NYCB – A Grand New Apollo 5/5

It was another butt-on-the-edge-of-the-seat night at NYCB on Thursday as Chase Finlay made a remarkable debut in Apollo followed by Jennie Somogyi and her band of Sanguinista Rebels who happily tore through The Four Temperaments. 

We've been seeing Chase Finlay a little more this past year.  Everyone has recognized that he's a good dancer, handsome, but maybe still a bit damp behind the ears.  Well, Thursday night Finlay delivered a debut performance of Apollo that rocked the house.  His own astonishment at the audience's reception was evident on his face when he came before the curtain for a solo bow and was nearly flattened by the roar of the crowd.  Oh, he had help, of course.  Sterling Hyltin, Tiler Peck, and Ana Sophia Scheller gave their own blue ribbon performances of Terpsichore, Polyhymnia, and Calliope and all three of them seemed to sense what Finlay probably couldn't sense himself – that he was really dancing an Apollo that was as good as many of the great Apollos before him.  There were no awkward moments that one expects in such a debut.  No areas of weakness.  His youthfulness served him well in the role.  He looked extraordinarily well-coached and well-prepared – even his gorgeous hair stayed perfectly in place.  It seems that the oldest Balanchine ballet at NYCB has a new hero.

The Four Temperaments was also superb on Thursday night.  It was dedicated to the memory of Edward Bigelow, long time member of the NYCB family and the one to whom Balanchine bequeathed the rights to The Four Temperaments.  The Theme was entrusted to corps dancers Lydia Wellington & Christian Tworzyanski, Lauren King & Allen Peiffer, and Megan LeCrone & Justin Peck – all of whom danced very well.  Ms. Wellington and Ms. King, in particular, are among the most interesting performers to watch in the corps these days.  Gonzalo Garcia gave an emotional reading of the Melancholic variation – possibly not as flexible in the back as others we have seen in that part – but he had the audience believing his sadness.  Ask la Cour always gives a strong performance in the Phlegmatic variation and did so Thursday evening.  Very clear musical accents.  Very grounded in his movement.  All very pleasant to watch.  Teresa Reichlen offered a rather fierce Choleric variation.  The highlight of the ballet was, as usual, Jennie Somogyi's Sanguinic variation.  Somogyi, Tyler Angle, and the four corps women unleashed their energies with a precision and authority that sent a rush of endorphins through Haglund's nervous system. 

It certainly was another memorable evening.  Haglund bestows upon Chase Finlay this extraordinary black crystal studded Alexander McQueen Pump Bump Award on the occasion of his most extraordinary debut in Apollo: