Thoughts on Some Recent Movies . . .

'Spotlight':

We saw 'Spotlight' on November 9th at the AMC Lincoln Square.  The film directed by Thomas McCarthy from a script written by McCarthy and Josh Singer tells the story of the investigation by The Boston Globe's 'Spotlight' team of the decades-long cover-up of pedophilia in the Archdiocese of Boston under Cardinal Bernard Law (played in the film by Len Cariou).  The Globe's investigative reporting on the Church's sexual predation scandal won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and led to Cardinal Law's stepping down from leadership of the Boston Archdiocese.

Banner for the movie 'Spotlight'.

The Spotlight team lead by Walter 'Robby' Robinson (played by Michael Keaton) includes Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Brian d'Arcy James (Matt Carroll) and their managing editor, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber).  The Globe's assistant managing editor, Ben Bradlee, Jr. (John Slattery) comes from a well-known publishing family.  They identify 87 pedophile priests who were shuffled around the Boston archdiocese over several decades.

Despite its well-known story, 'Spotlight' is incredibly suspenseful  The cast -- which also includes Stanley Tucci, Jamey Sheridan, Billy Crudup and several others -- is uniformly wonderful.  In the summary statements at the end of the film it's appalling that Cardinal Law was 'reassigned' to be the archpriest of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four major basilicas of Rome.

'Brooklyn':

On November 14th we saw 'Brooklyn' at the AMC Lincoln Square.  It was about 80% sold out -- lots of walkers and canes in the audience.  'Brooklyn', directed by John Crowley from a screenplay by Nick Hornby based on the novel of the same name by Colm Toibin, stars Saorise Ronan as Eilis Lacey, an Irish immigrant arriving in Brooklyn in the early 1950's.

Banner for 'Brooklyn'.

Through an Irish priest (Jim Broadbent) who's a friend of her sister, Rose (Fiona Glascott), arrangements have been made for Eilis to live in a Brooklyn boarding house run by Madge Kehoe (Julie Walters) and to work as a clerk in a Brooklyn department store.  Initially, Eilis is a little too tall, a little too plain, and much too introverted.

At a church dance she meets Tony (Emory Cohen) a second-generation Italian plumber.  Tony is smitten and begins courting Eilis -- showing up to walk her home from night school and inviting her to come to dinner to meet his family.  With Tony's love, Eilis blooms into a lovely and confident woman.  Their idyll is interrupted by news from Ireland that Rose has died unexpectedly.  Eilis returns to Ireland for a short visit to comfort her mother.

Back in her small Irish village, Eilis is caught up in a web of circumstance -- her best friend's wedding delays her return to Brooklyn, Rose's former employer urgently needs Eilis to cover Rose's job, the golf club wants Eilis to present a trophy in Rose's honor, and Jim Farrell (Domnall Gleeson) a member of the local soccer club starts courting her.  But after a nasty confrontation with her former employer, Eilis realizes that she can no longer be happy in the small-minded Irish village and arranges to return to Brooklyn on the next ship.

'Brooklyn' is a slow, thoughtful film.  It is really about the transforming power of love.  Ms. Ronan is wonderful as the naive, confused Eilis transformed by love into a confident, radiant woman.  Mr. Cohen is especially fine as Tony.  My one major complaint is that the conversation at Mrs. Kehoe's boarding house is unintelligible.

'Sicario':

On Halloween we went to see 'Sicario' at the AMC Lincoln Square.  'Sicario' is directed by Denis Villeneuve from a script by Taylor Sheridan and stars Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, and Josh Brolin.

Official Banner for 'Sicario'.

Kate Macer (played by Emily Blunt) is an idealistic FBI agent.  After two members of her team are killed in a raid on a drug house in Chandler, AZ, Kate volunteers to join a task force to find the killers.  The task force is lead by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), an unscrupulous CIA operative, and includes his 'adviser', Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro) plus additional FBI, CIA, DEA and military special forces personnel.

The director chooses to put the audience in the same bewildering position as Kate -- gradually realizing that Matt and Alejandro are not entirely honest about their motives and that she is being used on the task force as more than just an aggressive FBI agent.  

Emily Blunt is excellent at conveying Kate's confusion and bringing the audience with her as she gradually discovers the real purpose of the task force.  Josh Brolin is perfectly macho and enigmatic; Benicio Del Toro is brutally efficient in what turns out to be the title role; and they are surrounded by a uniformly skillful cast on both sides of the border.

