Glass’s early instrumental works reflect a trend known as “minimalism,” which, like its visual arts counterpart, began to occupy a prominent aesthetic position during the 1960s. But it is Glass’s operas and other stage works, beginning in the 1970s, such as Einstein on the Beach (1976) and Satyagraha (1980), that have attracted widespread attention – works that include collaborations with notable figures such as film directors Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen, stage directors Robert Wilson, Achim Freyer, JoAnne Akalaitis, Richard Foreman, and Phelim McDermott, and dancer–choreographers Lucinda Childs, Jerome Robbins, Susan Marshall, Maureen Fleming, and Twyla Tharp. Audience aficionados include opera lovers, rock musicians, music critics, painters, sculptors, fans of minimalist art, performance artists, and other constituencies. This is, in part, due to Glass’s eclectic interests and collaborative spirit, which have led him to merge music together with theater, dance, film, slides, graphic design, computer animation, photographs, and videos, including video walls and installations. These collaborations have helped place his work in a broad critical context and have attracted a wide audience from an unusually diverse array of followers.