Last night Jennie Somogyi gave a musically-sensitive, kick-ass performance in the Sanguinic movement of The Four Temperaments. Her Sanguinistas – Sara Adams, Likolani Brown, Kristen Segin and Mary Elizabeth Sell – were little Somogyi soldiers who dispatched their steps with the same authoritative command as their leader. Everyone – including Somogyi’s partner last night, Tyler Angle – seemed to pick up his game when Somogyi was on stage – one more reason not to miss any of her dwindling number of performances this spring. Craig Hall as Melancholic, Albert Evans as Phlegmatic, and Teresa Reichlen as Choleric all gave strong performances as well.
The evening opened with Concerto Barocco led by Wendy Whelan, Ellen Bar and Charles Askegard. Whelan was as musically inspired and fleet-footed as ever – a joy to watch. Haglund wishes that Ellen Bar would lighten up a bit when she’s given spotlight opportunities. Last night saw her holding her lips together so tightly when it was apparent she wanted to smile that it created a forced fierceness of expression that was neither attractive nor fitting for the piece.
What was evident in Concerto Barocco and the evening’s closer, Symphony in Three Movements, was that the company’s port de bras, never anything to brag about, needs spiffing up. How hard is it to make first position round instead of square? Were Balanchine’s choreographic instructions really that the hands travel up the front of the body and brush the boobs before opening to second position? Doubt it. In certain instances last night, it looked like the beginnings of some weird balletic masturbation. Ladies, please stop touching yourselves with your port de bras.
Symphony in Three Movements didn’t have it’s best night either. Haglund adores Abi Stafford but does not think that casting her in this piece was the best idea. Stafford’s strengths lie in creating fantasy and romance and interpreting music in a uniquely lovely manner – not especially useful in Symphony in Three Movements. And Sebastien Marcovici should not be in any ballet that requires him to wear white shoes. His feet were awful, just awful, and he appears at this point not to be in performance shape.
The other leads, Rebecca Krohn, Sean Suozzi, Ana Sophia Scheller, and Adam Hendrickson, all gave wonderful performances with Krohn and Scheller displaying confidence and attack in terrific debut performances.
The highlight of the evening was Duo Concertant performed by Sterling Hyltin and Robert Fairchild in their New York debuts. Haglund admits to not watching a lot of the steps, because he couldn’t stop focusing on the dancers’ faces as they interacted with each other and the onstage musicians. There was a whole little story going on there that was sweet and honest. Fairchild and Hyltin played off of one another and at times against one another just as the violin played off and at times against the piano. Both could devour space when the movement called for it, but they also made the moments of stillness seem of gigantic importance. And Fairchild as a partner has hands that seemingly never miss.
Haglund is glad to see Duo Concertant back in circulation and has a special Dolce and Gabbana Pump Bump Award in its honor: