NYCB Tuesday Evening, May 13th

TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 13, 7:30 PM

ALL BALANCHINE

RAYMONDA VARIATIONS: *Lovette, *Huxley, Pollack, Segin, Laracey, Mann, Lowery [Guest Conductor: Alexandros Myrat]

THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER: Pereira, Ulbricht [Guest Conductor: Alexandros Myrat]
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LE TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN [Conductor: Capps]

SYMPHONY IN C: [Guest Conductor: Alexandros Myrat]
First Movement: T. Peck, Finlay Catazaro;
Second Movement: Reichlen, T. Angle;
Third Movement: Isaacs, Garcia; 
Fourth Movement: *Laracey, Stanley 

When the curtain goes up on 'Raymonda Variations', I'm always reminded of the Fragonard Room at the Frick Collection --  with the hazy pastel forest backdrop and the 12 corps women in pink with flowered wreaths on their heads posed in groups of three like shepherdesses at play in the gardens of the Petite Trianon.   

'The Progress of Love: The Lover Crowned'
by Jean-Honore Fragonard
from the Frick Collection

Balanchine found the plot of 'Raymonda' convoluted and ridiculous, but loved the gorgeous score by Glazounov and used it for several ballets, including 'Cortege Hongrois', 'Pas de Dix', and this one.

Lauren Lovette and Anthony Huxley made their debuts in the principal roles on Tuesday evening.  They are both wonderfully vivid soloists and their work in solo passages was sparkling.  Ms. Lovette's pointe work is delicate and precise; she uses her upper body effectively to complete and counterpoint musical phrases.  Mr. Huxley's dancing is elegant and poised; he executes the very difficult beats and tours and pirouettes of his solo variations with such subtle grace and musicality that they appear simple and effortless.

Lauren Lovette and Anthony Huxley in Balanchine's 'Raymonda Variations',
photo by Andrea Mohin for the New York Times

Even though they are wonderful dancers and look great together, their partnered passages are more problematic.  They both appear tense in the two intricate pas de deux.  Mr. Huxley needs to inspire greater trust from his ballerina in these duets and Ms. Lovette needs to cede control to him.  They are too polite and sunny to let these passages degenerate into an open battle of wills, but the overall impression is one of insecurity and unsteadiness.  I have occasionally seen NYCB dancers in Jock Soto's Adagio classes at SAB and I would urge Ms. Lovette and Mr. Huxley to attend when they can.  It would be a shame for them not to work to improve their partnership to match their abilities as individuals.

I still remember first seeing this ballet in the early 1960's from about the third row of the orchestra at City Center.  Melissa Hayden danced the lead (probably with Andre Prokovsky).  Ms. Hayden tested her partner throughout the performance, sabotaging his authority and making herself look wobbly and insecure.  I hadn't watched enough ballet at that point to realize there was a better way.

All five women who emerged from the corps to perform solo variations (Brittany Pollack, Kristen Segin, Ashley Laracey, Meagan Mann and Savannah Lowery) danced so beautifully it seems best to give them all praise.  And the entire corps danced the delicate opening section and the bravura coda with precision, vivacity and heart.  

'The Steadfast Tin Soldier' is one of Balanchine's least interesting works, but one that the company regularly programs as a 'filler' pas de deux.  Set to a sweet, twinkly selection of pieces from Bizet's 'Jeux d'Enfants' and with a homey Christmas set it is too saccharine for my taste.  Daniel Ulbricht dances the title role with elan.  Erica Periera plays the paper doll with glee, but (spoiler alert) still goes up in flames at the end.

Erica Pereira & Daniel Ulbricht in Balanchine's 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier',
photo by Paul Kolnik for New York City Ballet 

Created for NYCB's 1975 Ravel Festival, 'Le Tombeau de Couperin' uses Ravel's score of the same name, which he composed in the style of Francois Couperin, a French baroque composer.  The original 1919 piano suite consisted of 6 movements.  In 1920, Ravel orchestrated 4 of those movements, which are used by Balanchine for this ballet.

'Tombeau' is Balanchine's homage to his fully matured corps de ballet.  The 8 corps couples are initially divided into left and right 'quadrilles'.  For much of the ballet each quadrille performs the same steps -- not as mirror images, but as near carbon copies -- each on it's own half of the stage.  They remind me of those dusty, old stereopticon images that we of-a-certain-age used to view in the school library.  

Stereopticon image -- notice how the images are slightly different.

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When viewed through a special contraption the images seemed to be in 3D.

The special contraption for viewing the stereopticon as a 3D image

I've often wondered if 'Tombeau' is also Mr. B's sly tribute to the steropticon.

Initially, Balanchine seems to give the audience a choice of focusing on one quadrille or bouncing between them.  It is a hallmark of New York City Ballet at this particular point in time that the company dances with great unity and cohesion without ever sublimating the personalities of the dancers.  When I'm familiar with the choreography, I often find myself following one or two favorites -- Olivia Boisson, Lydia Wellington, Troy Schumacher and Devin Alberda all caught my eye in this case.  As the ballet moves on the two quadrille's gradually begin to first encroach on the other's half of the stage and then to interact, eventually intertwining to form one larger pattern using the entire stage. 

Both 'quadrilles' in Balanchine's 'Le Tombeau de Couperin', photo by Paul Kolnik for New York City Ballet

 When I purchased the tickets for the Tuesday evening performance of the 'All Balanchine' program I didn't realize that it was going to be NYC Ballet's 'Celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the School of American Ballet'.  Even when I found out about the celebration from the SAB staff I didn't know that our seats would be right in the middle of their seats.  So we celebrated SAB together!

The actual celebration occurred after the second intermission.  There was a delightful video featuring well-known SAB alumni including Chita Rivera, Jacques d'Amboise, Edward Villela, Allegra Kent, Peter Boal, Kyra Nichols, and many current NYCB principals.   (Unfortunately, they were talking over a tinkling piano soundtrack that made several of them hard to understand).  Then Peter Martins made a short speech, including (as always)  'something Balanchine told me'.  Peter then introduced the current SAB faculty -- all former NYCB dancers and most SAB alumni -- except for Andrei Kramerevsky, the last of the old Russian faculty.

Andrei Kramerevsky in Bolshoi Ballet's
'Fountains of Bakchisarai' in 1960's

Andrei Kramervsky teaching at SAB in 2008

Finally, little girls in pink brought each of the women on the faculty fresh bouquets and Peter rushed to the wings to get a laurel wreath to crown Mr. Kramerevsky. 

Balanchine initially choreographed Bizet's Symphony in C as 'Le Palais de Cristal' for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1947.  The cast for each movement was costumed in a different jewel tone (a pre-cursor to 'Jewels'?).  As 'Symphony in C' and costumed in white and black, it was on the first program of New York City Ballet in October, 1948.  It has been at the heart of the NYCB repertory ever since.

This is our first chance to see the new costumes by Marc Happel that were created for the spring 2012 revival which use (too many) Swarovsky crystals.  I was very fond of the older costumes by Karinska with the simple white satin bows on the tutus.  By comparison, these new costumes seem overly glittery.

Finale of Balanchine's 'Symphony in C' from backstage, photo by Kyle Froman

They are wearing the old Karinska costumes

Nonetheless, the dancers in them are wondrous to behold, dancing in one of company's great treasures.  Tiler Peck seems impervious to the variety of cavaliers that squire her.  The original casting had Chase Finlay leading her through the first movement.  When Chase bowed out due to slower-than-anticipated recovery from his recent injury, Zachary Catazaro stepped in as his replacement.  Ms. Peck and Mr. Catazaro danced the first movement (Allegro Vivo) with high style and no obvious nerves.

Teresa Reichlen and Tyler Angle led the Adagio with a mix of grandeur and radiance.  Tyler has become the company's strongest, most secure partner and his calm support displays his ballerina's long line and extreme extension.  Tess deploys her slender arms and legs to articulate the serene musical  phrases, including the de rigueur forehead-to-knee supported arabesque.

It was a joy to see Ashly Isaacs dancing the third movement (Allegro Vivace) with Gonzalo Garcia.  In spring of 2009 Ashly hobbled on stage on crutches to receive her Wien award at SAB after sustaining an injury during rehearsals for workshop.  Now, here she was dancing one of Balanchine's trickiest roles, seemingly without a care in the world.  Gonzalo came to the company from San Francisco Ballet in 2007.  He is one of three dancers in the company who is not an alumnus of SAB.  Although he is a virtuoso soloist, he is an unexceptional partner.  His cautious partnering of Ashly in this movement resulted in the few tenuous moments of an otherwise glorious performance.

Ashley Laracey and Taylor Stanley led the first section of the fourth movement (also Allegro Vivace) and, yes, I am one of those audience members who leads the applause when they leave the stage to be replaced by the first movement cast.  Ms. Laracey and her corps introduce the repeating dance phrase that becomes the motif of this movement -- rapid multiple fouettes followed by fast, stabbing bourees -- all coordinated to the fast music.  As succeeding casts from each previous movement appear they perform this phrase along with variations on themes from their own movement.  When the principals and demi-soloists from each movement leave the stage, the corps women stay behind, forming an increasingly complex frame for the four ballerinas when they return to center stage.  They are gradually joined by their cavaliers and all 8 demi-soloist couples.  The architectural complexity of the final moments with the entire 52-member cast on stage is astonishing and exhilarating.  

