NYC Ballet 2017 Fall Season

The New York City Ballet fall season concluded nearly a month ago with Robert Fairchild's farewell performance at the final Sunday matinee on October 15th.  I thought that I would get back into the blog groove with an omnibus posting on the five performances and one dress rehearsal that we attended.

'SWAN LAKE', Sunday Matinee, September 24, 3:00 PM:
(Conductor: Sill) 
ODETTE/ODILE: Bouder
SIEGFRIED: Veyette
VON ROTBART: Chamblee
QUEEN: Kikta
JESTER: Ulbrecht (replaced Villarini-Velez who replaced Ball)
BENNO: Sanz
PAS DE TROIS: Adams, Segin
PAS DE QUATRE: LeCrone, Pollack, Pereira, Gordon
HUNGARIAN: Kretzschmar, Applebaum
RUSSIAN: Gerrity (replaces Isaacs), Stanley
SPANISH: Dutton-O’Hara, Alberda, Anderson, Walker
NEAPOLITAN: Villwock, Villarini-Velez
PRINCESSES: Manzi, Boisson, Mann, Brown, O. MacKinnon, Miller 

I saw the dress rehearsal and two performances of  Peter Martins' 'Swan Lake'.  Martins uses much of George Balanchine's choreography for the first lakeside scene.  Balanchine in turn based the choreography of his one-act 'Swan Lake' on the Petipa and Ivanov versions that he knew from his school days in St. Petersburg in the early 20th century.

Martins own choreographic contributions to this production run the gamut from brilliant to workmanlike to eccentric to just awful.  I find the windmill arms in the ballroom pas de quatre particularly egregious.  Martins' first scene in the palace garden is at least partly redeemed by the adorable children -- students from the School of American Ballet.  And his final lakeside scene concludes brilliantly -- leaving the viewer with a positive impression of the production.

Although many viewers dislike this entire physical production (scenery and costumes designed by the Danish artist, Per Kirkeby), I find his designs for the two lakeside scenes interesting and mysterious.  The scene in the palace garden is a distracting jumble of garish and ugly costumes coupled with a muddy mustard set; and the scene in the palace ballroom looks like an anonymous corporate boardroom inhabited by spooky Elizabethan zombies.

I had seen much of the September 24th cast rehearsing the first act the previous Tuesday afternoon (9/19/2017).  At the rehearsal Ashley Bouder and Andrew Veyette gave half-hearted run-throughs, often simply marking their steps.  Surprisingly, at the Sunday matinee, Andrew's performance continued to be half-hearted -- both uninvolving and uninvolved.  Ashley, on the other hand gave a full-on performance that was surprisingly nuanced in the lakeside scenes and brilliantly bravura in the ballroom pas des deux.   As she acknowledges in one of the Company's videos, she struggles with Odette's lakeside scenes whereas Odile's ballroom persona and choreography are right in her wheelhouse.

Here's the web address of that video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v19PaQ6XF48

Ashley Bouder with corps of Swan Maidens in the first lakeside scene of Peter Martins' 'Swan Lake'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik courtesy of NYC Ballet

Preston Chamblee was compelling as the villain, Von Rotbart, in all of the performances that we saw.  I do wonder, however, why the company insists on casting this role with African-American dancers -- Silas Farley was the alternate in this run and Albert Evans played the part in the original 1999 NYCB production.

Daniel Ulbrecht was suitably brilliant as the Jester -- although this silly and disruptive role makes it hard to appreciate his astonishing technical feats while being annoyed whenever he appears.

Aaron Sanz was a revelation as Benno all three times that I saw him dance.  His dancing in the first act pas de trois was elegant and arrow sharp -- fully inhabiting gorgeous images that linger in the imagination.  His dancing was very fine, especially when contrasted at the September 24th performance with Veyette's lackluster Siegried.


'SWAN LAKE', Sunday Matinee, October 1, 3:00 PM: 
(Conductor: Litton) 
ODETTE/ODILE: *T. Peck
SIEGFRIED: *Finlay 
VON ROTBART: Chamblee 
QUEEN: Kikta
JESTER: Hoxha
BENNO: Sanz
PAS DE TROIS: Adams, Segin
PAS DE QUATRE: LeCrone, Pollack, Pereira, Gordon
HUNGARIAN: *Wellington, *Knight
RUSSIAN: *A. Stafford, *Catazaro
SPANISH: Dutton-O’Hara, Alberda, Anderson, Walker
NEAPOLITAN: Villwock, Villarini-Velez; PRINCESSES: Manzi, Boisson, Hod, Kretzschmar, Johnson, Miller 

* First Time in Role, Wednesday Evening, September 27th

Tiler Peck and Chase Finlay made their debuts as Odette/Odile and Prince Siegfried at the Wednesday evening performance just prior to our Sunday matinee.  Their engagement and chemistry were exemplary.  Chase presented a relatively cool stage persona as Siegfried, but seemed consistently involved in the opening scene and smitten during his first lakeside scene with Tiler's Odette.  Tiler portrayed Odette as wary and frightened before succumbing to Siegfried's tender ardor.  In the ballroom scene Tiler's Odile was suitable alluring and duplicious and Chase as Siegfried was completely swept up in the subterfuge concocted by Von Rotbart and Odile which tricks him into betraying Odile.

Tiler Peck and Chase Finlay in the ballroom pas de deux from 'Swan Lake'
Photo by Paul Kolnik from NYC Ballet

Tiler Peck was sensational in the bravura 'black swan' pas des deux.  She began her fouette turns with at least 10 doubles.  Here's a video of Tiler and Chase in that pas des deux:
  
https://www.facebook.com/nycballet/videos/10159597432895529/

Take a moment to read the comments below the video on the Company's Facebook page.  

I have never seen a conductor put down his baton and join the ovation, but Maestro Litton did just that.  Mr. Finlay offered his own brilliant moments and provided stellar support for Ms. Peck throughout the performance except for a minor bobble at the end of the final scene when their finale embrace went briefly askew.

That final scene is one of the triumphs of Mr. Martins staging.  After that final embrace, Odette bourees diagonally backward from Siegfried disappearing into the back-lit flock of swan maidens clustered in the rear corner of the stage.  Siegfried crumples in despair at losing her forever.


21st CENTURY CHOREOGRAPHY: Sunday, October 8 at 3 PM 
LITURGY: Maria Kowroski, Jared Angle
POLYPHONIA: Unity Phelan, Emilie Gerrity, Ashley Hod, Lauren Lovette, Zachary Catazaro, Aaron Sanz (replaces Harrison Ball), Joseph Gordon, Russell Janzen
ODESSA: Sara Mearns, Ashley Bouder, Sterling Hyltin, Tyler Angle, Taylor Stanley, Joaquin De Luz
THE TIMES ARE RACING: Tiler Peck, Brittany Pollack, Savannah Lowery, Indiana Woodward, Ashly Isaacs, Justin Peck, Amar Ramasar, Sean Suozzi

'Liturgy' and 'Polyphonia' are both choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to the music of Arvo Part -- 'Fratres for Violin, Strings and Percussion' for 'Liturgy' -- and Gyorgy Ligeti --ten short piano solos and duets for 'Polyphonia'.   Except for their music the two works seem quite similar and I would put them on different programs rather than having one follow the other.

In 'Liturgy' Maria Kowroski and Jared Angle executed the choreography that Wheedon created for Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto in 2003.  Somehow Maria and Jared seemed too cautious and solemn here.

When Mr. Wheeldon created 'Polyphonia' in 2001, Whelan and Soto were the central couple.   The piece opens with all eight dancers on stage.  As they move their movements are magnified and distorted by their overlapping shadows on the pale backdrop -- an early example of  Wheeldon's theatrical acumen.  

A cast in the opening moments of Christopher Wheeldon's 'Polyphonia'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The cast of 'Polyphonia' on this program -- all dressed in eggplant leotards -- stood out in several of the short sections.  I especially enjoyed Emilie Gerrity and Aaron Sanz in the third section's playful waltz and Lauren Lovette and Russell Janzen in the sixth's wedding dance.  Unity Phelan and Zachary Catazaro were sensual and intense in the rather ominous ninth section -- the Whelan/Soto roles.  This is a work that rewards repeated viewings and changing casts.

Alexei Ratmansky's 'Odessa' uses a collection of incidental music that Leonid Desyatnikov composed for 'Sunset', a Russian film about Jewish gangsters in Odessa following the Russian Revolution.  It premiered during the Company's 2017 Spring season and this is the second time we saw it with substantially the same cast -- three leading couples and a corps of twelve.  

