NYC Ballet Seminar on Monday, January 25th

On Monday evening, January 25th, I attended the New York City Ballet's seminar entitled 'Meet the New Talent'.  Joan Quatrano moderated a panel of young dancers from the Company that included Harrison Coll, Cameron Dieck, Megan LeCrone, Unity Phelan, and Indiana Woodward.

Four of the five panelists (unfortunately not Mr. Coll) had danced the Sugarplum or her Cavalier in the Company's holiday season performances of 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker'.  They talked about how they had learned that they'd be dancing these iconic roles, how they had prepared and been coached, and how they felt about their performances.

Megan LeCrone, Indiana Woodward and Unity Phelan watch from the wings as another ballerina rehearses the Sugarplum variation from 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker'.
Photo by Andrea Mohin for NY Times

Ms. LeCrone, a soloist who is 31, has been injured several times since she started as an apprentice with the Company in 2001.  Some of her injuries required surgery and significant recovery times.  She said that she felt that her chance to dance the Sugarplum had slipped away and is particularly grateful to Peter Martins for surprising her with the opportunity.

Ms. Phelan and Mr. Dieck made their debuts in the Nutcracker roles together.  They talked about how supportive the entire Company was at their first performance.  They received performance tips from some of the Company's most senior dancers which helped them overcome some of the stress associated with their debuts.

Ms. Woodward also talked about the support she received from the Company at her debut and how at her first entrance as Sugarplum she was literally blown onto the stage by all of the dancers watching from the wings.  Apparently, being blown onto the stage is a Company 'good luck' tradition for all new Sugarplums as they bourree out from the wings at their first entrance.

Although Mr. Coll didn't have the opportunity to dance the Cavalier, he did make an anonymous debut during the 'Nutcracker' run as the 'bed boy' -- usually a teenage student from SAB who crouches under the bed and propels it around the stage during the Snow Scene.  Having been a student at SAB since 2003, Harrison had danced in the Party Scene and as the Nephew/Nutcracker/Prince, but had somehow missed being the 'bed boy' and jumped at the chance when it became available in December.

The four younger dancers praised Megan for being a welcoming presence in the Company -- helping to ease their transition from student to apprentice to corps and offering encouragement and advice during their early years.

I suggest that Ms. Phelan, and especially Ms. LeCrone, stop playing with their long hair -- or better yet pull it up and away from their faces.  This nervous habit was distracting and often kept the audience from focusing on the interesting things they had to say.

All-in-all, this was an interesting discussion where the audience got to hear from a new generation of dancers in the Company.  Of the five only Harrison has a 'screen test' on the Company's website (http://www.nycballet.com/Dancers/Dancers-Bios/Harrison-Coll.aspx) so this was a good chance to find out more about what makes these kids tick. 

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.