NYCB 2/8/15 Matinee Performance

SUNDAY MATINEE, FEBRUARY 8, 3:00 PM [Conductor: Sill]  
PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION: Mearns, *Lovette (replaces T. Peck), *Woodward, *Hyltin, Smith, T. Angle, Danchig-Waring, Garcia, Ramasar, Gordon [Solo Piano: Grant] 
RODEO: FOUR DANCE EPISODES/PECK (WORLD PREMIERE): *Mearns, *Ramasar, *Ulbricht, *Garcia, *Veyette Suozzi
MERCURIAL MANOEUVRES: T. Peck, J. Angle, *Segin, *Huxley, *Adams [Solo Piano: Moverman, Solo Trumpet: Mase]

*Debut in role on Tuesday, February 4th, NEW COMBINATIONS evening

The New Combinations program each Winter season at New York City Ballet is always built around new choreography -- in honor of George Balanchine's birthday on January 22nd.  This year the program opened with Alexei Ratmansky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' -- which premiered during the Company's Fall 2014 season -- see my comments here:

http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2014/10/new-york-city-ballet-thursday-october-9.html

With Wendy Whelan's retirement at the end of the Fall season her role is now danced by Sterling Hyltin.  Since Tiler Peck was dancing the female lead in 'Mercurial Manoeuvres', her role in 'Pictures' was danced by Lauren Lovette on Sunday afternoon and Indiana Woodward danced the role originated by Abi Stafford.  The rest of the cast remained unchanged from last October.

Sterling Hyltin has the regrettable task of taking on roles created or otherwise imprinted by Wendy Whelan.  At the Sunday, February 1st, matinee she was completely successful in taking on The Novice in Robbins' 'The Cage' -- a role which Whelan owned for nearly two decades after learning it from Robbins himself.  Here, undertaking Whelan's role as the woman in gold Hyltin had the right angular airiness in the pas de deux with Tyler Angle, but lacked gravitas for the 'Dances at a Gathering' moment near the end when the character bends down to touch the stage.  In fact, I think that Ratmansky would be wise to rethink that moment -- without Wendy it seems even more cliched.

Amar Ramasar, Sterling Hyltin and Sara Mearns in Ratmansky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet.

Sara Mearns and Amar Ramasar continue to provide eloquent performances in their pas de deux, their solos and their participation in larger group passages.  Lauren Lovette and Gonzalo Garcia looked great together in their duets and Lauren added her dark-eyed vivacity elsewhere.  Though Indian Woodward is mostly seen as part of the ensemble in this work, it is nice to see her stepping out of the corps.  She uses the opportunity here to demonstrate her unique musical qualities and hoydenish stage presence.

Although the use of Kandinsky-like design elements distinguishes 'Pictures', it continues to feel like Ratmansky's tribute to (or rip-off of) Robbins' 'Dances at a Gathering' -- a collection of short piano pieces (played eloquently by Cameron Grant) and a cast of ten deployed in a communal round of dances -- even more than his 'Russian Seasons' had (at least that ballet had a singer and hats).  To me, much of Ratmansky's oeuvre for NYCB seems derivative of earlier and better repertory.

Justin Peck's 'Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes' uses the orchestral suite that Aaron Copeland created from his ballet music for Agnes DeMille's 'Rodeo' (1942).  The suite is in four movements which Justin labels 'episodes'.  Justin uses a cast of 16 -- a principal couple (Sara Mearns and Amar Ramasar); three men (Daniel Ulbricht, Gonzalo Garcia, and Sean Suozzi -- replacing the injured Andrew Veyette); five men (Taylor Stanley, Craig Hall, Daniel Applebaum, Andrew Scordato, and Allen Peiffer); and six men (Messrs. Coll, Nelson, Prottas, Janzen, Walker, and Villarini-Velez) -- that's 1 woman and 15 men.

Amar Ramasar lifts Sara Mearns above 12 of the men in Justin Peck's 'Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The costumes are by Reid Bartelme, Harriet Jung and Justin Peck.  They give the entire cast a high school jock vibe.

Costume sketches by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung for Justin Peck's 'Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes.

The 'five men' are in costumes that resemble rugby uniforms -- dark brownish shorts, long sleeved matching shirts with a wide pale blue band across the chest and blue, brown and white striped knee-length leg warmers that look like rugby socks.  In the two outer movements the rugby players mix with the other 10 men who wear long pants and T-shirts or tank tops in various shades of brown with the same wide chest band. 

