano. Graham also pokes fun at the overwrought sexuality of some her repertory. Just before darkness hides the remaining couple
Maple Leaf Rag time. "Gladiolus Rag", a later composition by Joplin, is a developed variant of the "Maple Leaf Rag," showcasing Joplin's increasing musical sophistication, and is usually played at a somewhat slower tempo. In addition, the first strain of Joplin's "The Cascades," "Leola," and "Sugar Cane" are modeled on the structure used in the composition. In 1903 Stark issued a "Maple Leaf Rag Song", an arrangement of Joplin's music with words by Sydney Brown. Brown's lyrics tell the story of a poor man from Accomack County, Virginia, who stumbles into a ballroom where, in spite of his anxiety over the state of