Sterling Hyltin & Joaquin De Luz in Ratmansky's 'Odessa'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The costumes and lighting are fairly dark.  Ratmansky's choreography has several interesting patches.  The dreamy section for Joaquin De Luz and Sterling Hyltin during which the male corps manipulates Sterling is compelling.  Here's a link to a clip of Joaquin discussing Alexei's choreography: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6nJNnqGzLI 

The closing image -- Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle isolated in a spot light among murky vertical rows of the remaining cast as Sara is slowly rotated while bending away from her partner -- is sensational .  

Amar Ramasar & Sara Mearns in the final moments of Ratmansky's 'Odessa'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Overall, though, 'Odessa' has begun to pall after this second look.

'The Times Are Racing', the Justin Peck sneaker ballet, was first performed as part of the New Combinations program last January.  The recorded music by Dan Deacon is often very loud and propulsive.  Justin responds with modern choreography that reminds me of an of-the-moment up-date of Jerome Robbins' 'Interplay' and 'Opus Jazz'.  The costumes by Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony are variations on jeans, hoodies and other casual street wear.

Original cast in Opening Ceremony costumes for Justin Peck's 'The Times Are Racing'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Ashly Isaacs replaced Rob Fairchild in the sneaker/tap duet with Justin (a male to female swap). 

Justin Peck & Robert Fairchild in video for Peck's 'The Times Are Racing'
Still from  NYC Ballet promotional video 

Here's the link to the promotional video of Justin and Rob dancing the duet in the new 34th Street terminal of the  Number 7 subway line:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj0nltZOf50

The playful, frisky central romantic duet was beautifully danced by Tiler Peck and Amar Ramasar -- the original cast.  Later in the fall season it was danced by Taylor Stanley and Daniel Applebaum(a female to male swap).  These cast changes indicate just how open Justin is to contemporary life in the city and how he's absorbed that into this piece as it moves into repertory.

'The Times are Racing' was certainly the highlight of this program.  It is an exhilarating piece that captures the energy of being young and filled with life in our city right now.


PREMIERS FROM FALL FASHION GALA: Friday, October 13 at 8 PM
THE CHAIRMAN DANCES: Megan LeCrone
THE WIND STILL BRINGS (New Walton/Schumacher)
COMPOSER’S HOLIDAY (New Foss/Reisen): Emma Von Enck, Christina Clark, Gabriel Bolden+, Roman Mejia+
NOT OUR FATE (New Nyman/Lovette): Meaghan Dutton-O’Hara, Ask la Cour, Taylor Stanley, Preston Chamblee, Sara Adams, Laine Habony, Mary Elizabeth Sell, Sarah Villwock, Christopher Grant, Lars Nelson
PULCINELLA VARIATIONS (New Stravinsky/Peck): Georgina Pazcoguin*, Miriam Miller*, Ashly Isaacs*, Emilie Gerrity*, Lydia Wellington*, Russell Janzen*, Andrew Scordato, Harrison Coll*, Sean Suozzi*
{PULCINELLA VARIATIONS (New Stravinsky/Peck) original Fashion Gala cast: Sterling Hyltin, Sara Mearns, Tiler Peck, Brittany Pollack, Indiana Woodward, Jared Angle, Andrew Scordato, Gonzalo Garcia, Anthony Huxley}

* First Time in Role

The Company offered the premiers of four new ballets at its Fall Fashion Gala on September 29th.  At these annual galas the Company pairs choreographers with fashion designers to create new works.  Sometimes the pairings lead to inspired results and sometimes either the designers or the choreographers unbalance the overall effort.  We caught up with these new works plus Martins' 'The Chairman Dances' on October 13th.

To say that 'The Chairman Dances' to music of John Adams from his opera 'Nixon in China' is a trifle gives it too much credit.  Here the 16-member female corps was fronted by an austere, uninflected performance by Megan LeCrone.  Thankfully, the program was all up-hill from there.

Troy Schumacher's 'The Wind Still Brings' has costumes by Jonathan Saunders and music by William Walton -- excerpts from his 'Piano Quartet in D minor'.  Here the eccentric Saunders' costumes -- a combination of wrap skirts (for men & women), palazzo pants and various tunics all in a dark robbins-egg-blue and flesh tones with trailing ribbons of fabric -- overwhelmed and muddled Troy's inventive choreography.  

The cast in Troy Schumacher's 'The Wind Still Brings' in Jonathan Saunders costumes
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The mix of 14 corps dancers included several favorites -- Claire Kretzschmar, Mimi Staker and Emily Kikta; Peter Walker, Devin Alberda and Alec Knight.