Five men in the Second Episode of Justin Peck's 'Rodeo: Four Dance Movements'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The second episode features just the 'rugby team' in a gorgeous adagio for five men that is the heart (and possibly the soul) of the ballet.  Taylor Stanley with his taut line stands out in this group, while Craig Hall is the strong steady anchor and the entire team works together to create sculptural stage images that capture the viewer's eye and beautifully complement the laconic Copland music.

Sara Mearns and Amar Ramasar in Episode Three of Justin Peck's 'Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Sara Mearns and Amar Ramasar have a generally contemplative duet in the third episode.  Mearns is mostly in prom queen or head cheerleader mode, but she gives the lone woman a wonderful calm joy that plays well against Ramasar's out-going, hopeful jock.

In the two outer episodes, all of the men are in jock mode -- racing across the stage from the left wing in a long diagonal as the curtain opens, then cavorting in groupings of three, four or five.  The three lead men could be gymnasts -- competing in leaps and pirouettes.  Peck makes striking use of the athleticism of all 15 men.  They seem to belong in the great American West -- where there is plenty of room for their expansive, space-filling exhuberance.

Here's a link to three brief clips from the ballet on the Company's website:

http://www.nycballet.com/Ballets/N/New-Copland-Peck.aspx

The sharp-eyed can pick out Justin Peck in the first clip -- dancing in place of Andrew Veyette as he did in some sections on opening night.  

Peck has given the Company a wonderful new piece, filled with hope and vigor and the wistful innocence of youth.  I would only change the coyly arch spelling of 'rodeo' in his title -- it's too clever for this very appealing work.

Christopher Wheeldon's 'Mercurial Manoeuvers' was created in April, 2000, for the Diamond Project using Dmitri Shostakovitch's 'Piano Concerto #1'.  The original cast included Miranda Weese and Jock Soto with Edwaard Liang.  On Sunday it was lead by Tiler Peck and Jared Angle.  Anthony Huxley, Kristen Segin and Sara Adams made debuts in their featured roles the previous Tuesday.

The opening is a coup d'theatre that never fails to impress -- the male soloist (Huxley) stands alone at the back of the stage in a red unitard against a red background flanked by dark translucent panels as the mysterious opening section of the concerto begins.  

Joaquin De Luz as the 'man in red' in the opening of Wheeldon's 'Mercurial Manoeuvers'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The shadowy figures of the twelve-member female corps  appear behind these dark panels arrayed in two rows of three on each side.  As the man moves forward the panels slowly begin to lift, revealing the women on either side of him.  The means are so simple, but the effect is dazzling.

Anthony Huxley is an impressive dancer with his own arrow sharp technique, but he is quite different from Edward Liang -- who originated the role -- and from Daniel Ulbricht and Joaquin De Luz who have danced it more recently.  Huxley makes it less overtly flamboyant and more elegantly articulate.  Wheeldon's choreography has enough elasticity to embrace each of these dancers as individuals.

Tiler Peck and Jared Angle in the pas de deux from Wheeldon's 'Mercurial Manouevres'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Tiler Peck and Jared Angle were wonderfully fluid as the central couple -- no mean feat given Wheeldon's penchant for difficult, off-center partnering.  Kristen Segin and Sara Adams were perky as the two female soloists.  Wheeldon marshalls the corps of 12 women and four men effectively in complex and interesting patterns.  As with many Wheeldon ballets there are too many entrances and exits -- and an overall sense of busy-ness.  But that haunting and brilliant opening sequence sticks in the mind.  And the central pas de deux -- when it is executed with the confidence and finesse that Tiler and Jared brought to it -- can be a stunning display of partnering pyrotechnics.

The Shostacovitch Piano Concerto was beautifully played by the piano soloist, Alan Moverman, with brilliant trumpet solos by Raymond Mase.  In fact, the music on Sunday afternoon was top notch under the direction of Andrews Sill and with the excellent Cameron Grant as piano soloist in 'Pictures at an Exhibition'.

This program proved a delightful celebration of Balanchine's 111th birthday and a reminder of the mission of NYC Ballet to continue to bring new chorography to the stage.

