NYC Ballet's (Mis)Adventures with Bournonville: Part Four, 5/24 Performance of 'La Sylphide'

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 fourth of four posts about these events.


La Sylphide:
SUNDAY MATINEE, MAY 24, 3:00 PM [Conductor: Capps]
LA SYLPHIDE: Lovette, Huxley, King, Schumacher, Smith, Muller

During the Spring season the Company programmed eight performances of Bournonville's 'La Sylphide' with four different principal casts.  After seeing the opening night cast at the May 5th dress rehearsal, I was pleased to see another excellent cast on May 24th.  At this performance I was less distracted by the sets and able to concentrate more on the dancing and mime.

Lauren Lovette as the Sylph and Anthony Huxley as James in Act II of Bournonville's 'La Sylphide'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Lauren Lovette made a lovely, airborne Sylph filled with mischievous joy.  She has a very expressive face with large sparkling eyes which she uses to captivate the audience as well as James.  Her dancing was both fleet and secure.  

Anthony Huxley as James executed the beats and spacious jumps of the role with elan and his mime scenes were delivered with clarity and force.  For such a reserved dancer, this was an impressive breakthrough into a more expansive, confident performing style.

Lauren King was lovely as the baffled Effie and Troy Schumacher's Gurn was an earthy, grounded rival of the daydreaming James for Effie's hand in marriage.  Gretchen Smith's old crone, Madge, lacked the overwhelming sense of aggrievement that should provide the basis for her actions.  Gwyneth Muller looks like James' older sister rather than his mother.

The Royal Danish Ballet has a different life cycle for dancers than NYC Ballet.  RBD can move dancers on from dance roles to character roles as they mature.  It's in keeping with the Danish welfare state to provide dancers with meaningful work as they mature while giving the RBD a ready supply of character dancers for roles like Madge and James' mother.  NYC Ballet lacks the resources or infrastructure to support such a system -- although Darci Kistler, Jock Soto and Albert Evans did take on character parts in Peter Martins' 'Romeo+Juliet'.  This puts a burden on young dancers in mime-heavy ballets like 'La Sylphide'.  Not only do they have to learn the mime gestures, but they must also do it as characters who are two or three times as old as they are. 

Act II of Peter Martins' staging of Bournonville's 'La Sylphide' for New York City Ballet.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The corps of sylphs in Act II danced as if they had been dancing in the Bournonville style their entire lives.  While there is some lovely dancing in Act II, as a whole 'La Sylphide' is about half mime and lacks the urgency and excitement that is at the heart of the Company's dance profile.  

As an exercise in expanding and improving the Company's dance technique, the restaging of 'Bournonville Divertissements' and the introduction of 'La Sylphide' was entirely successful.  However, I don't think that New York City Ballet's audience is ready for an entire evening (or afternoon) of Bournonville.  In fact, it quickly becomes boring and repetitious.

NYC Ballet's (Mis)Adventures with Bournonville: Part Three, Dress Rehearsal of 'La Sylphide'

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 third of four posts about these events.

May 5th Dress Rehearsal for 'La Sylphide':
I attended the piano dress rehearsal for 'La Sylphide' on Tuesday, May 5th, which was lead by Peter Martins and  Petrusjka Broholm with the opening night (May 7th) cast including:  Sterling Hyltin (Sylph), Joaquin De Luz (James), Daniel Ulbricht (Gurn) and Georgina Pazcoguin (Madge).

I was struck by Peter Martins' detailed coaching of the mime passages which are important in conveying the plot.  He spent quite a bit of time working with Joaquin De Luz and Georgina Pazcoguin on the mime passage where Madge reluctantly gives James the poisoned scarf.

I found Susan Tammany's sets for both acts very distracting, making it hard to concentrate on the dancers and the dancing.  In the Act I Manor-House set, the fireplace and beams created too many strong diagonals.  In the Act II Forest set, the complicated backdrop of trees and clouds and moon which I had loved in the promotional materials seemed to distract from the sylphs dancing in their natural environment.