Gianna Reisen -- a recent alumna of the School of American Ballet and now an apprentice of the Ballet Semperoper of Dresden -- created 'Composer's Holiday'  to music by Lukas Foss -- 'Three American Pieces for Violin and Piano'.  It was her first ballet for a professional company following three ballets she created for SAB's student choreography workshop and the New York Choreographic Institute.  The costumes by Virgil Abloh of Off-White were fairly traditional -- the women in solid white, flesh colored, or black above-the-knee dance dresses and the men in black pants with tight partly sheer shirts.  

Emma Von Enck and cast in Gianna Reisen's 'Composer's Holiday' wearing Virgil Abloh's costumes
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

They allowed Ms. Reisen's choreography for 12 dancers (a mix of recently promoted corps dancers and apprentices) the visual room to expand and develop.  Although the group dances occasionally lost focus, the work for the two leading couples -- Christina Clark with  Gilbert Bolden III and Emma Von Enck with Roman Meijia -- was interesting and sometimes inspired.  Overall, a remarkably assured debut for Ms. Reisen.

Lauren Lovette choreographed 'Not Our Fate' with costumes by Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim of MONSE and Oscar de la Renta to the music of Michael Nyman -- three excerpts from his 'Concert Suite from Prospero's Books'.  The work was inspired by a poem written by Mary Elizabeth Sell -- a Company dancer.  The final lines of her poem are:

"Spreading love, spreading hate

Is our choice, not our fate."

Here the Garcia/Kim costumes for the 10 dancers -- black bodices laced up the back with white chiffon handkerchief point skirts for the women and white T-shirts and black pants for the men -- nicely complemented the inventive choreography.  

The cast with Meaghan Dutton-O'Hara aloft in Lauren Lovette's 'Not Our Fate'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The central pas de deux for Taylor Stanley and Preston Chamblee is incredibly sensual and sensitive.  The New York Times' Gia Kourlis described it as "two men, not incidentally men of color, in a tender, athletic display of desire".  

Preston Chamblee and Taylor Stanley in Lauren Lovette's 'Not Our Fate'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

There was also a lovely duet for Meaghan Dutton-O'Hara and Ask la Cour.  Ms. Lovette's work -- only her second for the company -- was essentially the apex of this program for us.  Apart from some gimmicky lighting effects, it clearly displays Lauren's gifts for movement invention and a rebellious streak as well.

Justin Peck's 'Pulcinella Variations' to Igor Stravinsky's 'Pulcinella Suite' had costumes by Tsumori Chisato.  

Tsumori Chisato's costume sketches for
Justin Peck's 'Pulcinella Variations'

The costumes were clearly the stars and even a star choreographer like Mr. Peck couldn't entirely restore balance between what the dancers wore and how they moved in his work.  The dancers were individually costumed by Ms. Chisato in outfits that one would be hard pressed to associate with the traditional commedia del arte characters that Stravinsky wrote for.  At this performance, the Company had already deployed the second cast -- perhaps concluding that the original cast of nine principals and soloists weren't needed to strut in Ms. Chisato's colorful, gleefully inventive costumes.  

Original cast in Tsumori Chisato's costumes for Justin Peck's 'Pulcinella Variations'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Here's a link to a video clip from the Company's website with several members of the original cast:

http://www.nycballet.com/Videos/Ballet-Detail-clips/Pulcinella-Variations-excerpt.aspx

Endeavoring to look beyond the kooky costumes at Mr. Peck's movements reveals an interesting string of solos and duets book-ended by two ensembles for the full company of nine.  In this cast I particularly admired Miriam Miller and Russell Jansen in the Serenata; Lydia Wellington in the Allegretto; Emilie Gerrity in the Andantino; and Ashley Isaacs and Harrison Coll in the Gavotta.  Perhaps after the novelty of the costumes fades, we'll be able to appreciate Mr. Peck's choreography.  It was certainly fun to watch these dancers move in their costumes though.