New York City Ballet -- Thursday, October 9, 2014

Thursday evening, October 9th, we went to New York State Theater to see New York City Ballet's '21st Century Choreographers' program -- basically the program from it's opening night gala (subtitled 'fashion's back at the ballet') with the addition of the new ballet by Alexei Ratmansky and the last minute subtraction of Christopher Wheeldon's 'This Bitter Earth'.  Even with this change, the program was way too long.

THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 9, 7:30 PM
MORGEN: *Reichlen, *Isaacs, *Krohn, *Catazaro, *Finlay, *Janzen [Conductor: Sill, Guest Soprano: Jennifer Zetlan]
CLEARING DAWN (New Greenstein/Schumacher): Bouder, Reichlen, Kretzschmar, Pazcoguin, Veyette, Prottas
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FUNÉRAILLES (New Liszt/Scarlett): T. Peck, R. Fairchild [Solo Piano: Chelton]
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BELLES-LETTRES (New Franck/Peck): Krohn, Lovette, Laracey, Pollack, J. Angle, Danchig-Waring, T. Angle, Stanley, Huxley [Conductor: Capps; Solo Piano: Walters]
PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION (New Ratmansky/Music by Modest Mussorgsky): Mearns, T. Peck, A. Stafford, Whelan, Smith, T. Angle, Danchig-Waring, Garcia, Ramasar, Gordon [Solo Piano: Grant]

Peter Martins' 'Morgen' started the evening.  Choreographed to 10 songs for soprano and orchestra by Richard Strauss, it is basically six dancers in search of a ballet.  There is a succession of nine pas de deux, as each of the three women dances with each of the three men among a grouping of five Doric columns, followed by a final coming together of all six dancers as dawn breaks over the temple ruins.

The opening night cast in Peter Martins' 'Morgen' with new costumes by Carolina Herrera.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

This entire cast was making their debuts on Thursday evening and frankly they looked unprepared for Martins' tricky, awkward partnering.  Ashley Isaacs seemed the best of the women -- throwing herself heedlessly into the arms of her partners.  Russell Jansen fared best among the men -- a strong, attentive partner to each of the women, particularly Teresa Reichlen.  The men, in their drab costumes, seem like anonymous Bunraku puppeteers manipulating the women in complex lifts and movements.  Perhaps this ballet could be subtitled 'misogyny among the ruins'.

The soprano, Jennifer Zetlan, shrill and distracting, seemed ill-suited to the Strauss material, which itself seems ill-suited for dance.  The new costumes by Carolina Herrera, however, look lovely on the women and move easily.

Troy Schumacher's new ballet, 'Clearing Dawn', uses music by Judd Greenstein played by a chamber sextet.  Troy uses a sextet of dancers (four women and two men) costumed by Thom Browne in chic grey, black and white prep school style uniforms.  The costumes were too tight, unfortunately restricting the dancers freedom of movement.

Andrew Veyette being fitted for his costume in 'Clearing Dawn' in the NYC Ballet costume shop while
Thom Browne looks on.  Photo by Matt Bockelman for NYTimes

The choreography looks like stylized schoolyard behavior -- two men in a fist fight, butch girl and man in a fist fight, mean girls intimidating the others, two showoffs (Bouder and Veyette).  It is all light and fun and harmless, but looks strenuous because of the tight costumes.

Georgina Pazcoguin, Ashley Bouder, Claire Kretzschmar, Andrew Veyette, David Prottas and Teresa Reichlen in Troy Schumacher's 'Clearing Dawn'.
Photo by  Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

'Funerailles' by Liam Scarlett to Franz Liszt piano music played on stage by Elaine Chelton is a murky pas de deux for Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild all but swallowed up in costumes by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.  There are Soviet-style lifts and partnered maneuvers to the dramatic music, but the heavily embroidered costumes leave them blurry.

Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild costumed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen in Liam Scarlett's 'Funerailles'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Whether Ms. Burton's costume designs or Mr. Scarlett's choreography are individually worthy, together they fight to a nondescript draw -- dance lovers will resent the costumes and fashionistas will resent the movement.

'Belles-Lettres' choreographed by Justin Peck to the music of Cesar Franck with costumes designed by Mary Katrantzou is not one of Peck's best works.  It starts promisingly with four couples clustered around Anthony Huxley, who is seated on the arms of  two men with a third providing support behind him and the fourth at his feet.  The four women fill out the corners of what looks like a Buddhist mandala -- which then dissolves as the piece begins.

Justin Peck's 'Belles-Lettres' with costumes by Mary Katrantzou.  Photo by Paul Kolnik

Ms. Katrantzou's costumes for the women are long flesh-toned dresses with re-embroidered lace tops and lace 'head-ache-band' head pieces.  The men wear flesh-colored body suits appliqued with letters ('beautiful letters') in lace that give the impression on some (the Angle brothers and Huxley) of Tongan tattoos.

There are some beautifully constructed moments of partnering for the four couples, especially Lauren Lovette and Jared Angle, but they don't tell us much about their relationships.  Mr. Huxley is the outsider, sometimes rushing in to demand the group's attention, sometimes remaining aloof -- content to dance on his own.  Huxley has remarkable presence as 'the other' in this little society -- perhaps the artist striving for acceptance or refusing to conform.

Unfortunately, the patterns and dynamics for the full cast are the least memorable aspects of this piece.  In his other works, these have been among Peck's greatest strengths.  

At the conclusion, the women remove their lace head pieces.  In Balanchine's ballets loose hair is often a sign of romantic abandon, but here it adds nothing to the piece except removing something rather distracting from the heads of these four lovely women.

The full cast at the conclusion of Justin Peck's 'Belles-Lettres'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Clearly the highpoint of the long evening was 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Alexei Ratmansky which uses the piano suite of 16 short selections by Modest Mussorgsky, thrillingly played on the stage apron by Cameron Grant.  It features costumes by Adeline Andre and projections designed by Wendall K. Harrington, both derived from the paintings of Wassily Kandinsky.

The first section opens with nine dancers clustered in a square in front of a projection of Kandinsky's 'Color Study: Squares with Concentric Circles' -- their colorful costumes echoing the shapes and colors projected behind them -- the women in loose, translucent hip length smocks and the men in loose sleeveless tops and pants.  Soon Gonzalo Garcia breaks free to dance a solo while the rest watch intently. 

Gonzalo Garcia dancing the first solo in Ratmansky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The projection and the cast break up as Sara Mearns dances a spectacular solo to 'The Gnome'.  The extreme clarity of the shapes that Mearns etches in space in this remarkable solo are the major highlight of this ballet.

Sara Mearns in 'The Gnome' from Ratmansky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Elements of the Kandinsky 'Color Study' continue to skitter and converge on the projection screen at the back of the stage as the work progresses.

Wendy Whelan and Tyler Angle dance the first (and best) pas de deux to 'The Old Castle'.  Tyler is an assured partner for Wendy's shape shifting aerial presence -- a bird of prey, a ghostly wraith, a flickering flame, a hovering angel.   

Wendy Whelan and Tyler Angle in 'The Old Castle' from Ratmansky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

As usual with Ratmansky, the ten dancers are a community of individuals -- defined perhaps by the colors of their costumes, the music that they dance to, or the projections behind them -- but still themselves beneath the patina of score and decor.

There is a section for four women (Mearns, Whelan, Abi Stafford and Gretchen Smith) to 'Bydlo' that is playful and almost slapstick.  Tyler Angle and Joe Gordon engage in a kind of competition with support from the other three men (Garcia, Adrian Danchig-Waring and Amar Ramasar).  There are three more pas de deux -- for Smith and Danchig-Waring; Stafford and Gordon; and Tiler Peck and Garcia.  After a group number, there is a last high-flying, barely-in-control pas de deux for Mearns and Ramasar.

Sara Mearns and Amar Ramasar in 'Baba Yaga' from Ratmansky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition'.
Photo by Andrea Mohin for NY Times

Near the end, there is an ensemble piece where Whelan seems to re-enact the scene from 'Dances at a Gathering' where the man in brown crouches to touch the earth while the rest of the cast looks on.  

And finally, there is Cameron Grant brilliantly playing the magisterial 'The Great Gate of Kiev' while the cast slowly processes in opposing lines.

Entire cast in 'The Great Gate of Kiev' from Ratmansky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Ratmansky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' is a worthy addition to City Ballet's repertory.  Hopefully it will be programmed more congenially in the future when there are no screeching sopranos or ill-conceived costumes fighting for attention.