'Sicario' is a brilliant -- if brutal and gore-filled -- look at America's drug wars and the lives it destroys.   

   

Autumn Quibbles and Bits . . .

New York Times Article on Diversity in Ballet:

In case you missed it, here's a link to a slideshow and the accompanying article from The New York Times about the push for greater diversity in ballet.  Both the slideshow and the article rely heavily on discussions with students and alumni of the School of American Ballet. 

http://www.nytimes.com/…/the-…/s/01DIVERSITY-slide-JXPV.html

It's wonderful to have such positive recognition for SAB's Diversity Program which is seeking to address the continuing lack of diversity in ballet education and ultimately in professional ballet companies.

Clockwise from upper left:
Sebastian Villarini-Velez (corps) & Sasonah Huttenbach (apprentice) of NYC Ballet
Rachel Hutsell & Christopher Grant (both apprentices) of NYC Ballet
Preston Chamblee (corps) of NYC Ballet
Taylor Stanley (soloist) and Olivia Boisson (corps) of NYC Ballet
Silas Farley (corps) of NYC Ballet
Clara Ruf-Maldonado (apprentice) of NYC Ballet
Photos by Jesse Dittmar for the NY Times

There is lots more work to be done, but it's good to know that SAB and New York City Ballet are at the forefront of these efforts.  The elevation of Misty Copeland to principal dancer at American Ballet Theater last June is a great symbolic step, but now every professional ballet company and school needs to take advantage of that 'Misty' moment to recruit, train and advance youngsters from diverse backgrounds and communities.

And ultimately, we in the audience must accept that swans and their swains come in all colors.

Halloween Open House at SAB:

On Friday, October 30th, I attended the annual Halloween Open House at the School of American Ballet.  Most of the students and some of the faculty wear imaginative costumes -- often coordinating with others -- Peter Pan, Wendy and Captain Hook; 4 unicorns; 3 swimmers; 2 ladybugs; etc.  At the Open House members of the School's Association are free to observe entire classes or wander from one studio to another.  I chose to watch all of Suki Schorer's D level class and then Jock Soto's Advanced Men's class.

In the D class there were several witches (including Suki), a trio of Pink Ladies (from 'Grease'), a beautiful Victorian vampire, and a Rosie the Riveter (sadly no picture available):

Suki Schorer as a witch with SAB's
new pumpkin orange decor.

All photos from SAB Facebook page

The three 'Pink Ladies' of D level.

D level 'Vampire' adjusting her makeup before class.

The Advanced Men's class was quite a bit smaller than usual because several of the students were participating in the fall session of the New York Choreographic Institute.  That gave us an opportunity to focus on fewer students than in the regular Advanced Men's class.  Jock remarked that he enjoyed teaching the smaller group so he could concentrate on working with fewer students.  Among them were The Joker, two Batmans, and a Robin, a penguin, two clowns, and some soccer players.  Most of the costumes proved to be too hot for Jock's strenuous barre and were shed as the class wore on:

The Joker and a Batman (1 of 2).

A Penguin (I think) in front of a Clown.

Susan Pillare as 'the SAB August renovation' (center) with the young ladies of the C-2 class.

The students in the other classes were equally creative, but no one topped Susan Pillare as the 'SAB Renovation' that took place last August while the School was closed.

Katrina Killian (in white kitten mask right of center) with the  C-1 class.

The two gum ball machines in the C-1 class looked like a lot of work, but they were adorable:

It's always fun to see where these students' imaginations can lead them and just how they'll realize their visions within budget.

Putting It Out There:

And finally, how about David Prottas featured this week in the 'Meet the Undateables' column of Time Out NY:

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/meet-the-undateables-david-and-andy-111015

'His show' that David's blind date, Andy, thinks he'll get tickets for was BalletCollective at the Skirball Center at NYU on November 4th & 5th.  They got terrific reviews from Alistair Macaulay (in the NY Times), several other critics -- and hopefully Andy.  

You can read all of their reviews on the 'Press' page at the BalletCollective site here:

http://balletcollective.com/

David Prottas and Taylor Stanley in 'All That We See' by Troy Schumacher for BalletCollective.
Photo by Matthew Murphy

I sure wish we'd planned ahead and gotten to one of their performances last week.