ALL BALANCHINE: Sunday, October 15 at 3 PM
CORTEGE HONGROIS: Reichlen, Janzen, King, Kretzschmar, Lowery, Suozzi
LA VALSE: Sara Mearns, Tyler Angle, Amar Ramasar (replaces Aaron Sanz), Ghaleb Kayali, Kristen Segin, Devin Alberda (replaces Sebastian Villarini-Velez), Brittany Pollack, Daniel Applebaum, Emilie Gerrity, Andrew Scordato, Megan Johnson, Lydia Wellington, Marika Anderson
SQUARE DANCE: Ashley Bouder, Taylor Stanley
DUO CONCERTANT: Sterling Hyltin, Robert Fairchild

Initially this all-Balanchine matinee was sequenced 'Square Dance', 'La Valse', and 'Cortege Hongrois' -- an order that has all of the hallmarks of Mr. Balanchine's superb programming instincts.  When it was announced that this would be Rob Fairchild's final performance with the Company, the sequence was shuffled to add 'Duo Concertant' to the end of a less coherent program of Balanchine works -- but an order that makes sense in the context of Peter Martins' own flair for staging grand farewells.

Speaking of grand farewells, Balanchine created 'Cortege Hongrois' for Melissa Hayden's farewell performance in May, 1973 -- which we attended.  Balanchine had already used music from Glazunov's ballet 'Raymonda' -- composed in 1897-98 for the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg -- for his 'Raymonda Variations' in 1961 and 'Pas de Dix' in 1955.  For 'Cortege Hongrois' he used the Glazunov's music from the Hungarian divertissement that concludes 'Raymonda' -- a mixture of Hungarian character dances and grand classical ballet.  The white, gold and bright green costumes by Rouben Ter-Artunian have been widely reviled and ridiculed, but the choreography derived from Petipa's original is exuberant and appropriately festive.

Company in finale of Balanchine's 'Cortege Hongrois'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Savannah Lowery and Sean Suozzi led the Czardas with extraordinary vitality and panache.  Teresa Reichlen and Russell Janzen are a finely matched pair who led the classical pas de deux and related variations with extraordinary poise and grandeur.  Lauren King and Claire Kretzschmar offered elegant support in the first two solo variations.  The finale where the ethnic and classical dancers come together in a final grand flourish was beautifully realized. 

'La Valse' is a rather macabre ballet to Ravel's 'Valses Nobles et Sentimentales' and 'La Valse'.  Part of its mystique comes from the extraordinary Karinska costumes -- especially the women's ankle length skirts layering various sunset colors of tulle which the dancers manipulate as part of the swirling choreography.  The first section of eight waltzes introduces three women often referred to as the 'three fates', three couples, and finally the central couple -- here Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle -- in the eighth waltz.  In the second section Death (Amar Ramasar) seduces the virginal Sara.  She dies in a fiery vortex of swirling dancers.  As Ravel once noted about his music "we are on the edge of a volcano".

When Balanchine created 'Square Dance' to music by Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi in 1957 there was a square dance caller and the orchestra on stage with the dancers, led by Patricia Wilde and Nicolas Magallanes in the principal roles.  When Balanchine revived the ballet in 1976 the caller was gone, the orchestra was in the pit, and a difficult new adagio solo was added for Bart Cook.

Ashley Bouder and Taylor Stanley led 'Square Dance' with the requisite technical brilliance.  Balanchine's filligreed call-and-response choreography between the principals and corps requires for technical brilliance from the entire cast and the seasoned corps responded to Ashley and Taylor with brio and finesse.

Ashley Bouder & Taylor Stanley with cast in Balanchine's 'Square Dance'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Here's a clip of Taylor discussing 'Square Dance':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpRZcx1KDQo

For his final New York City Ballet performance, Rob Fairchild danced the Balanchine/Stravinsky 'Duo Concertant' with his frequent partner Sterling Hyltin -- as very young dancers they originated the leading roles in Peter Martins' 'Romeo + Juliet' in 2007.  'Duo Concertant' was created for Kay Mazzo and Peter Martins as part of the Company's 1972 Stravinsky Festival.  For me this ballet can seem rather slight and trite -- often used as filler on more substantial programs.  Even on this occasion -- Rob's farewell to the Company -- it seemed like a collection of choreographic sketches without much weight.

Stirling Hyltin & Robert Fairchild in Balanchine's 'Duo Concertant'
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Robbie Fairchild is leaving New York City Ballet to pursue stage and screen opportunities that have opened to him as a result of his Tony-nominated starring role in Christopher Wheeldon's 'American in Paris' on Broadway and in London.  With the Company his roles included the male leads in Balanchine's 'Slaughter on 10th Avenue' and 'Who Cares' as well as Tony in Jerome Robbins' 'West Side Story Suite'  -- which all speak to his 'show biz' ability and proclivity.

