NYC Ballet's (Mis)Adventures with Bournonville: Part One, 'Bournonville Divertissements'

Before we saw the all-Bournonville program at NYC Ballet on Sunday, May 24th, I had attended a dress rehearsal of 'La Sylphide' on May 5th and together we went to the NYCB Seminar on " Peter Martins' 'La Sylphide' and the Bournonville Style" on May 18th.  This is the first of four posts about these events.

August Bournonville (1805 to 1879) was a Danish dancer, ballet master and choreographer who studied ballet in Denmark and later in Paris, then danced briefly with the Paris Opera Ballet before returning to Copenhagen where he was a principal dancer and ballet master at the Royal Theater.  For over 45 years he shaped the Danish ballet tradition.  Several of the full-evening works he created for the Royal Danish Ballet remain in their active repertory including 'La Sylphide', 'Napoli', and 'Flower Festival in Genzano'.  In addition, there are lots of surviving excerpts from other ballets that he choreographed for the RBD.

Bournonville traveled extensively and brought back folk dances and settings from many regions he visited and included them in his works for the Royal Danish Ballet.

Bournonville Divertissements:
SUNDAY MATINEE, MAY 24, 3:00 PM [Conductor: Capps]
BOURNONVILLE DIVERTISSEMENTS: Pereira, Peiffer, Reichlen Mearns, T. Angle, Adams, Pollack, Mann, Isaacs, Janzen, Scordato, Gordon

George Balanchine was a guest ballet master at the Royal Danish Ballet for a brief period in 1929 and greatly admired the Danish style.  In 1964 Balanchine invited Stanley Williams, the great Danish ballet dancer and teacher, to teach at the School of American Ballet.  He was a revered member of the SAB faculty until his death in 1997.  In 1977, Balanchine asked Williams to stage several excerpts from Bournonville's ballets for New York City Ballet and the result became 'Bournonville Divertissements'.  

'Bournonville Divertissements' has been out of the Company's repertory for many years.  It was restaged for this all-Bournonville program by Nilas Martins, Peter Martins' son.  Nilas studied at the school of the Royal Danish Ballet and at SAB before joining NYCB, where he rose to principal dancer, retiring in 2010.  Since 2013 Nilas and his wife, former NYCB principal and ABT soloist Monique Meunier, have been co-directors of the Academy of Nevada Ballet Theater in Las Vegas.  

The costumes (by Ben Benson) and sets (by Alain Vaes and David Mitchell) for the revival are from the original 1977 production.  The current production omitted the pas de deux from 'The Kermesse in Bruges' and the pas de trois from 'La Ventana' that were part of Williams' original staging.

Airborne corps of 'Ballabile' from 'Napoli, Act I' by Bournonville.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The divertissements begin with the 'Ballabile' from Act I of Bournonville's 'Napoli' (1842) set in a fishing community on the Bay of Naples.  (We saw the Royal Danish Ballet perform the entire three-act work a few years ago at the Kennedy Center in Washington.)   With Erica Pereira and Allen Peiffer plus a corps of 12, it introduces the light, airy Bournonville style danced here to music by Simon Paulli.  The (very unattractive) costumes are similar to the costumes from the RDB's current production including 'pedal pushers' and shorts over bare legs for the men and 'do rags' for the corps women.

Erica Periera and Allen Peiffer in the 'Ballabile' from Bournonville's 'Napoli'.  
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The pas de deux from 'Flower Festival in Genzano' (1858) to music of Edvard Helsted followed.  It was beautifully danced by Teresa Reichlen (replacing Sara Mearns) and Tyler Angle.  They nicely captured the flirtatious interactions of Bournonville's choreography and the crisp lightness of the Danish style.  I had glimpsed Tess rehearsing this piece with Ask la Cour in an SAB studio and was pleased to see her in the finished product at this performance.

Teresa Reichlen in the pas de deux from 'Flower Festival in Genzano'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Tyler Angle in 'Flower Festival in Genzano' pas de deux from 'Bournonville Divertissements'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Next came a pas de six with an amalgam of dances from Bournonville's 'Napoli, Act III' with music by Paulli and 'Abdallah' (1855) with music by Helsted.  The seven dancers were Sara Adams, Ashly Isaacs, Meagan Mann, Brittany Pollack, Russell Janzen, Andrew Scordato and Joseph Gordon.  They dance beautifully in solos, duos, trios, etc.  Ms. Pollack, Mr. Scordato and Mr. Janzen looked especially elegant dancing in the Danish style, which requires both precision and naturalness.

The pas de six segued into the 'Tarantella' from 'Napoli, Act III' danced by the entire cast with several additional corps dancers thrown in for good measure.  It went on ad infinitum, ad nauseam.  Surely, these divertissements are more than enough of the Bournonville style for one program.  And personally, I would cut the entire tarantella and replace it with the pas de deux from 'Kermesse in Bruges' -- which I remember fondly from the 1977 production danced by Patricia McBride and Helgi Tomasson.