Sterling Hyltin and Joaquin De Luz in the opening scene of 'La Sylphide'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Ms. Hyltin and Mr. De Luz, although mismatched in height, danced brilliantly.  His precise beats and wonderful elevation make him ideal for the Bournonville choreography.  Ms. Hyltin danced with both airiness and new found technical strength and looked like a 19th century lithograph come to life.  Mr. Ulbricht seemed wasted on the small part of Gurn.  Ms. Pazcoguin, the Company's finest mime artist, played Madge with wonderful expressiveness and clarity.  

Here's a link to a video of Ms. Hyltin and Mr. De Luz dancing in Act II:
  
https://www.facebook.com/nycballet/videos/vb.112319735528/10155556052500529/?type=2&theater

And here's a link to Sterling and Joaquin dancing with the corps of sylphs:

https://www.facebook.com/nycballet/videos/10155576659685529/

Note that the single partnered moment in this ballet is the one at the end of this second clip.

NYC Ballet's (Mis)Adventures with Bournonville: Part Two, The Seminar

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 NYC Ballet Seminar: 'La Sylphide' and the Bournonville Style on May 18th.  This is the second of four posts about these events.

May 18th Seminar: "Peter Martins' 'La Sylphide' & the Bournonville Style":
On May 18th we attended the NYC Ballet seminar about 'La Sylphide' and Bournonville style.  It was moderated by Faye Arthurs -- a long-time member of the company.  In addition to Peter Martins, the panelists included the lead dancers from the first cast of 'La Sylphide' -- Sterling Hyltin, Joaquin De Luz and Georgina Pazcoguin; the stager, Petrusjka Broholm; the stage manager, Marquerite Mehler; and the set and costume designer, Susan Tammany.

Ms. Arthurs first presented a brief history of 'La Sylphide' which originated at the Paris Opera Ballet in 1832 in a production made by Filippo Taglioni as a vehicle for his daughter, Marie Taglioni.  The score was by Jean-Madeleine Schneitzhoeffer.  It was the first ballet that integrated dancing en pointe into the plot.  Taglioni had her skirts shortened -- which was considered scandalous -- to show off her excellent pointe work.

Marie Taglinoni dancing 'La Sylphide' in Filippo Taglinoni's Paris Opera production of 1832.

Bournonville saw 'La Sylphide' in Paris and began to prepare a production for Copenhagen.  Stymied by the high price demanded by the Paris Opera for Schneitzhoeffer's score, he commissioned a new score from the Danish composer Herman Severin Lovenskjold.  The Sylph was danced by Lucile Grahn and Bournonville himself danced James.  The Danish version premiered in 1836 and has remained in the Royal Danish Ballet's active repertory ever since.

It is this version that Peter Martins danced in as a child and later in the mid-1960's he danced the role of James with the Royal Danish Ballet.  He staged this version in 1985 for the Pennsylvania Ballet with decor by the artist Susan Tammany.  
In discussing Ms. Tammany's sets, Ms. Arthurs showed a slide of  'Mountains at Collioure' painted in 1905 by the Fauvist, Andre Derain.  With the Act II 'La Sylphide' set behind and the Derain painting on a large screen in the center it is certainly plausible to see the connection between Ms. Tammany's set design:

Backdrop by Susan Tammany for Act II of Peter Martins' staging of 'La Sylphide'.

and Derain's painting:

'Mountains at Collioure' by Andre Derain, oil on canvas, 1905.

In discussing the costume designs, Ms. Tammany noted that the colors for the tartans of the three main human characters were chosen to reflect aspects of their characters -- blues and purples for James, the dreamer; browns and rusts for Gurn, the practical farmer, and blues and greens for Effie, the optimist. 

Skirts in tartans for (left to right) Effie's clan, James' clan, and Gurn's clan in NYC Ballet's Costume Shop.
Photo from NYC Ballet website.

