With 60% of NYCB's fall season gone, we finally got our first Balanchine ballets last night. Yep, we had to wait for the 17th performance out of a 28-performance season before being allowed a glimpse of the Master’s work in the Master’s house. No wonder people are cranky and have given up looking at NYCB’s calendar.
Did the wait for Balanchine’s great works make us appreciate last week's gala drivel any more? No. Did the wait for Balanchine’s great works make us respect the stripped down Swan Lake any more? No. The only thing that the wait for Balanchine’s great works did was to hammer home how deficient the first 60% of the season was.
Thursday night’s all-Balanchine program was a salve for sad eyes and a brace to bolster our weakened spirits – an evening of brawny, muscular choreography, all of it solidly built, musically stimulating, and profoundly satisfying. For two hours we were nestled in the Land of Balanchine where it almost seemed like Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon – "the little town that time forgot, and the decades cannot improve” “where all the women are strong, the men are handsome, and the children are above average."
Square Dance, that 1957 gem of virtuosic allegro in which corps members toss off gargouillades and entrechat six in blissful unison with the principals, was polished to brilliance. Megan Fairchild and Anthony Huxley were spot-on and perfect everywhere with fast, witty batterie. This was not a ballet to show everyone how hard the steps were; it was a ballet to portray dazzling technique as easy play.
The 1951 La Valse pulled the audience into the macabre beauty of the ballroom with its Chanel fashionistas where a young girl’s fascination led to her death. Sterling Hyltin as the young girl, Jared Angle as her lover, and Justin Peck as the seductive Death character once again proved this ballet brilliant in its depiction of the utter destruction of Ravel’s waltz. The three soloist pairs (a bewitching Lauren King with Devin Alberda, Ashly Isaacs with Sean Suozzi, and Megan LeCrone with Zachary Catazaro) and the three ladies of the Second Waltz (Marika Anderson, Megan Johnson, and Lydia Wellington) epitomized the glamour and elegance of the era. Sean Suozzi, in particular, danced with a sense of urgency that helped drive the drama.
Cortège Hongrois, Balanchine’s adaptation to music from Glazounov’s Raymonda, brought the evening to a stunning close. Georgina Pazcoguin as the Hungarian folk dancer with Ask la Cour gave so much energy to their dances that we nearly forgot that Raymonda and Jean were supposed to come out and dazzle us with classicism. Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle as those characters got the job done, but without Hungarian flavor – unless an 8th Avenue style spanking of the hands together in Raymonda’s variation counts as Hungarian. All of their steps were successful steps, though.
Brittany Pollack and Emilie Gerrity as soloists managed their challenging choreography well with Brittany in particular command of her variation.
Our HH Pump Bump Award, a Casadei gold boot we found in the hayride, is bestowed upon Megan Fairchild for her blisteringly beautiful dancing in Square Dance.
4 responses to “NYCB 10/5 All Blissful Balanchine”
I was at this performance. I love these particular pieces and the performances sent me out of the theater with a big smile on my face. The best night I’ve had at NYCB in a long time.
I was at this performance. I love these particular pieces and the performances sent me out of the theater with a big smile on my face. The best night I’ve had at NYCB in a long time.
I got to see this program Friday night and share your enthusiasm. I also appreciated the “First Position” mini-lectures outside the 4th ring that were presented before the curtain of each piece. It was interesting to hear a bit of history from some knowledgeable and clearly very enthusiastic NYC ballet volunteer docents.
I got to see this program Friday night and share your enthusiasm. I also appreciated the “First Position” mini-lectures outside the 4th ring that were presented before the curtain of each piece. It was interesting to hear a bit of history from some knowledgeable and clearly very enthusiastic NYC ballet volunteer docents.