The theater doors sprang open and in we ran on the first night of New York City Ballet's Fall Season. As if in a game of Hide & Go Seek since June, we had counted a hundred days with our eyes closed and now we were on the hunt for Balanchine.
Boy oh boy, did we ever flush out of hiding a magnificent performance of Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 by Tiler Peck, Chun Wai Chan and an energized corps de ballet. Following a polite, somewhat colorless grand allegro solo by Olivia MacKinnon in the opening moments where she wove in and out of a circle of corps women and danced her steps spiritedly, Tiler calmly walked from the upstage wing to the center of the stage and began a master class in what it means to be a ballerina. She is in terrific physical shape with new length in her port de bras and upper back & neck. Her speed seemingly required no force — almost as if her joy propelled her. Watching Tiler embrace Tschaikovsky was to watch a dancer literally living the music. As much joy as it was for her to dance, we hope she understands the incredible joy it brought to the audience. Chun Wai Chan was the perfect partner and seemed to find a new comfort in releasing emotion. Beautiful batterie and grand allegro although the size of that grand allegro may have gone down since his Houston Ballet days. The composite elegance of Chan and Peck was so natural and effortless that it made their pas de deux a dance of one.
Unfortunately, the performance on the second night didn’t rise anywhere near to what we witnessed on the first night. Haglund knows that Sara Mearns has a tribe who will gush over anything and everything she does. But honestly, her performance on Wednesday wasn’t good and at times was mediocre. She shuffled through allegro, “kind of” doing beats while showing great effort. She fell off point while doing a couple of simple fouettes. The throwaway arms and arabesques were worse than we’d ever seen them. At one point in the last section when she and her partner were standing watching the soloist dance, Sara just let her arms hang at her side like she was standing on the subway platform waiting for a train. From her first entry until her final step, there was a serious question as to why this ballet was in her rep. Her partner, Tyler Angle, on the other hand, made it clear that he was committed to delivering a respectable performance without fudging beats or heaving grand allegro like a DSNY worker heaving a load of trash into the back of a truck. Angle was good, very good in every respect.
The star of this performance, however, was the soloist Emily Kikta who simply stole the show with her glamour, expansive dancing, speed & clarity, rapport with the audience from the orchestra up into the tiers, and all around generosity of artistry. She should have been dancing the lead ballerina role on this night — and on future nights.
The corps de ballet was ready on night one and busted out of the gate at the bell — racing their hearts out. As the women shared the stage with Tiler Peck in the initial section, they beamed and seemed inspired to give even more. We’ve seen this before. When Tiler comes out and dazzles with her grace and artistic force, the whole corps de ballet responds by raising its level even higher.
Duo Concertant received fine performances from Megan Fairchild with Anthony Huxley and Indiana Woodward paired with Taylor Stanley. Huxley, in particular, possessed style in spades. Duo is his surfing speed.
Glass Pieces was a little rough on the first night and gave the impression that it was slower than usual. The initial crowd sequence included some innovative randomness that was cleared up by the second night. By the third performance, everyone was up to high speed and dancing with the verve and joy that makes Glass Pieces so enjoyable to watch. Unity Phelan with Adrian Danchig-Waring and Ashley Hod with Aaron Sanz were handsome pairs and displayed eloquent lines in the central pas de deux.
The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a creative beauty from Badgley Mischka, is bestowed upon Tiler Peck for her glorious performance in Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2. What a pleasure it is to watch this artist lovingly create a new piece of art every time she takes the stage.
24 responses to “NYC Ballet 9/17-18
Ready or not, here we come!”
I agree with your comments about Sara Mearns. I was at both the Tue and Wed shows, and saw both Tiler and Sara, and the difference was striking. Sara really stumbled through those turns, and looked like she was marking by the end, Further, I heard Unity Phelan stepped in for the fouettes portion of Tsch2 this afternoon! Only Sara took bows. I’ve never heard of this happening.
One other thing I’ve noticed is that Sara seems a bit too casual on stage these days. Even in the middle of a performance, she seems to have a smirk and almost casual attitude. More than once I’ve seen her relax her posture well before fully exiting the wings. And her bows, again, seem to lack a certain formality as well. I don’t know. Maybe I’m imagining things.
I agree with your comments about Sara Mearns. I was at both the Tue and Wed shows, and saw both Tiler and Sara, and the difference was striking. Sara really stumbled through those turns, and looked like she was marking by the end, Further, I heard Unity Phelan stepped in for the fouettes portion of Tsch2 this afternoon! Only Sara took bows. I’ve never heard of this happening.