Petrusjka Broholm, the stager, worked with the company for eight months teaching and perfecting its Bournonville dancing in order to mount 'La Sylphide' in the Danish style.  All of the dancers on the panel -- Ms. Hiltyn, Mr. De Luz, Ms. Pazcoguin, and Ms. Arthurs -- agreed that Ms. Broholm's Bournonville classes had improved and strengthened their overall technique.

Peter Martins spoke briefly about the importance of effective mime passages for the audience's understanding and appreciation of 'La Sylphide' and of the need to train NYC Ballet dancers in the Danish style of mime.  All of the dancers expressed the view that Peter really wanted to play the mime role of Madge, the old fortune teller and witch, but Peter denied it.

Peter Martins working on a mime passage with Georgina Pazgoquin (Madge) and Joaquin de Luz (James).

This was an impressive debut for Faye Arthurs as a seminar moderator.  She had clearly prepared for the program with extensive research and had a definite agenda that she followed, but with enough flexibility to allow the panelists to expand on their responses to her questions and make additional comments where appropriate.  It was also to her credit that there was enough information presented that there were only two questions/comments from the audience. (The questions and comments from the audience are usually the low point of the NYC Ballet seminars, since they are often silly or self-serving.  So the less, the better in our view.)
  
The seminar handout points out that Ms. Arthurs was the valedictorian when she graduated from Fordham University and from her performance here we know why.  You can read Faye's blog, 'Thoughts from the Paint' here:

http://www.thoughtsfromthepaint.com/

It's interesting to read about NYC Ballet from the viewpoint of an intelligent, articulate dancer immersed in the company's activities.

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.

Post Script for SAB's 2014-15 Winter Term -- Just Ended

More on the SAB Workshop Performances:
I've found a few more pictures from the Workshop Performance on Saturday evening, May 30th:

Kennard Henson and Larisa Nugent in Bournonville's 'William Tell Pas de Deux' staged by Darci Kistler.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Kennard Henson (17, Baltimore, MD) and Larisa Nugent (16, Ellicott City, MD) were especially well-matched in this delightful courtship pas de deux from the opera 'William Tell' by Giacomo Rossini.  Bournonville staged the opera in Copenhagen in 1873.

Thomas Davidoff and Leah Christianson in Suki Schorer's staging of Balanchine's 'Valse Fantaisie'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Thomas Davidoff (16, Marietta, GA) and Leah Christianson (18, Batavia, IL) danced the evening performance of George Balanchine's 'Valse Fantaisie' to music by Mikhail Glinka, in the gloriously windswept staging by Suki Schorer.

Christopher D'Ariano dancing the Double Bass with ladies of the String Section  in Jerome Robbins' 'Fanfare'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Christopher D'Ariano (17, New York, NY) was the airborne Double Bass in Jerome Robbins' 'Fanfare' staged by Susan Pillare and Christine Redpath to 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra' by Benjamin Britten.  Christopher's solo ended with a somersault -- applauded by the adoring ladies of the String Section.

Where Are the Capstoners Going Now?
The School of American Ballet's 2014-15 Winter Term ended on Friday, June 12th.  Jon Stafford has guided the students in the Capstone Program (http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2015/01/more-ballet-quibbles-and-bits.html) to successful opportunities with a number of professional companies.

Five students -- Sasonah Huttenbach, Rachel Hutsell, Christopher Grant, Alec Knight, and Clara Ruf-Maldonado -- have been invited to become apprentices with New York City Ballet in the coming months.  They will be attending classes at the School until they get the call to begin rehearsals with the Company across Lincoln Center Plaza.  They will join Miriam Miller who is now an apprentice and Preston Chamblee who started the Winter Term as an apprentice.  He is now a member of the corps and just made a successful debut in Peter Martins' 'Morgen'.  Miriam, while still an apprentice, just debuted as Titania in Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' on the final day of NYC Ballet's Spring Season.