Of course the Koch Theater was packed with Robbie's many fans and there was a huge ovation at the conclusion of 'Duo Concertant'.  Robbie and Sterling took several bows before the great gold curtain -- which then swept up to reveal Robbie alone on stage with a basket of roses.  As the Company's principals came on stage to salute him, Robbie dispensed a single rose to each along with hugs and kisses.  Eventually he was joined by Peter Martins, all of the Company dancers in the theater that afternoon and Nicolaj Hubbe.  After a shower of silver confetti and several more solo bows the curtain slowly descended on Robbie's stellar ballet career.

Robert Fairchild acknowledging his final ovation at NYC Ballet surrounded by Peter Martins and the Company
Photo by Kent G. Becker

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

The Company's fall season exposed the dichotomy of it's repertory and programming -- the need to balance it's economic realities (represented by the two-week run of the full-evening 'Swan Lake' and the unbalanced designer/choreographer pairings for the traditional Fashion gala) with it's adventurous choreographic tradition (represented by the four new ballets from the Fashion gala and the program of 21st century works).  The racial type-casting in 'Swan Lake' contrasted with casting in new works that pushed sexual boundaries.  Engaging and encouraging female choreographers will help address the dearth of women creators in classical ballet -- but there are very few role models for them.  

The same is true for the dancers -- there are a few role models for the men of color, but none above the corps for women of color .  They can't all look to Misty Copeland at ABT for inspiration.  There are now several dancers of color among the corps and recent apprentices.  They've fought the odds to get this far, but what can they aspire to in the Company -- third Princess from the left in 'Swan Lake', maybe a variation in 'Raymonda Variations', maybe a role in a new ballet?

In this post I've tried to highlight the positive aspects of this season, but not ignore its shortcomings.  As usual, the dancing was often extraordinary, the choreography was variable, the music was eclectic and generally well-played and the level of design was all over the map.

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. 

Still More Ballet Quibbles & Bits. . .

NYCB's Program for Children with Disabilities:

This spring New York City Ballet launched a program specially designed for families with disabled children.  It's extremely moving to watch principal dancers Maria Kowroski and Adrian Danchig-Waring work with 19 youngsters with cerebral palsy and their families as they experience the joy of dancing in this short video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp6LeOIkUuQ&utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FY16SummerCerebralPalsyAppeal&utm_content=version_A

"I didn't want to treat them differently from a normal child.  I didn't want to make them feel disabled, " Maria says in the video.  "I was worried that I was going to get emotional watching them because it's difficult to see someone struggle."

Maria Kowroski and Adrian Danchig Waring in Ulysses Dove's 'Red Angels'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

City Ballet partnered with a cerebral palsy specialist, Joseph Dutkowsky, M.D., who helped Maria and Adrian design and lead the workshop -- a total of four sessions ending with a 'performance' where their young students donned purple tutus and red super-hero capes to perform the movements they had worked on in earlier sessions for an audience of parents and family members.

The final 'performance' of NYC Ballet's workshops for disabled children.
Photo is a still from the video filmed by Upworthy.

Of the 'performance' Adrian says " it was a really emotional day.  Maria and I had not been prepared for how connected we would feel immediately with the group of kids that we had.  In fact, we had underprepared for how energetic, enthusiastic, and physically capable these kids turned out to be."  Watch the video -- it will make you proud of New York City Ballet and Maria and Adrian for undertaking this project, which became a labor of love.


SAB's Summer Choreography Showing:

On Thursday, July 30th, we attended School of American Ballet's Summer Choreography Showing.  Toward the end of every Summer Session the School offers two choreographers the chance to create a work for the most advanced summer students.  This summer, Alec Knight and Jock Soto were the choreographers (Jock stepped in when Sasonah Huttenbach, who was originally selected, dropped out for health reasons).

Alec Knight has choreographed works for the past two Student Choreography Workshops.  For this Summer Choreography Showing, Alec created a work for 16 advanced students to a piece of music called 'Ēvolūtiō' by Break of Reality -- a cello rock band that consists of three cellists and a percussionist.  

Break with Reality, the American cello rock band

Break of Reality was formed in 2003 by four freshman at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.  Two of the original founders, Patrick Laird and Ivan Trevino, are still with the band.  The other two current members are Laura Metcalf and Adrian Daurov.

