Sometimes nonsense is so prettily and poetically marketed that people don’t question it.
Take for instance, “New work is the lifeblood of the company” – all pure nonsense. The lifeblood of New York City Ballet is the Balanchine repertory. Period. Once that repertory fails to be pumped by strong hearts through the artistic veins of the company, it’s curtains.
If NYCB had to rely solely or even halfway on a composite of contemporary offerings like what we saw during the first week and introduced at last night's gala, the company would not survive to see another season. In fact, without a continual infusion of Balanchine’s works throughout the country’s dance companies, professional level ballet in America might be at death’s door.
But let us not be ungrateful for the few Balanchine works we have seen so far this week. Nor should we neglect to express our joy for the return to the stage of Megan Fairchild and corps dancer Christina Clark after their long absences.
Tuesday evening, the first All Balanchine program delivered the vitamin power we needed. Scotch Symphony, led eagerly by Ashley Bouder, Joseph Gordon, and Baily Jones, evoked the essence of a 19th century Sylph-centric ballet without the narrative. The bounding, ebullient allegro in this ballet is a specialty of Bouder’s, and here she was comfortably and joyously in her element. However, Scotch Symphony also includes a substantial amount of traditional adagio which is becoming more and more difficult for her to pull off sensitively. Neither the shape of foot nor the shape and shortness of leg lend themselves to producing the lyrical, seamless quality that one expects in adagio. Joseph Gordon displayed his gift of using his gaze outward to entice the viewer to follow him on his imaginative journey. His complex Romantic spirit and eloquent technique made for a strong debut. Baily Jones, a corp dancer of three years, debuted impressively in the principal allegro role of the girl in the red plaid highland kilt and tartan sash. The corps de ballet looked lovely but for some wiggling and lax feet when it came time for all of them to stand still and developpe to the front.
The center of the program, Duo Concertant and Sonatine, were a workout for gifted on-stage pianist Elaine Chelton who had to switch gears dramatically and quickly from Stravinsky to Ravel. Megan Fairchild and Anthony Huxley danced a spirited Duo Concertant. Lauren Lovette and Gonzalo Garcia carefully attended to Sonatine. It’s not yet fair to compare Lovette and Garcia to Tiler Peck and Joaquin de Luz who mastered the PdD with such tenderness and coordinated clarity. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to avoid a comparison because so many people saw and loved what Peck and de Luz made of the ballet.
Stravinsky Violin Concerto closed the Tuesday program with the expected blazing performances from Maria Kowroski and Sterling Hyltin. The long and the short of it is that these two possess the instruments that can reveal the genius in the choreography more brilliantly than anyone. This ballet has always had a reductive spirit with its emphasis on primary shapes, primary steps, simplification of lines, and clarity of form. The composition is genius, and so was this performance. Adrian Danchig-Waring and Russell Janzen were admirable partners. Adrian’s movement, in particular, had a panther-like quality in its strength and softness.
We wish the Thursday night gala had lived up to half of what was presented on Tuesday. Justin Peck’s Bright was the least worst of the two premieres. Costumes by Reid and Harriet looked like cast-offs from Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Peck’s choreography tried to mimic the energy and communal spirit of most any Ratmansky ballet. He even gave Sara Mearns a solo in which she could throw herself around and tragically emote like she does in Pictures at an Exhibition, Russian Seasons, etc. The music by Mark Dancigers was the type that one hears mid-movie when nothing important is going on. Dreadful stuff from note one to the finish.
Pam Tanowitz’s Bartók Ballet might be the worst, most god-awful thing that New York City Ballet has ever foisted onto its patrons. The best parts of the dance were when no one was on stage. The dancers were costumed initially in Reid & Harriet’s drab unisex one piece leotards with blousy tops and long sleeves with cutouts. Then most of them changed into mostly unflattering gold leotards and then some changed back to the drab onesies. The choreography was what you'd expect from a remedial gym class at Nameless U. in Can’tFindIt-ville, West Dakota. It dragged on for an eternity with no connection to the undanceable Bela Martok composition for string quartet. We just wonder if NYCB ever decided to experiment with the cuisine at the gala as much as it experiments with the dance at the gala, would anyone ever show up again.
At least the evening included and concluded with a relatively fine performance of Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3. Maybe there needed to be a little more attention to details here or there — well, for instance, how about making sure that there aren’t four or five lights out in the middle chandelier on stage.
Highlights included the beautiful Ashley Laracey’s Valse Melancolique with Jared Angle and Erica Pereira and Daniel Ulbricht’s nearly aerial Scherzo. Ashley Laracey’s ability to pull the pulse of whatever music she’s dancing to is the strongest in the company. She was so full of life and energy that this section could have been the finale of the evening.
It has been thrilling to watch Erica Pereira rocket herself into high orbit with her dancing these past several months. We are so excited to see what next is in store for her.
The Theme and Variations finale led by Megan Fairchild and Gonzalo Garcia was the evening’s crowdpleaser. The performance didn’t have the boldness that we are accustomed to in Mega's T&V performances, but it was still quite wonderful. Gonzalo didn’t have any particular problems with any part of the ballet, but he didn’t possess the clear lines and strongly arched feet that one always hopes to see in this ballet.
So, in summary, it was a typical NYCB gala with new choreography that you don’t want to ever see a second time.
The H.H. Pump Bump Award, Birds of Paradise stiletto from Altuzarra, is bestowed upon Erica Pereira and Ashley Laracey for their stand-out performances in Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3.
4 responses to “NYCB All Balanchine 4/30 & Spring Gala 5/2”
I am enjoying a NY City Ballet weekend and benefitted from reading your insights before arriving in NY. There were so many corps and soloist dancers that impressed me. Baily Jones really stood out in Scotch Symphony: excellent technique and such a charming stage presence. I will be looking out for her going forward. Peter Walker and Roma Mejia had caught my attention before and did not disappoint. I saw Walker in Slaughter on 10th Avenue and he held his own with Sara Mearns. Mejia replaced an injured dancer in Western Symphony and blazed through his variation and demonstrated great humor with his (much taller) partner, Theresa Reichlan. Such a treat to see so many Balanchine ballets in 48 hours.
I am enjoying a NY City Ballet weekend and benefitted from reading your insights before arriving in NY. There were so many corps and soloist dancers that impressed me. Baily Jones really stood out in Scotch Symphony: excellent technique and such a charming stage presence. I will be looking out for her going forward. Peter Walker and Roma Mejia had caught my attention before and did not disappoint. I saw Walker in Slaughter on 10th Avenue and he held his own with Sara Mearns. Mejia replaced an injured dancer in Western Symphony and blazed through his variation and demonstrated great humor with his (much taller) partner, Theresa Reichlan. Such a treat to see so many Balanchine ballets in 48 hours.
Jennifer, you made it into town on a good weekend!
It’s almost embarrassing how much rising talent there is percolating in the men’s corps. Roman Mejia definitely has a broad spectrum of talent. Also, Spartak Hoxha is the standout in whatever line of dancers he’s in. He is such a cut above the rest that it seems that we should be seeing much more of him in soloist roles. Also, Alec Knight seems to be an all-around gifted performer in addition to being a very good technician.
Jennifer, you made it into town on a good weekend!
It’s almost embarrassing how much rising talent there is percolating in the men’s corps. Roman Mejia definitely has a broad spectrum of talent. Also, Spartak Hoxha is the standout in whatever line of dancers he’s in. He is such a cut above the rest that it seems that we should be seeing much more of him in soloist roles. Also, Alec Knight seems to be an all-around gifted performer in addition to being a very good technician.