One other thing I’ve noticed is that Sara seems a bit too casual on stage these days. Even in the middle of a performance, she seems to have a smirk and almost casual attitude. More than once I’ve seen her relax her posture well before fully exiting the wings. And her bows, again, seem to lack a certain formality as well. I don’t know. Maybe I’m imagining things.
Re: Unity anonymously covering for Sara on the hard steps — now we’re into ABT/Misty territory. What a disappointment. (I heard but wasn’t there, thank goodness.) It’s as though artistic management didn’t realize until the last moment that Sara was not prepared for the performance. All they had to do was watch what she did on Tuesday to know that her condition, focus, and attitude are not what they need to be. It’s her job to get there, not management’s job to hold her hand, constantly “yes” and coddle her, and allow her to go on stage when she’s not fit to be there. We can’t stand to go through another Abi Stafford/Ashley Bouder phase with her. Hopefully Martins will dump her from Swan Lake and Ratmansky will see that her drama and diva act should not be rewarded.
Re: Unity anonymously covering for Sara on the hard steps — now we’re into ABT/Misty territory. What a disappointment. (I heard but wasn’t there, thank goodness.) It’s as though artistic management didn’t realize until the last moment that Sara was not prepared for the performance. All they had to do was watch what she did on Tuesday to know that her condition, focus, and attitude are not what they need to be. It’s her job to get there, not management’s job to hold her hand, constantly “yes” and coddle her, and allow her to go on stage when she’s not fit to be there. We can’t stand to go through another Abi Stafford/Ashley Bouder phase with her. Hopefully Martins will dump her from Swan Lake and Ratmansky will see that her drama and diva act should not be rewarded.
I’m reading through these comments, and wanted to chime in. As much as I am in favor of dancers having outside projects (guesting, dancewear lines, Instagram reels, etc.), nothing can detract from what the audience sees on stage. We deserve to see a ballerina who can dance the steps with a smile on her face and then fully exit the stage before breaking down into “well, that didn’t go so well” mode, as I’ve seen Sara Mearns do time and time again. It’s as if she can’t even keep up the ballerina façade for 3 more seconds until she’s out of our view; she breaks down halfway into the wings. It feels so casual and informal, like we are watching a rehearsal instead of a performance we paid hundreds of dollars for. It feels disrespectful.
As Suzanne Farrell said, we are paying for an illusion. Your personal issues don’t have a place on stage when people are paying to see the best dancer for the role. And having a cute kid doesn’t make up for either (Bouder, I’m looking at you). Endless pics of your daughter eating ice cream are not going to trick the audience into thinking you deserve to be on stage, or happy when you do show up on stage bloated and out of shape, dancing a role that was clearly given to you just to stop your public disparagement of the Company.
This is a performing art. I want to see the best dancers on stage. I don’t care what their rank is, or how long they’ve been with the Company, or how many followers they have. If Mearns can no longer give a performance that doesn’t cause her to smirk sheepishly while exiting the stage and during bows, they need to cast someone else.
I’m reading through these comments, and wanted to chime in. As much as I am in favor of dancers having outside projects (guesting, dancewear lines, Instagram reels, etc.), nothing can detract from what the audience sees on stage. We deserve to see a ballerina who can dance the steps with a smile on her face and then fully exit the stage before breaking down into “well, that didn’t go so well” mode, as I’ve seen Sara Mearns do time and time again. It’s as if she can’t even keep up the ballerina façade for 3 more seconds until she’s out of our view; she breaks down halfway into the wings. It feels so casual and informal, like we are watching a rehearsal instead of a performance we paid hundreds of dollars for. It feels disrespectful.
As Suzanne Farrell said, we are paying for an illusion. Your personal issues don’t have a place on stage when people are paying to see the best dancer for the role. And having a cute kid doesn’t make up for either (Bouder, I’m looking at you). Endless pics of your daughter eating ice cream are not going to trick the audience into thinking you deserve to be on stage, or happy when you do show up on stage bloated and out of shape, dancing a role that was clearly given to you just to stop your public disparagement of the Company.
This is a performing art. I want to see the best dancers on stage. I don’t care what their rank is, or how long they’ve been with the Company, or how many followers they have. If Mearns can no longer give a performance that doesn’t cause her to smirk sheepishly while exiting the stage and during bows, they need to cast someone else.
ITA, Kim. Maybe NYCB should ask Sara to step away for a season to try to decide whether she wants to put in the work to be a NYCB principal.
ITA, Kim. Maybe NYCB should ask Sara to step away for a season to try to decide whether she wants to put in the work to be a NYCB principal.