Two students -- Dammiel Cruz and Leah Terada -- will enter the Professional Division of Pacific Northwest Ballet -- the feeder program for PNB's corps de ballet.  Dammiel wore a Seattle Seahawks shirt to School on Tuesday, so he seems excited about moving to the other coast.

Four students will be joining three international companies -- Joscelyn Dolson goes to the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen; Eric Beckham goes to the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto; Kaitlyn Casey and Audrey Lawrence go to the Dresden SemperOper Ballett.

Alicia Holloway goes to Suzanne Farrell Ballet; JeongKon Kim and Saxon Wood to Los Angeles Ballet; and Luke Potgeiter to Cleveland Ballet.

Alexandros Pappajohn will join ABT Studio Company; Josiah Cook and Samantha Riester join Cincinnati Ballet II; and Aaron Hilton goes to Boston Ballet II.

Leah Christianson has elected to go to Depauw University to pursue her academic education.

Twenty-four students graduate from high school this spring.  Of those 24 students, eight applied to colleges and received a total of 18 acceptances including from Columbia, Princeton and Yale in the Ivy League; from City College, Fordham University, Hunter College, and New York University in New York City; from California Institute of the Arts, Indiana University and the University of Michigan around the United States; and from the Paris campus of American University, the Rome campus of John Cabot University, and the London campus of Regents University around the world.

We wish all of the Capstone students enormous success as you move on to your futures.  Your dedication to your art and your ability to handle the pressures of academic and ballet schedules are a real inspiration to all of us who stand on the sidelines and watch in awe of your accomplishments.

Most of the students who appeared in the 2015 Workshops not mentioned above will be back at SAB again this fall for the 2015-16 Winter Term.  Some of them will be capstoners next year.

During the summer many SAB students will be attending summer sessions around the country and perhaps the world.  And while they're out exploring the wider world of ballet and honing their technique, we'll see new students from around the country and the world at the School's Summer Course and still more students will attend the Summer Intensive in Los Angeles.  And some students from the Summer Course and Summer Intensive will be invited to return to SAB for the 2015-16 Winter Term.

NYC Ballet's 'Midsummer Night's Dream' on Sunday, June 7th

SUNDAY MATINEE, JUNE 7, 3 PM (Guest Conductor: Capps Paroni)
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM:
 TITANIA: *Miriam Miller+
OBERON: *Anthony Huxley
PUCK: Antonio Carmena
HIPPOLYTA: Georgina Pazcoguin
THESEUS: Joshua Thew
TITANIA’S CAVALIER: Ask la Cour (replaces Russell Janzen)
HELENA: Faye Arthurs
DEMETRIUS: Amar Ramasar
HERMIA: Sterling Hyltin
LYSANDER: Jared Angle
BUTTERFLY: Kristin Segin
BOTTOM: *Cameron Dieck
DIVERTISSEMENT: Ashley Bouder and Adrian Danchig-Waring
 * First Time in Role   Apprentice +

George Balanchine created 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in 1962 using the incidental music that Felix Mendelssohn wrote for Shakespeare's play plus his overtures to Athalie, The Fair Melusine, The First Walpurgis Night, and Son and Stranger, and Symphony #9 for Strings.   Balanchine stitched these Mendelssohn pieces into a two-act score with the help of the Company's first music director, Leon Barzin.  It was Mr. B's first completely original evening-length ballet.

Children from The School of American Ballet as bugs in Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.  
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Balanchine knew the Shakespeare play well, since he had performed in it as an insect when he was a child.  Virtually the play's entire plot is covered in Act I, leaving the celebration of the triple wedding of the Theseus and Hippolyta, Helena and Demetrius, and Hermia and Lysander and the attendant divertissement (which replaces the rude mechanical's 'Pyramus and Thisbe' as entertainment for the wedding) for Act II.  A brief epilogue then returns to the fairy kingdom in the forest for the reconciliation of Titania and Oberon.

The original 1962 cast was a starry affair with Melissa Hayden as Titania and Conrad Ludlow as her Cavalier; Edward Villella as Oberon, Arthur Mitchell as Puck and Suki Schorer as the Lead Butterfly; Jillana, Patricia McBride, Roland Vazquez and Nicholas Magallanes played the mortal lovers, Bill Carter played Bottom, Francisco Moncion was Theseus and Gloria Govrin was Hippolyta, and Violette Verdy lead the divertissement.

Sunday's debuts:  Anthony Huxley as Oberon; Miriam Miller as Titania; Cameron Dieck as Bottom.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Sunday afternoon's matinee featured debuts in three roles in the final performance of the Company's Spring season. Soloist Anthony Huxley made a superb debut as Oberon, dancing with wonderful elevation and elegantly articulated beats.  His series of grand jetes a la seconde across the stage were spectacular.  This role requires no partnering, so it is ideal for Mr. Huxley, who is not a strong partner.  He only needs to make his mime passages more forceful to truly own this role.

Miriam Miller, a company apprentice, made her debut as Titania, queen of the fairies.  She is tall and slender with lovely tapered limbs and gorgeous feet.  Her pas de deux with Ask la Cour (a last minute replacement) as her Cavalier showcased her long lines and extravagant extensions.  Still, her dancing was conventional and lacked musical allure.  Her mime passages were too demure, needing more imperiousness.  

In their confrontations over the changeling boy, both Ms. Miller and Mr. Huxley need to convey Shakespeare's line for Oberon:  'Ill-met by moonlight, proud Titania' and elements of Shakespeare's following scene which itemizes the reasons for their dispute and its effect upon the world around them.  This is no mere domestic spat, but a colossal battle of wills between the fairy monarchs which has affected the whole planet.  Balanchine has reduced it to a few key gestures which must be delivered with assurance and passion.

Children from The School of American Ballet play insects who weave their way through the scenes set in the fairy realm.  They are adorable and beautifully trained by the Children's Ballet Masters, Dena Abergel and Arch Higgins.

Ms. Miller's love-struck pas de deux with Cameron Dieck -- making his debut as Bottom -- was fine and confident.  Mr. Dieck dancing inside the head of an ass conveyed the comedy of the situation -- Titania pursues Bottom (as an ass) while Bottom (as an ass) pursues food -- all while performing a complex pas de deux.  This scene is pure Balanchine magic.

Balanchine gives the four mortals in the 'love quadrangle' -- here Faye Arthurs (Helena), Sterling Hyltin (Hermia), Jared Angle (Lysander), and Amar Ramasar (Demetrius) -- dance passages of comedy, conflict and confusion that move the plot forward.  Ms. Arthurs and Mr. Ramasar are most effective in displaying their emotions through dance.  Ms. Hyltin and Mr. Angle are more reserved.

Faye Arthurs as Helena with Sean Suozzi as Puck in Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Antonio Carmena plays Puck as an efficient enabler for Oberon's plan to humiliate Titania which also wreaks havoc on the mortal lovers.  

Ashley Bouder and Adrian Danchig-Waring lead the Act II divertissement with calm assurance.  Mr. Danchig-Waring provided strong, devoted partnering to Ms. Bouder, who danced elegantly and avoided her look-at-me mannerisms.  Their pas de deux of idealized love is Balanchine's response to the messy and imperfect love of the mortal lovers and the fairy monarchs in Act I.

While 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' has long been a favorite ballet of ours, this Sunday matinee performance lacked the magic that can make this work a captivating and exhilarating experience.  The music from the orchestra lead by Maestro Stuart Capps was muffled and pedestrian.  The cast often seemed to be on autopilot and except for the three debuts they were more efficient than involved.  



  

School of American Ballet Workshop Performances on May 30th

We attended both the matinee and evening performances of the School of American Ballet's 2015 Workshops on Saturday, May 30th.  I also attended the final dress rehearsal on Friday afternoon when the cast for the Tuesday evening gala performance danced.  These performances are always a highlight of our ballet calendar (as they are for many other New York City ballet lovers).  

The Peter Jay Sharp Theater in the Julliard School provides a comfortable venue for the SAB workshop every year.  It seats nearly 1,000 people and has wonderful sightlines for ballet from most seats.  We always sit in the same seats -- seats I refer to as the 'Miriam Pellman memorial seats' since we sort of inherited them after Miriam passed away.

I wrote about the program for this year's Workshops in my post of March 16th which you can read here:

http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-program-for-2015-sab-workshops.html 

What I did not realize when I published that post was that the 2015 Workshop Performances would be celebrating the 20th year of Rudolf Nureyev Scholarships for young male dancers at SAB.  Hence, the emphasis on male dancers in this program -- where they outnumbered the young women for the first time in the 51 year history of the Workshops.

While these (mostly positive) remarks concentrate on the execution of this program, the 'dance recital' format of the first half makes it nearly impossible to completely ignore the flaws (there's nowhere else to look when there are so few dancers on stage).  My apologies for any negative remarks to the students and faculty members who have worked hard over the last several months to perfect these performances.

'Harlequinade':
Thirty-two students, ages 9 to 14, perform as Polichinelles, Harlequins, Pierrettes and Pierrots, and Scaramouches -- all stock characters from Italian commedia dell'arte

Music by Riccard Drigo, choreography by George Balanchine
Staged by Dena Abergel and Arch Higgins 

Balanchine was well-known for choreographing dances for children that challenged their capabilities while still recognizing their limitations.  Ms. Abergel and Mr. Higgins have prepared these adorable young students beautifully and they were warmly received by an audience that included many adoring parents, siblings and other family members.  

The only gaffe came from Andrews Sill, the conductor, who failed to cue the students for their final bows at the matinee -- leaving them stranded in the spotlight and unsure just how to proceed.  Fortunately, there were enough youthful leaders in the group to prevent total chaos -- and by the evening performance Maestro Sill remembered that his duties on this piece don't end with the last note from the orchestra.

'William Tell' Pas de Deux:
Alston Macgill & Christopher Grant (Saturday matinee & Friday dress rehearsal)

Larisa Nugent & Kennard Henson (Saturday evening)

Music by Giacomo Rossini and choreography by August Bournonville
Staged by Darci Kistler

Alston Macgill (17, Savannah, GA) is something of protoge of Darci Kistler -- who coached her in Balanchine's 'Swan Lake' for the 2014 Workshops as well as in this work.  Ms. Macgill and Christopher Grant (19, New York, NY) are somewhat mismatched for this work.  Christopher -- who won a Wien award in 2014 -- is an ebullient and out-going performer who lights up in front of an audience, while Alston is more reserved and reticent as a performer.  They executed the steps of the difficult Bournonville choreography beautifully, but their respective efforts to modulate their inherent performing personalities undermined their efforts to convey the flirtatious courtship at its heart to the audience.

Christopher Grant and Alston Macgill in the pas de deux from Bournonville's 'William Tell'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Larisa Nugent (16, Ellicott City, MD) and Kennard Henson (17, Baltimore, MD) were better matched in the evening.  Larisa has a flirtatious sparkle that played off Kennard's inherent courtliness.  Their choreographed courtship was delightful and brought out the meaning of Bournonville's steps while making their difficulty look effortless.

'The Sleeping Beauty' Wedding Pas de Deux:
Clara Ruf-Maldonado* & Dammiel Cruz* (Saturday matinee & Friday dress rehearsal)

Sasohan Huttenbach & Alec Knight (Saturday evening)

Music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky and choreography by Peter Martins after Marius Petipa
Staged by Yvonne Borree* and Jonathan Stafford

*  Recipients of 2015 Mae L. Wien Awards

This pas de deux is a minefield of difficult adagio partnering and bravura solo passages -- not for the faint of heart.  Clara Ruf-Maldonado (18, New York, NY) and Dammiel Cruz (17, Woodhaven, NY) have both studied at the School since they were children and are among the finest dancers in this year's Workshop (witness their 2015 Wien Awards).  Ms. Ruf-Maldonado dances Princess Aurora with grave authority and natural radiance.  Mr. Cruz is strong and confident as Prince Desire.  They have tendency to clench up for the difficult partnered moves and then show (too much) relief after they are completed.  Clara stumbled slightly on the pirouette at the end of her long menage of chaine turns and jetes (at the same spot at both the dress rehearsal and matinee performance) and one of their fish dives went awry at the matinee -- but they recovered quickly and went on to beautifully danced solos in the coda.  Overall their performances were tremendously exciting.

Dammiel Cruz and Clara Ruf-Maldonado rehearsing 'The Sleeping Beauty' pas de deux.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

Sasonah Huttenbach (17, Brooklyn, NY) and Alec Knight (19, Brisbane, Australia) displayed a different stage presence in the evening.  They are both tall and slender and they make this pas de deux seem light and celebratory.  Mr. Knight expresses his love for his bride through his joy in dancing.  Ms. Huttenbach shows a bit too much tension in the most difficult passages, but is lovely elsewhere and assured in her solo passages.  Sasonah and Alec struggled through the treacherous fish dives, but they displayed great rapport with each other and a shared determination to recover and move on to their radiant coda.
 

Alec Knight and Sasonah Huttenbach rehearsing 'The Sleeping Beauty' pas de deux with Yvonne Borree.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

It's obvious that Ms. Borree and Mr. Stafford had prepared these dancers with great care.  Both student couples presented themselves beautifully and proved they could rise from small mishaps to prevail with dignity and grace.

Valse Fantaisie:
Emma Von Enck & Ethan Fuller with Misses Kaitlyn Casey, Audrey Lawrence, Lucy Nevin & Gianna Reisen (Saturday matinee & Friday dress rehearsal)

Leah Christianson & Thomas Davidoff with Misses Constance Doyle, Rachel Hutsell, Courtney Nitting & Samantha Riester (Saturday evening)

Music by Mikhail Glinka, Choreography by George Balanchine
Staged by Suki Schorer

'Valse Fantaisie' is one of those short, 'huffy' ballets that tests the stamina of all six dancers even though it is only a little over eight minutes long.  All of these dancers proved to have both the energy, the technical dexterity and the musicality for this exhilarating work.

Selected and coached by Suki Schorer, both casts are exceptionally strong.  Emma Von Enck (17, Brecksville, OH), partnered by Ethan Fuller (17, Indialantic, FL) at the matinee, is an exquisite ballerina -- obviously with a core of steel.  Her slowly rotating pirouettes with beautifully articulated arms and deeply arched back are a treasured after-image and her perfectly executed menage of bourrees and jetes done at lightning speed with supreme musicality was a highlight of the afternoon.  Mr. Fuller has wonderfully articulated beats and high, airy jumps.  Their partnered passages were short, but lovely.

Emma Von Enck and Ethan Fuller rehearsing Balanchine's 'Valse Fantasie'.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

The evening performance lead by Leah Christianson (18, Batavia, IL) and Thomas Davidoff (16, Marietta, GA) was only slightly less spectacular -- marred by a slight bobble on a supported pirouette done at breakneck speed.  Mr. Davidoff has wonderful elevation and Ms. Christianson dances with great energy.  The four corps ladies of both casts danced with precision and musical acuity in some of Balanchine's trickiest and most exposed choreography.  Suki Schorer must be extremely proud of the work of all twelve students in this demanding work.

'Stars and Stripes', Third Regiment-Thunder and Gladiator:
Aaron Hilton with Messrs. Sam Ainley, Darius Black, Gilbert Bolden III, Josiah Cook, Christopher D'Ariano, Dallas Finley, Alec Knight, Marc LaPierre, Wilson Livingston, Marc LaPierre, Wilson Livingston, Luke Potgieter, Xhosa Scott & Saxon Wood (Saturday matinee & Friday dress rehearsal) 

Xhosa Scott with Messrs. Ainley, Black, Bolden, Nathan Compiano, Cook, D'Ariano, Finley, Hilton, Livingston, Alexandros Pappajohn, Potgieter & Wood (Saturday evening)

Music by John Philip Sousa adapted & arranged by Hershy Kay, choreography by George Balanchine
Staged by Jock Soto

I worried in March that this excerpt from Balanchine's patriotic John Philip Souza ballet would not have the military precision that it should and in part that proved true.  Lines were sometimes slightly askew and air turn landings wandered from the formation.  Jock Soto wisely dropped the white gloves, which would have accentuated these issues.  Overall, though, this work provided a wonderful showcase some for some of the talented young men who are current beneficiaries of the Nureyev scholarships.

Josiah Cook and Christopher D'Andrea rehearsing for Balanchine's 'Stars and Stripes'.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

Aaron Hilton (18, Washington, DC) was exemplary as the regimental leader at the matinee -- dancing with elevation and elan.  His slightly wandering pirouettes a la second were cleverly disguised (by Balanchine) amidst a circle of the surrounding troops executing a menage of rotating jetes -- to deserved applause from the audience. 

Aaron Hilton with Messrs. Saxon, Scott, D'Ariano, Pappajohn, Bolden and Potgieter.
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of American Ballet

Xhosa Scott (16, Baltimore, MD) -- performing the leader in the evening performance -- is an extraordinary jumper. Lithe and wiry, he executes jetes, beats and air turns with enormous elevation and seeming nonchalance.  

I must also express delight with Darius Black (16, Voorhees, NJ) anchoring the back left corner of the formation at both the matinee and evening performances with great solemnity and concentration as he performed the final phrases of a canon that has swept diagonally across the regiment from right to left -- alone.

Fanfare:
Thirty-four students portraying instruments of the orchestra -- a total of at least 50 students performed in the Saturday matinee and evening performances and the Friday dress rehearsal

Music by Benjamin Britten based on a theme by Henry Purcell, choreography by Jerome Robbins
Staged by Susan Pilarre and Christine Redpath

'Fanfare' is the 'go out there and have fun' ballet of this program.  Susan Pilarre is well-known for staging these pieces for each Workshop program and Christine Redpath is a highly regarded ballet master for the Robbins repertory at NYC Ballet.  It's possible in this work to single out special performances while enjoying the entire group for their energy and enthusiasm.

One of the best performances on Saturday came from Joscelyn Dolson (19, Superior Township, MI, also a 2015 Mae L. Wien award recipient) as the Harp at the matinee.  Ms. Dolson dances with an inner radiance and outward calm.  Her performance seems to say 'I'm dancing for myself, but it's all right if you want to watch'.  I'd love to see her take on the Violette Verdi role in 'Emeralds' some day.  That luminous introspective quality is seldom achieved these days.

Joscelyn Dolson as the Harp in Jerome Robbins' "Fanfare'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Darius Black and Xhosa Scott were excellent as the 'Alphonse and Gaston' of Bassoons.  Their deadpan -- but with a twinkle in their eyes --routine brought a chuckle at each performance.  Eric Beckham (19, Columbia, SC) and Thomas Davidoff as the dueling Trumpets in both Saturday performances also brought a laugh.  On the other hand the 3-man Percussion section -- often the high point of hilarity in 'Fanfare' -- seemed a bit tired.  Alicia Holloway (18, Morgantown, WV) was an effectively morose Oboe in the evening and Christopher D'Ariano (17, New York, NY) was the shamelessly self-important Double Bass at both performances on Saturday.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Bravo to all of the students and faculty members of the School of American Ballet who have worked tirelessly to prepare and perfect this 2015 Workshop program.  Watching these performances over the years we often tend to forget that these are ballet students, not (yet) professional dancers.  We wish them all great success as they pursue the next challenges of their lives -- whether it's further training at SAB, going on to dance on the ballet stages of the world, or trying completely different endeavors.