From the ring levels in the theater one gets a bird’s eye view of what is happening in the orchestra pit. Sometimes it’s more interesting than what’s on the stage. Take Friday night, for instance.
Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum, imported from San Francisco Ballet to the New York City Ballet this season, had its first performance. Fearful that viewers would find it too repetitive of Wheeldon’s other choreography to the same composer, György Ligeti, NYCB marketed it as a continuation or companion piece or chapter 2 of Wheeldon’s creative vision. As they say, marketing isn’t about the products you make; it’s about the stories you tell. Unfortunately, Continuum was the same old multiple instances of twisty, acrobatic, manipulative pas de deux by dancers dressed as cooked green beans with the women squeezed in the middle by belts. The first minute when all eight dancers filed onto the stage had us thinking that maybe there would be some not-seen-before ideas here, but the second minute followed by the next 20 proved us wrong. However, true brilliance was burning in the orchestra pit courtesy of Stephen Gosling and Alan Moverman.
The Ligeti selections chosen by Wheeldon not only required two pianists but required them to be playing the same piano and jumping back and forth between piano and harpsichord. Sometimes the pianists were seated together but at other times Moverman would stand to the side leaning over to hold keys down while Gosling played. And there was the added interest of the constant adjusting of what looked like possibly a super-duper, late model digital metronome. There was as much choreography in the pit as on the stage, and it was far more interesting.
For the following dance by Lar Lubovitch, Hanna Hyunjung Kim played gorgeous selections from Brahms’ Eight Piano Pieces on stage while Adrian Danchig-Waring and Taylor Stanley flowed through Lubovitch’s organic swirls and dips. Each In Their Own Time is like a freshwater brook babbling through an unspoiled natural setting.
Distant Cries, a duet by Edwaard Liang, brought us a little more harpsichord music along with a fantastic oboe solo by Julia deRosa. The choreography, executed by Ruby Lister and Chun Wai Chan, was a sustained yawn, but showed a more interesting side of Lister who may have found a niche in the angular, acrobatic, less traditional ballet repertory that was made on Wendy Whelan. However, that doesn’t mean that we want Wendy to plan a vanity schedule of more of these works.
The program concluded with Hanna Hyunjung Kim’s fingers burning through the Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major Op. 102 as we watched the dancers burn through Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH. This piece is nearing twenty years old but seems as fresh, alive, and interesting as it did when it premiered. It’s always a pleasure to hear this music and see this ballet tackled by a new generation of dancers. Delivering a performance on the level of the original interpreters, Joaquin De Luz and Gonzalo Garcia, is a big ask of anyone. Roman Mejia and KJ Takahashi will find their way through this in time. They’ve got the steps. They’ve got the energy. They’re looking for that je ne sais quoi that the two Spanish bros brought to the choreography that made everything look like spontaneous, competitive messing around.
Indiana Woodward as the instigator of the madness was in top form. Adrian Danchig-Waring and Unity Phelan imbued the pas de deux with a genuine warmth. Some of the soloist and corps members were a little dizzied by the details but otherwise did a super job for their first time out.
The programing for Friday was another big miss by NYCB. Trying to forcefeed Continuum and Distant Cries to an audience before getting to Concerto DSCH resulted in box office backfire. There is less and less appetite for the derivative, manipulative pas de deux that some choreographers repeatedly make the centerpieces of their work. We want the authentic Balanchine. A program of Divertimento No 15, Concerto Barocco, and Concerto DSCH would always pack the house. Parceling these out in a way that forces the audience to also accept less palatable programing is a strategy that will result in declining success as ticket prices and their faux fees soar.
The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Dolce & Gabbana piano stiletto, is bestowed upon Stephen Gosling, Alan Moverman, and Hanna Hyunjung Kim for their dazzling treatments of Ligeti, Brahms, and Shostakovich.
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