I love love loved the juxtaposition of Ashley Hod and Unity Phelan in Glass Pieces. The central adagio is so mysterious and Unity has that beautiful introspective quality in her dancing which makes the pas beautiful. Ashley, I find her to be an incredibly warm dancer so it was very fun to see her in an icier setting. So fun!
Indiana Woodward was absolutely lovely last night in Le Baiser.
I love love loved the juxtaposition of Ashley Hod and Unity Phelan in Glass Pieces. The central adagio is so mysterious and Unity has that beautiful introspective quality in her dancing which makes the pas beautiful. Ashley, I find her to be an incredibly warm dancer so it was very fun to see her in an icier setting. So fun!
Indiana Woodward was absolutely lovely last night in Le Baiser.
Yes, Indiana and David Gabriel were quite fine last night in Le Baiser.
Just read that Tiler Peck pulled out of today’s matinee because she had to listen to her body and be ready for all of her performances next week. Not a problem for me — except for the fact that she was moonlighting last night at the New York Phil in a performance of the Kravis Late Night Series. So because she was moonlighting late Saturday night, she couldn’t make her NYCB matinee performance on Sunday. That doesn’t set well. Management needs to re-think how it is managing artists whose freelancing is negatively impacting their NYCB performances. It wasn’t so long ago that Ana Sophia Scheller was shown the door by Martins because she valued a freelance opportunity more than her obligations at NYCB.
Yes, Indiana and David Gabriel were quite fine last night in Le Baiser.
Just read that Tiler Peck pulled out of today’s matinee because she had to listen to her body and be ready for all of her performances next week. Not a problem for me — except for the fact that she was moonlighting last night at the New York Phil in a performance of the Kravis Late Night Series. So because she was moonlighting late Saturday night, she couldn’t make her NYCB matinee performance on Sunday. That doesn’t set well. Management needs to re-think how it is managing artists whose freelancing is negatively impacting their NYCB performances. It wasn’t so long ago that Ana Sophia Scheller was shown the door by Martins because she valued a freelance opportunity more than her obligations at NYCB.
I would like to think if NYCB had the power to ask someone to step away, they would have done so with Ashley Bouder two seasons ago. That, unfortunately, is a much worse situation. A shame that the company comes second.
I would like to think if NYCB had the power to ask someone to step away, they would have done so with Ashley Bouder two seasons ago. That, unfortunately, is a much worse situation. A shame that the company comes second.
Re: Saturday’s matinee performance of Tchaikovsky # 2 — it seemed to me (a non-expert, ballet-wise) that something very odd happened at the end of the ballet. Where did Sara Mearns go? Who was Tyler holding on his shoulder at the ballet’s glorious finale?
Re: Saturday’s matinee performance of Tchaikovsky # 2 — it seemed to me (a non-expert, ballet-wise) that something very odd happened at the end of the ballet. Where did Sara Mearns go? Who was Tyler holding on his shoulder at the ballet’s glorious finale?
Agree 100% Kim!!!
Agree 100% Kim!!!
I believe that was Unity Phelan who was in the building rehearsing and replaced Sara whose calf was bothering her.
I believe that was Unity Phelan who was in the building rehearsing and replaced Sara whose calf was bothering her.
Sara’s calf may have been bothering her, but I have never in 25 years seen one principal substitute for another halfway through the ballet and only for the hard steps. I’m not saying a crime was committed – who really cares that Unity stepped in? But to brush it off as a sore calf when Sara was able to do all the other steps in the ballet and indeed kept performing throughout the week is at best a misrepresentation and as at worst a lie.
Sara’s calf may have been bothering her, but I have never in 25 years seen one principal substitute for another halfway through the ballet and only for the hard steps. I’m not saying a crime was committed – who really cares that Unity stepped in? But to brush it off as a sore calf when Sara was able to do all the other steps in the ballet and indeed kept performing throughout the week is at best a misrepresentation and as at worst a lie.
I agree. The fact that she suddenly had to have a substitute to perform the hard steps that she had already flubbed two days prior makes it all fairly transparent, IMO. She simply didn’t want the embarrassment of flubbing them again. It certainly wasn’t the first time in Sara’s career that she was unreliable; so maybe it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Martins wouldn’t have put up with it.
I agree. The fact that she suddenly had to have a substitute to perform the hard steps that she had already flubbed two days prior makes it all fairly transparent, IMO. She simply didn’t want the embarrassment of flubbing them again. It certainly wasn’t the first time in Sara’s career that she was unreliable; so maybe it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Martins wouldn’t have put up with it.