Jenifer Ringer's Farewell Performance

SUNDAY MATINEE, FEBRUARY 9, 3 PM
JENIFER RINGER FAREWELL PERFORMANCE
(Conductor: Capps)
DANCES AT A GATHERING: Ringer (in pink), Krohn (in mauve), M. Fairchild (in apricot), Kowroski (in green), A. Stafford (in blue), Garcia (in brown), J. Angle (in purple), Ramasar (in green), Carmena (in brick), Catazaro (in blue) [Solo Piano: Walters]
UNION JACK: 
SCOTTISH AND CANADIAN GUARDS REGIMENTS: De Luz, T. Angle, A. Stafford, J. Angle, Hyltin, Lowery, Bouder; 
COSTERMONGER PAS DE DEUX: Ringer, Ramasar;
ROYAL NAVY: Bouder, T. Angle, J. Angle, Lowery, Schumacher, Villalobos, De Luz, A. Stafford, Hyltin

Yesterday, we said 'farewell' to a lovely ballerina who had graced the New York City Ballet's stages with warmth, humanity and humor.  Jenifer Ringer's final performances were in Jerome Robbins' masterpiece, 'Dances at a Gathering', which marked his return to NYCB in 1969 after more than a decade as a Broadway and Hollywood choreographer and director, and in Balanchine's 'Union Jack', his 1976 U.S. bicentennial tribute to Great Britain.

We first encountered 'Dances at a Gathering' as a work-in-progress in the company's summer home in Saratoga Springs. There, the dancers all sat on stage throughout the work and simply rose and joined the dance as they were needed.  It seemed charming and nonchalant.  Balanchine famously told Robbins, 'More, make more!' as the work was in development and Jerry certainly took him up on it.  With Chopin's gorgeous piano music and danced by the stellar original cast (Allegra Kent, Sara Leland, Kay Mazzo, Patricia McBride, Violette Verdy, Anthony Blum, John Clifford, Robert Maiorano, John Prinz and Edward Villella) the audience loved having more.  But over the years with changing casts, more has become much too much.  Following 'Dances' Robbins created several ballets which further demonstrated his inability to edit his own work.

Although the program was chosen long before her retirement was announced, it was a wonderful platform to showcase Ringer's many charms.  She has been a dancer who has excelled at relating to fellow dancers as well as to the audience.  In 'Dances at a Gathering' she had the opportunity to interact with nine fellow dancers.  Her two pas de deux - first with Jared Angle and then with Gonzalo Garcia were miniature master classes in the art of partnering and being partnered.  Jared is the more natural partner, nurturing and sustaining his ballerina and matching her with beautiful line of his own.  

Jared Angle & Jenifer Ringer in Robbins' 'Dances at a Gathering'; by Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Gonzalo is a less assured partner, but Jenifer seemed to enjoy the challenge of making them both look wonderful together. Elsewhere in the ballet, Jenifer listened and watched her fellow dancers intently, ever attentive to the nuances of their bursts of dance and whimsical couplings and uncouplings.

The rest of the cast was uneven.  Maria Kowroski was delightful in the humorous role Robbins created for Violette Verdy.  She was the only cast member who had no opportunities to interact with Jenifer, but her interactions with the three men (Jared, Amar and Antonio) in the 'speed dating' segment were sly and charming.  Abi Stafford, Rebecca Krohn and Megan Fairchild are varying shades of pallid.  Amar Ramasar's partnering of Rebecca in their early pdd was wonderful, but she seems to have difficulty adapting to the romantic nuances of Robbins' choreography.  Megan and Antonio Carmena caught the humor of the two-against-three waltz, but also made it look rushed and airless.  The central pas de six with Abi, Rebecca and Megan, Jared, Amar and Zack Catarazzo failed to give the thrill of most casts.  The men were all stalwart partners, but the acrobatic lifts, carries and throws all somehow seemed routine.  There was no dance crescendo building to the final series of throws of the three women from Jared to Amar to Zack.

The cast seemed to have been chosen to make Jenifer stand out in relief -- two wonderful partners and no serious competition from the other women.  It was her afternoon and she really was the dancer at this gathering.

'Union Jack' is a work about quantity.  The opening tattoo features 70 dancers in seven regiments of 10 each, moving in precision formations.  Here again there seemed to be some casting 'errors' among the four lead women.  Abi Stafford doesn't have the chops to lead 'Green Montgomerie' which as the first female regiment needs to be lead in with a certain swagger and style.  Sterling Hyltin looked lost under the 'Dress MacDonald' hat and also lacked any specific sense of style, but at least had Jared Angle from 'Menzies' to offer some support and distraction.  Savannah Lowery had the right strength and percussiveness for 'MacDonald of Sleat'. Ashley Bouder is simply miscast in the swaggering 'R.C.A.F.' role which Balanchine created for the off-centered bravado of Suzanne Farrell.  Ashley is a very centered dancer who probably can't handle and doesn't attempt the exaggerated loose-jointed swinging hips that Suzanne used to make the role so distinctively her own.  I would have cast Sara Mearns or Teresa Reichlen or Lauren Lovette to bring some panache to this role.

Jenifer Ringer and Amar Ramasar made the 'Costermonger Pas de Deux' a delightful interlude with appropriate mugging for the audience and great comic timing. Unfortunately, the pony threatened to steal the show in a tug-of-war with his very young handler, finally charging off stage before the pearly princesses could reboard the cart.

The 'Royal Navy' section is always a romp for the cast and the audience.  The seven leads from the opening tattoo augmented by Troy Schumacher and Giovanni Villalobos have great fun with nautical motifs that Balanchine cleverly adapted for ballet.  Here again Bouder was woefully miscast as the leader of the Wrens, another Farrell role.  Ashley at least needs to learn the semaphore flag sequence for 'God Save the Queen' during the bombastic finale.  BTW Ashley is a favorite dancer but her stiff, small-scaled performance here is just wrong.

Jenifer Ringer accepting the ovation from the Company & the audience; photo by McClure

Of course, the afternoon ended with an extended ovation for Ringer and the presentation of many bouquets from the principal men of the company, individual roses from the principal women, and finally bouquets from Damian Woetzel, Peter Martins, and her husband and former principal dancer, James Fayette.

Jenifer Ringer's final bow, February 9th 2014, photo by McClure

Here's a link to an appreciation of Jenifer Ringer in Oberon's Grove:
http://oberon481.typepad.com/oberons_grove/2014/02/farewell-to-jenifer-ringer.html