You know, a piano performance of Bach’s The Goldberg Variations can range from 39 minutes to 92 minutes depending on whether all the repeats are played. Some pianists have skipped the repeats to make them fit onto a recording or because they’re, well, repeats. We cautiously mention this while being fully aware of the risk of inadvertently prompting New York City Ballet to suddenly decide, “Oh gosh, let’s add a See the Music session on The Goldberg Variations program” in order to make the audience truly appreciate all the repetitions that they are hearing and seeing on the stage. Repeating the repetitions repeatedly is not the way to the New York City Ballet audience’s heart. We’ll try not to repeat that.
Thursday evening’s performance of Robbins’ The Goldberg Variations and Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3 had some good moments, most of which came after the intermission. Goldberg’s highlight, besides the committed and lovely piano playing by guest artist William Wolfram, was the vivacious dancing of Ashley Hod with Jules Mabie and a surprisingly gallant and maturing Andres Zuniga with Emma Von Enck. They with the others skedaddled around, paused for long looks into someone’s eyes, and then meandered off only to return later to essentially the same music. There were points in the ballet where it seemed Robbins’ was saying “Oh heck, if Bach can repeat himself then so can I” and then we would see something that reminded us of Afternoon of a Faun or Fancy Free or Interplay or Dances at a Gathering.
The evening caught a big breath of fresh air when Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3 began. Emily Kikta and Peter Walker danced the Elegie gloriously, but we’re not sold on them dancing together; their physicality is very different and not well balanced. When is the day going to come when we see Emily joined by the huge and hugely elegant Owen Flacke for a spin around the stage? Listen, Flacke and Charlie Klesa were dancing like there was no tomorrow in the demis section of Theme and Variations. At one point, they took our eyes away from the principals.
The highlight of the evening was Ashley Laracey with Alec Knight in the second movement Valse Melancolique. There is such unique and compelling beauty in Ashley’s musicality and dramatic shading along with crystal clear work by the legs and feet that it is baffling why NYCB doesn’t grant this long-time soloist the respect and recognition that she deserves. Worth repeating: It is never too late to do the right thing.
India Bradley and KJ Takahashi flew through the Scherzo section without making much of an impression. While Takahashi may fit well into Justin Peck’s repertory, he doesn’t particularly please in other ballets because he tends to dance them like they are Justin Peck sneaker ballets. There is high energy and fierce allegro but no lines, no drama, no elegance, no personality, no legs. India was lovely on her first entrance but then struggled with some of the trickier turns. She danced with her chin and head up but her eyes focused down much of the time.
Theme and Variations performed by Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia with demi-soloist roles danced by senior corps & soloists kicked a good amount of life into the evening. The tempi may not have challenged Tiler enough to bring out her spectacular brand of chase, but she certainly was no slouch. It just looked a little too comfortable and easy for her. The clarity and phrase shaping was amazing as was her rapport with Roman who we have to accept is never going to express elegance & chivalry when there’s an opportunity to strut. That said, the relaxed tempi was such that there was more than enough time in the pirouette/double tour series for him to attempt double pirouette/double tour, but he played it safe and delivered a steady, clear ending to the variation. His caring and careful partnering made us appreciate another side of him.
If the order of this program had been reversed, we would have bought tickets to every performance throughout the week and left at intermission. As it is, we’re only going to see one cast. NYCB should re-think its programing strategy, if there is one, so that it encourages people to come instead of repelling them.
Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, Venus by Badgley Mischka, is bestowed upon Ashley Laracey for her defining performance in Valse Melancolique.
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