SAB 2015 Student Choreography Workshop

On Saturday, October 10th, we went to The School of American Ballet for the first showing of the 2015 Student Choreography Workshop.  This year 55 students danced in 16 works choreographed by their fellow students.  This is the first time that female choreographers (11) outnumbered male choreographers (5) -- better reflecting the make-up of the School's Advanced Division than in the past.

As in prior years, the ground rules are that the works must be five minutes or less, must use no more than five dancers, and must be created and ready for presentation in a span of less than three weeks.  Choreographers chose their own music --with assistance from Jeff Middleton, SAB's music teacher, if sought.  They select their dancers from among their peers -- dancers can appear in only one work.  I suspect that 'negotiate' may be a more accurate description of this process.  It is up to each choreographer to schedule rehearsal times, book studios, and resolve scheduling conflicts within the 15 hours of studio time they are allotted for rehearsal.

The entire process from application through presentation is overseen by Kay Mazzo, co-chairman of SAB's faculty, and Renee Rossi, the School's artistic coordinator.  

Christina Clark (right) giving pointers to Gianna Reisen and Kennard Henson.

All photos by Rosalie O'Connor for The School of Aamerican Ballet

The workshop was presented three times -- first on Saturday afternoon, October 10th, for faculty, staff, and volunteers of the School, participants' families and fellow students; the following Wednesday, October 14th, as part of 'A Fall Affair', a benefit evening for The School's younger patrons; and then on Thursday evening, October 15th, for SAB's major donors.

Every year the resulting ballets provide astonishing testament to the talents of SAB's students as both choreographers and dancers.  While every person in the audience probably had clear favorites, here are my thoughts on all 16 works.

• Christina Clark chose the first movement (Allegro moderato) of J. S. Bach's 'Violin Concerto in A Minor, BWW 1041' for the dancers Justine Flores, Gianna Reisen, Thomas Davidoff, and Kennard Henson.  She responded to the jaunty rhythms of this music with correspondingly bright, complex movements which showed off her dancers speed and clarity.

  

  Gianna Reisen in Christina Clark's piece.

Justine Flores and Kennard Henson in Christina Clark's work.

• Courtney Nitting worked with the familiar 'Winter' movement (Allegro non molto) from Antonio Vivaldi's 'Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in F Minor' -- aka 'The Four Seasons'.  Courtney's dancers were herself and Marc LaPierre.  She was the only student to choreograph a piece on herself and I kept wondering how much that simplified the rehearsal process.  It was a lovely piece that responded in interesting ways to its score.

Courtney Nitting in her own piece.

Marc LaPierre in Courtney Nitting's piece.

• Paul Hindemith's 'Capriccio in A Major' from his 'Three Pieces for cello and piano' was a challenging choice of music for Taylor Ayotte.  She added to the complexity by selecting the very tall redhead, Lily Cascells, and two shorter men, Adrian Pasten and Noah Strand.  Ms. Ayotte met these challenges with a quirky, capricious work.

Lily Casscells in Taylor Ayotte's Hindemith piece.

• Christopher D'Ariano selected 'Bounce Bounce' and 'Sink' composed and played by the violinist, Hilary Hahn, and the pianist, Hauschka, on a prepared piano.  The pieces are propulsive and repetitive and Christopher's choreography for Christina Clark and Saskia de Muinck Keizer was by turns skittish and assertive.

Saskia de Muinck Keizer with Christina Clark (left) in Christopher D'Ariano piece.

• To 'Paestigium' by Stefano Ianne, Gilbert Bolden III created an intense, virtuosic piece for Larisa Nugent, Darius Black and Roman Mejia.  There was a short break in the music which Gil used for a lovely grouping of the three dancers that seemed like the perfect conclusion -- but, it was a false ending.  The audience applauded, drowning out the resumption of the music and dancing, leaving us feeling sheepish and confused.  Still the piece utilized the talents of three wonderful dancers who danced with poise and elan.

Larissa Nugent in Gilbert Bolden III's work to Stefano Ianne's 'Praistigium'.

Roman Mejia in Gilbert Bolden III's work to Stefano Ianne's 'Praistigium'.

• Isabella Carroll chose the second movement (Allegro molto) from Gabriel Faure's 'Piano Quartet #2 in G Minor' for her dancers, Taylor Ayotte, Emily Helman, Devon Malin and Trevor Dines.  The music features a fractured piano melody over a turbulent, often plucked, string background.  Ms. Carroll offered an energetic, yet nuanced, response for her dancers -- displaying their speed and stamina.