'Ēvolūtiō' consists of four movements:  'Intactus' (untouched, pure, to one's self); 'Exordium' (the start, an introduction, or to have curiosity about another being); 'Amare & Luctus' (love and heartbreak); and 'Recomminiscor' (to reinvent, rebuild).  It is an adventurous choice of music for a budding choreographer and Alec Knight used the four sections to portray the transition from often lonely adolescence to adulthood.  Using 16 advanced students dressed in black leotards (the women) and black T-shirts and tights (the men) Alec portrayed in often quirky, abstracted movements and interactions between dancers the evolution he had described in his introductory remarks.

'Ēvolūtiō' begins with a single woman alone in the center of the studio and then moves groups of dancers on and off the performing space.  Interactions are fragmentary and the sense of isolation -- both of the individual and of smaller groups -- permeates the first movement.  In the second movement, interaction becomes more frequent as individuals break through their isolation.  In the third movement an infatuation between two of the dancers emerges, but ends in disappointment.  And in the final movement, the dancers have become a community from which individuals and couples emerge and retreat.

In SAB's Studio One the audience is spread along one long wall adjacent to the performing space which can make watching a performance (or even a class) seem like watching tennis from a front row seat.  Many neophyte choreographers struggle to help observers focus on the important elements of their dance design.  Alec was largely successful with groupings that attract the eye and canonical movements that lead the audience from one 'important' element to the next.

Jock Soto chose 'Valse' from  Alexander Glazunov's 'Raymonda' (beautifully played by Ala Reznik) for his piece, 'The Waltz', for 26 advanced students.  The music was familiar to New York City Ballet followers since it is used by Balanchine in 'Raymonda Variations'.  Jock decided to present the rest of the summer course advanced students (and to round out his design -- two of the women from Alec's work) so all got the opportunity to dance in the showing.

Jock used a female soloist, three male demi-soloists (the Cuban triplets) and an ensemble of eleven couples.  His answer to the 'tennis match' problem of Studio One was to employ symmetrical patterns for the ensemble and also for the triplets -- though I thought they were spaced too far apart.  

The overall look of 'The Waltz' was traditional (the women in white leotards and tutus and the men in white T-shirts and black tights) and the choreography was lyrical.  The triplets were given several bravura passages and the female soloist had a long passage of intricate pointe work.  The 11 couples in the ensemble showcased the impressive results of Mr. Soto's (with Darci Kistler or Yvonne Borree) Adagio classes during the summer session.

The showcase was a wonderful evening of ballet potential -- with student dancers, a budding choreographer and another one too seldom seen exploring new horizons together.


New York City Ballet's 2015-16 Season Artwork:

I'm not wild about the cartoony artwork the Company is using for it's 2015-16 Season brochures, posters and other advertising/PR materials.  

Art by Jamie Lee Reardin from NYC Ballet's 2015-16 Season Subscription Brochure.

It's by Jamie Lee Reardin, who has worked primarily in fashion illustration.  Anyhow, here's a short video which provides a translation from the Company's outstanding repertory and superb dancers to Ms. Readin's caricatured interpretations:

https://video-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xta1/v/t43.1792-2/11774942_10155916651600529_1243611289_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjE1MDAsInJsYSI6MTAyNH0%3D&rl=1500&vabr=626&oh=2d42d309de7e6f4b810639ae590d3a61&oe=55C2BD1E

I really can't imagine Reardin's art blown up to gigantic proportions on the Columbus Avenue side of the Koch Theater!

Jamie Lee Reardin's interpretation of 'Swan Lake' for New York City Ballet.

Albert Evans: A Life in Dance Cut Short

It was a shock to learn that Albert Evans had died at Mount Sinai Hospital on Monday evening, June 22nd, after [what the New York City Ballet spokesman described as] 'a short illness'.  Albert was a vital and vivid presence around the Lincoln Center campus for many, many years.  As a black man, he was a source of inspiration for a growing cadre of young black dancers -- students at the School of American Ballet and dancers in the Company -- Craig Hall, Taylor Stanley, Olivia Boisson, Silas Farley, Preston Chamblee -- still too few but many more than when he came on the scene.  As a man, he was inimitable -- gracious, funny, kind, thoughtful, supportive.

Albert Evans grew up in Atlanta, GA.  He first came to the School of American Ballet's for the Summer Session in 1982 when he was just 13.  In September 1986 he came back to the School's Winter Term on full scholarship.  While still a student at SAB, he was chosen by Elliot Feld to perform in 'The Unanswered Question' choreographed for New York City Ballet's American Music Festival in 1988.  It was one of Feld's surrealist circus pieces and Albert played a young man wearing a gold crown and twirling drumsticks as he marched slowly around the stage to a selection of short pieces by Charles Ives.  He was also chosen by William Forsythe as a last-minute substitute for his 'Behind the China Dogs' in that Festival. 