Taylor Ayotte and Trevor Dines in Isabella Carroll's Faure piece.

Taylor Ayotte and Emily Helman jete in Isabella Carroll's work to Faure.

• Adrian Pasten offered some tonal relief from the long series of intensely allegro pieces with his setting of Sergei Rachmaninov's 'Elegie in E flat Minor' for his five dancers -- Jennifer Hackbarth, Erin McAvoy, Lily Wheatley, Dallas Finley and Ethan Fuller.  The music is reflective and relatively slow, giving Adrian's dancers a chance for some lovely adagio partnering, while the skittering undercurrent offered opportunities for quirky passages as well.

Dallas Finlay and Lily Wheatley in Adrian Pasten's work.

Jennifer Hackbarth, Erin McAvoy, and Lily Wheatley in the Pasten piece.

Jennifer Hackbarth and Ethan Fuller (Erin McAvoy behind) in Adrian Pasten's Rachmaninov work.

• Lily Casscells took on the Third Movement (Allegro) from Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto #2 -- music used by Alexei Ratmansky in 2008 (for both NYC Ballet and ABT) and by Kenneth MacMillan in 1966 (initially for the Berlin Opera Ballet and later for the Royal Ballet) and therefore familiar to many of us in the audience. Although her dancers were sometimes spread too far apart across SAB's Studio #1, Lily's choreography was extremely musical.  Lily's five dancers -- Eliza Blutt, Hailey Dupont, Jonathan Alexander, Jonathan Fahoury, and Xhosa Scott -- responded to the breathless music with style and airborne virtuosity.

Hailey Dupont, Xhosa Scott, and Eliza Blutt in Lily Cascells work.

Jonathan Alexander, Eliza Blutt, Xhosa Scott, Hailey Dupont,
 and Jonathan Fahoury  spread out in the Cascells work.

Jonathan Fahoury in the Cascells work.

• Using the effervescent final movement (Allegro fugato) from Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata #5 for Cello and Piano in D Major, Katherine Deuitch created a playful romp for Isabella Carroll, Rachel Costin, and Wilson Livingston.  Katherine used the contrast between the two instruments and the passing back and forth of the fugue from piano to cello as the basis for her choreography.

Katherine Deuitch working with Isabella Carroll and Wilson Livingston on her Beethoven piece.

Rachel Costin in the Katherine Deuitch piece.

• Jonathan Alexander set selections from Arthur Honneger's 'Toccata and Variations for Piano' on his dancers: Gabriela Schiefer, Mark Cudihee, and Andres Zuniga.  The music was written when Honneger was still a music student at the Conservatoire de Paris and reflects the influence of J. S. Bach in its structure and of Honneger's teacher, Vincent d'Indy, in its harmonics.  Jonathan effectively mined the contrasting rhythms and moods of the three-section Toccata (and also I believe the rather intense Variation I) for his choreography.  He also integrated the abilities and personalities of his three dancers effectively -- especially Ms. Schiefer's musicality.

Gabriella Schiefer and Mark Cudihee in Jonathan Alexander's work.

Andres Zuniga in Jonathan Alexander's piece to Honegger's 'Toccata'.

• Gianna Reisen choreographed a duet for Emma Von Enck and Christopher D'Ariano to 'Ford's Farm' composed by Mason Bates for the violinist, Hilary Hahn.  The acerbic, folk-flavored music for violin and piano honors Henry Ford who was an amateur violinist as well as a pioneering automaker.  Gianna uses it for a clever pas de deux which Emma and Christopher danced with wit, style and elegance.

Emma Von Enck and Christopher D'Ariano in Gianna Reisen's work.

• Rachel Costin chose a propulsive piece for string quartet -- 'Caixa de Dolcos' by Chiel Meijering -- for her four dancers -- Ana Maria Delmar, Phoebe Klett, Jennifer Pauker, and Michael Garcia.  There's a breathless quality to the music that Rachel captured nicely with her four dancers.

Rachel Costin working with Phoebe Klett and Michael Garcia during rehearsals.

• 'Run' by Ludovico Einaudi begins as a contemplative piece for piano and strings with a burbling undercurrent that then builds in intensity.  Saskia de Muinck Keizer used it for a lovely pas de trois for Emily Ireland, Josephine King, and Gilbert Bolden III. 

Gilbert Bolden III and Emily Ireland rehearsing
 Saskia de Muinck Keizer's piece.

Josephine King and Gil Bolden rehearsing.

• Eliza Blutt used the third movement from Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's 'Quintet for Strings and Piano'.  Her dancers were India Bradley, Nieve Corrigan, and Nathan Compiano. After the rather anguished opening the choreography, like the music, was spikey, angular and energetic. 

India Bradley in Eliza Blutt's piece.

Nieve Corrigan and Nathan Compiano in the Eliza Blutt work.

• Emily Helman used the second movement (Scherzo - allegro) from Johannes Brahms 'Piano Quartet in C Minor' for her piece.  Katerine Deuitch and Ally Helman (Emily's sister) were her dancers.  The scherzo format uses repeating sections -- in this case ABABA (I think) -- that allowed Emily opportunites to recapitulate and expand choreographic motifs.

Emily Helman worked with Ally Helman and Katherine Deuitch.

• Nathan Compiano produced the absolute highlight of the program to the 'Sacrificial Dance' from Igor Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring'.  Nathan selected five women -- Lily-Frances Cosgrove, Gariella Domini, Kristina Hadjipetkov, Mary Thomas Mackinnon, and Marie Millard.  The work begins with the five women dancing in unison often with pointes stabbing the floor.  Gradually, Ms. Millard is isolated from the other four women, who continue to dance as a coordinated group as the music grows more insistently frenetic.  At the final chord Marie throws herself head first at the audience -- caught by the other four just in the nick of time in a vivid final image of flailing limbs.

Nathan Compiano's cast: Lily-Frances Cosgrove, Mary Thomas Mackinnon, Marie Millard, Kristina Hadjipetkov, and Gabriella Domini

Lily-Frances Cosgrove, Mary Thomas Mackinnon, Gabriella Domini, and Kristina Hadjipetkov rehearsing Nathan Compiano's piece to Stravinsky's 'Sacrificial Dance: The Rite of Spring'.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The range of music chosen by these student choreographers is amazing -- from Bach and Vivaldi in the early 18th century right up to music composed in the early 21st century -- six of the 16 pieces used music composed in the last decade.  The young choreographers ability to analyze these often complex scores and create equally complex dances for them demonstrates their inherent and acquired musicality.

With 15 of the 16 choreographers also dancing in another choreographer's work there must be lots of logistics issues to resolve -- four of the works used two other choreographers as dancers.  The two-week rehearsal period must have been especially hectic and required diplomatic and logistical skills as well as musical and dance acuity.

I always wonder how much input the student dancers have to their peers' choreography and how much the choreographers simply impose what they want on their dancers -- are the choreographers collaborators or dictators or a bit of both?   Certainly in all of the works on this program the dancers were shown to their advantage -- perhaps they are chosen by their choreographers because they display these qualities each day in class, but probably they are also given opportunities to develop them during the choreographic process.  Oh, to be a fly on the wall in those rehearsal studios where it all came together for this impressive program.

Once again, we are beholden to Nancy Norman Lassalle for endowing these annual workshops and to Cynthia and Leon Polsky for their continuing financial support.  Their generosity gives all 55 of these students rare opportunities to participate in the act of creation as dancers, choreographers, and sometimes both. 

NYC Ballet Performance, Sunday, October 11th

SUNDAY MATINEE, OCTOBER 11, 3:00 PM

JENNIE SOMOGYI FAREWELL PERFORMANCE

TSCHAIKOVSKY SUITE NO. 3: ELEGIE: Krohn, Janzen; WALTZ: LeCrone, J. Peck; SCHERZO: Scheller, Carmena; THEME & VARIATIONS: T. Peck, Veyette [Guest Conductor: Paroni]

      intermission

LIEBESLIEDER WALZER: Mearns, Hyltin, Somogyi, Laracey, la Cour, J. Angle, T. Angle, J. Peck [Solo Pianos: Walters, Sill]

This program was initially listed in the Company's subscription brochure as 'All Balanchine' with 'Liebeslieder Walzer' performed first, followed by 'Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3'.  When the Company announced that this would be Jennie Somogyi's farewell performance the order of the two works was reversed so that the program would end with Jennie's performance in 'Liebeslieder'.