Albert Evans and Maria Kowroski in the pas de deux from Balanchine's 'Agon'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Albert was invited to join the Company's corps de ballet later in 1988 and was promoted to soloist in 1991 and to principal in 1995.  He was the first black dancer promoted to principal by New York City Ballet since Arthur Mitchell in 1955.  While he performed in a wide repertoire of ballets, Albert was best known for roles in the Balanchine 'black-and-white' pieces -- 'Agon', 'The Four Temperaments', 'Stravinsky Violin Concerto', 'Symphony in Three Movements', 'Episodes', 'Concerto Barocco' and 'Movements for Piano and Orchestra'/'Momentum Pro Gesualdo' -- which he infused with unexpected warmth and humanity as well as exceptional strength.

Alfred Evans as Puck in George Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with Arch Higgins and Alexandra Ansanelli.  Photo by  Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Albert brought his special charisma and superb technique to lots of other ballets from the Balanchine repertory -- memories of an indelible Puck in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'; an elegant Cavalier in 'The Nutcracker'; the swaggering Rhinestone Cowboy in 'Western Symphony'; the suave song-and-dance man of 'Who Cares?'; the haughty leader of the Czardas in 'Cortege Hongrois'; and the antic sailor in 'Union Jack' all come flooding back.

And who can forget his sensual young ballet student in Jerome Robbins' 'Afternoon of a Faun'?

Peter Martins created a wide range of roles for Albert including the swaggering and sinister Von Rotbart in 'Swan Lake'; the playful 'Puss'n'Boots' in 'Sleeping Beauty'; and original roles in 'Jazz in Six Syncopated Movements'; 'Jeu de Cartes'; 'Slominsky's Earbox'; and 'Todo Buenos Aires'.

He was sought out by choreographers to dance in many of the Company's new works.  Among the many memorable roles that were created for Albert were parts in Christopher Wheeldon's 'Klavier'; Ulysses Dove's 'Red Angels'; 

Albert Evans with Maria Kowroski in Ulysses Dove's 'Red Angels'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Miriam Mahdaviani's 'Appalachia Waltz' and 'Correlazione'; Christopher D'Amboise's 'Circle of Fifths'; Garth Fagin's 'Ellington Elation' from 'Duke!'; Alexei Ratmansky's 'Russian Seasons'; 

Albert Evans with Rebecca Krohn, Jon Stafford and Rachel Rutherford in Alexei Ratmansky's 'Russian Seasons'.
Photo by John Ross

Susan Stroman's 'Makin' Whoopee' from 'Double Feature'; and Twyla Tharp's 'The Beethoven Seventh'.

Wendy Whelan and Albert Evans in the pas de deux from Forsythe's 'Herman Schmerman'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Albert retired from the stage after a farewell performance on June 20, 2010.  For his farewell Albert danced the pas de deux from William Forsythe's 'Herman Schmerman' with Wendy Whelan; and 'Phlegmatic' in Balanchine's 'Four Temperaments'. 

Albert Evans as 'Phlegmatic' from 'The Four Temperaments' by George Balanchine.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Denying the sadness of his retirement from performing, Albert used the final moments of his farewell performance to remove his ballet slippers and fling them into the audience and then to lie down behind the mound of flowers he had received from current and former company members.

Albert Evans lying down with the floral tributes at the end of the farewell ovation.

Following his retirement from the stage, Albert was appointed a Ballet Master for the Company.  Among his many assignments, Albert worked closely with Justin Peck on his new ballets for the Company -- including 'Paz de La Jolla' where his supportive presence was evident in the movie 'Ballet 422' which tracked its creation.

Albert taught occasional classes at the School of American Ballet where he was a wonderful teacher and mentor for a generation of adoring students.

Here's a link to a beautiful tribute that Faye Arthurs posted on her blog, 'Thoughts from the Paint', about her memories of working with Albert:

http://www.thoughtsfromthepaint.com/thoughts/for-albert


And here's  a link to a posting on 'Oberon's Grove' that discusses Albert's career:

http://oberon481.typepad.com/oberons_grove/2015/06/beloved-albert.html

By being himself -- a superb performer and a wonderful human being -- Albert Evans had an enormous impact on everyone who knew him or saw him dance.  He left us too soon -- he will be missed.