In 1970 Balanchine decided to choreograph the first three movements of Tschaikovsky's 'Suite No. 3' to add to the fourth movement, 'Tema con Variazioni', that he had created in 1947 -- as 'Theme and Variations' -- for Ballet Theatre with  Alicia Alonzo and Igor Youskevitch as the leads.  'Theme and Variations' had entered the New York City Ballet repertory in 1960, with Violette Verdy and Edward Villella leading that cast.

He mounted the entire suite as 'Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3' in late fall of 1970 with costumes and scenery by Nicolas Benois.  The first three movements -- 'Elegie', 'Valse Melancolique', and 'Scherzo' -- are danced in a shadowy ballroom behind a scrim painted with a smokey swirl.  The women are in flowing ankle-length dresses in shades of lavender with touches of glitter and scarves drifting from their shoulders.  Their hair is loose.  The three men are in satin shirts with ruffles at the neck and matching pants.  These movements were created by Balanchine while he was still recovering from the departure of his muse, Suzanne Farrell, earlier in 1970.  They are not considered first rate Balanchine.

Here's a five-minute clip from the Company with Zachary Catazaro discussing 'Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uylTAmEu_rI

'Elegie' is probably the best of these first three murky movements.  Russell Janzen danced with passion and Rebecca Krohn, as his elusive muse, slipped in and out of his grasp -- eventually retreating back into anonymity among the corps of six women.

In the following 'Valse Melancolique' Megan LeCrone and Justin Peck danced the unprepossessing waltz with six women swirling around them.  

Ana Sophia Scheller and Antonio Carmena breezed through the energetic 'Scherzo' accompanied by eight more women. Gradually the corps from 'Elegie' and 'Valse Melancolique' return and the stage is filled with twenty corps women. The full corps wafts off stage and Ana Sophia and Antonio exit into opposite wings in gigantic grand jetes -- followed by a black-out.

The distracting scrim is raised and the lights blaze on to the full glory of a ballroom with marble columns lit by three large crystal chandeliers for the fourth movement, 'Tema con Variazioni'.  The principal couple, Tiler Peck and Andrew Veyette, backed by a symmetrical array of four demi-soloist women and eight corps women, perform the theme.  The costumes for the women are classical tutus with bodices of aqua (corps), teal (demi-soloists), and white (Ms. Peck) trimmed with gold and lace.  Mr. Veyette wears white tights and a white tunic trimmed in gold.
  

Tiler Peck in 'Tema con Variazioni' from George Balanchine's 'Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3'.
 Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The variations unspool in various combinations of the principals with demi-soloist and corps women -- ending with a long, technically demanding adagio for the principals.  Then with a roll of drums eight corps couples, then four demi-soloists couples, and finally the principal couple take the stage for the grand polonaise that concludes the ballet.

Tiler Peck danced this exacting role with precise radiance.  Unfortunately, Andrew Veyette, while technically capable, danced like a robot -- bereft of personality or enthusiasm.  A friend who was watching from the fourth ring with opera glasses said Andrew looked like 'he was really pissed off'.  Unfortunately, Andrew's disengaged, surly demeanor put a real damper on the entire movement.

Among the corps in this work I must note Alec Knight, an apprentice, and Silas Farley -- tall men who both danced with contagiously expansive joy.  Claire Kretzschmar stood out among the demi-soloist women.  Apprentices in the corps of the first three movements included Miriam Miller, Rachel Hutsell, Sasonah Huttenbach, Alston Macgill and Clara Ruf-Maldonado -- quite a showing for the newest generation arriving from the School of American Ballet.

On the podium Paulo Paroni, a guest conductor, led a generally bland, workmanlike performance of the Tschaikovsky work.

After the intermission we were treated to Balanchine's 'Liebeslieder Walzer' choreographed to the Opus 52 and Opus 65 sets of 'love-song waltzes' composed by Johannes Brahms for vocal quartet and piano four-hands.  All of the poems that Brahms used are by Friedrich Daumer, except for the last waltz of Opus 65 where he used a poem by Goethe.  Balanchine created the work in 1960.  The original cast was Diana Adams with Bill Carter, Melissa Hayden with Jonathan Watts, Jillana with Conrad Ludlow, and Violette Verdy with Nicholas Magallanes.

Here's a link to Jillana and Ludlow dancing in the first half of 'Liebeslieder' which was filmed in 1961 I believe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2UhRfhoHTI

And here is another link to a YouTube video of Violette Verdy discussing the creation of 'Liebeslieder' with Damian Woetzel.  It includes rather stolid demonstrations by Jenifer Ringer and Jared Angle (the 'Liebeslieder' section starts at about 29:52 and continues to about 50:29):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fFK6-LsQEU

Balanchine said of this piece, "In the first act, it is the real people who are dancing.  In the second act it is their souls".

At this performance the four couples were Sterling Hyltin with Jared Angle, Ashley Laracey with Justin Peck, Sara Mearns with Ask la Cour, and Jennie Somogyi with Tyler Angle.  The musicians were Andrews Sill and Susan Walters, pianists, with Boya Wei, soprano, Melissa Fajardo, mezzo-soprano, Blake Friedman, tenor, and Zachary James, bass.  The music is performed at the side of the stage by the pianists and singers in period costumes.

Justin Peck and Jennie Somogyi in the first act of Balanchine's 'Liebeslieder Walzer'.
 Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

In the first half the four couples waltz in various combinations in a Viennese salon of the mid-19th century designed by David Hays for the 1984 revival.  The dancers wear beautiful period costumes by Karinska -- for the women long satin ball gowns decorated with ribbons and lace, fingerless lace gloves and low-heeled satin slippers; for the men black tail coats with white gloves.  In the first act small dramas are enacted within the confines of the ballroom dance idiom.  As the first half winds down, the couples open the French doors of the set and go out into the starry night.

The curtain is lowered between the two halves.  Damien Woetzel tells the story that at its premiere at City Center someone rushed backstage to report that lots of people had left after the first act.  Balanchine replied, "Yes, but look how many have stayed."  (My George would have been among those who left.)

In the second half the women have changed into toe shoes and dresses with calf-length tulle skirts and satin bodices with black lace trim, while the men have shed their white gloves.  After the ensemble opening for all four couples, the second act is basically a series of exquisite pas de deux. Due to the substitution of classical technique in the second act for ballroom dance in the first, these waltzes are more inherently theatrical and the dramas depicted seem more expansive. 

Sara Mearns and Ask la Cour in the second act of Balanchine's 'Liebeslieder Walzer'.
 Photo by Andrea Mohin for NY Times

The set ends with Jennie Somogyi (in the role created by Violette Verdy) and Tyler Angle in an impossibly tender and yearning pas de deux.   You can watch part of it here in a video clip from the New York Times:

http://vp.nyt.com/video/2015/10/12/36005_1_nycb-walzer_wg_360p.mp4

Jennie Somogyi and Justin Peck performing in the second act of Balanchine's 'Liebeslieder Walzer'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

As the final waltz is performed by the musicians, the dancers slowly drift back into the ballroom -- once again in their 'real people' clothes.  They sit listening intently to the music, applauding politely at the end.

At this performance of 'Liebeslieder' we certainly had luxury casting.  And maybe because it was Jennie's farewell performance the entire cast performed with extra attention to detail and nuance.  Sara who inherently infuses her dancing with drama digs deeply here playing off Ask's natural reserve.  Sterling uses her coltish, flirtatious persona to enliven her dancing with Jared, always ardent and attentive.  Ashley and Justin are wonderfully young and impetuous together.  Tyler provides dashing support for Jennie -- who made her final performance on this stage seem like an evanescent flame extinguished too soon.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Following the normal curtain calls for the 'Liebeslieder' dancers and musicians, there was a long ovation for Jennie Somogyi with the presentation of bouquets from each of the Company's principal men, starting with Tyler, single roses from each principal woman, a bouquet from Peter Martins, more single roses from other members of the Company, a bouquet from Jennie's husband and a nosegay from her shy, young daughter.  Finally bursts of confetti and streamers rained down.  Here's a video posted by a member of the audience:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFLFCVjSFnU

And here's another video clip of Jennie dancing Balanchine's 'Episodes' with Craig Hall -- they had danced together in 'Episodes' the day before her farewell performance:  

http://balletoman.com/2031-flash-footage-episodes.html

Jennie was a true Balanchine ballerina, whether in his more romantic and dramatic pieces like 'Liebeslieder Walzer' or the more austerely demanding leotard works like 'Episodes'.  And though her stage career was interrupted by serious injuries, Jennie Somogyi returned again and again to demonstrate why she was an essential link in our understanding of Balanchine's varied repertory.

Jennie Somogyi gives a farewell salute to the audience at the end of her farewell performance.
Photo by Julieta Cervantes for the NY Times