Staged photo of the finale of Balanchine's 'Symphony in C', photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

'Raymonda Variations', 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier', and 'Symphony in C' were conducted by Alexandros Myrat, the company's most recent guest conductor.  His conducting in 'Raymonda' was nuanced and quite lovely, although the house's 'sound enhancement system' was producing a decided tinkling on our side of the orchestra.  Maestro Myrat led 'Symphony in C' at a brisk, virtually airless pace -- even the Second Movement (Adagio) seemed too regimented and the lilting Third Movement (Allegro vivace) too efficient and humorless.  This was yet another reminder that the company needs to appoint a first-class permanent Music Director now to bring some musical substance back to the pit and stop the orchestra's current drift into mediocrity.

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici Farewell Performance

SATURDAY EVENING, March 1, 8 PM
JANIE TAYLOR AND SÉBASTIEN MARCOVICI FAREWELL PERFORMANCE
AFTERNOON OF A FAUN: Taylor, Marcovici [Guest Conductor: Christensen]
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LA VALSE: Taylor, Marcovici, J. Angle, Kayali, Segin, Schumacher, Pollack, Applebaum, Arthurs, Scordato, Smith, Muller, Anderson [Guest Conductor: Christensen]

The Taylor/Marcovici farewell performance featured them in two works -- Robbins' 'Afternoon of a Faun' and Balanchine's 'La Valse' -- created by the two great choreographers for their shared muse, Tanaquil LeClercq. 

Tanaquil LeClercq with Francisco Moncion, the original cast of 'Afternoon of a Faun', photo by Melton

Janie has been a dancer of fragile, almost tenuous grace, most comfortable in the repertory's romantic roles -- the Sleepwalker in 'La Sonambula', the 'waltz girl' in 'Serenade', the ballerina in 'Scotch Symphony' come to mind.  Illness and injuries have sapped her technique, but never her uniquely ethereal stage beauty.

Sebastien has been known primarily for his roles in Balanchine's 'leotard' ballets like 'Four Temperaments', 'Stravinsky Violin Concerto', and 'Agon'.  His stage persona is astringent, angular and muscular -- and though he has been a dependable partner he has never had great on-stage rapport with his ballerinas.

Paired in performance, they are yin and yang -- vulnerability and strength; delicacy and power.  Their most successful pairing was probably in Balanchine's 'Liebeslieder Walzer'.  A performance of 'Liebeslieder' became the occasion for Sebastien's marriage proposal.
 

Sebastien Marcovici and Janie Taylor at their August, 2012 wedding, photo by Wendy Whelan

Unfortunately, their 'Faun' on Saturday evening didn't emit much of the heat and sensuality that can make this work so appealing.  You'd think as a married couple Janie and Sebastien would exude the romantic chemistry that should develop here between Robbins' two ballet students alone in a ballet studio.  Instead they seemed more comfortable emphasizing the work's balletic narcissism and downplaying it's sexual tension.  The work sagged as a result.

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici in 'La Valse', photo by Yana Paskova for NYTimes

In the weirdly sinister world of 'La Valse' Janie and Sebastien dance together in a fairly brief section in the middle of the ballet, but just as they are beginning to build an intense relationship it is cut short by 'fate'. 
  

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici in Balanchine's 'La Valse',
photo from NYC Ballet website probably by Paul Kolnik

Jared Angle, as the death figure, lures Janie with foreboding gifts (black necklace, black gloves, black frock) and then sweeps her into a dance of death. It's rather odd that the couple who first came to our attention as the leads in the 1998 SAB workshop performances of Balanchine's 'Gounod Symphony' -- Janie and Jared -- should be the couple that danced the last waltz of Janie's ballet career.  Jared made his debut in the role this week.  He is chilling and implacable. Janie is covetous and vulnerable.  Janie dies, Jared disappears, Sebastien despairs.

Sebastien Marcovici (left), Janie Taylor and the company in final moments of 'La Valse',
photo from NYC Ballet website, probably by Paul Kolnik

The white-gloved arms and hands of the soloists and corps are so important in setting the creepy mood for this work. The entire company provided a wonderful framework for the two principals' farewell.  I single out Kristin Segin & Troy Schumacher, Faye Arthurs & Andrew Scordato, and Gwyneth Muller for special praise for their work in establishing the ominous atmosphere in the early sections of this ballet.   


Between the two farewell ballets we had the new work, 'Acheron', by the British choreographer Liam Scarlett to Poulenc's 'Organ Concerto'  and Balanchine's 'Walpurgisnacht Ballet' to Gounod's ballet score from the opera 'Faust' (which I'll discuss in separate posts).


The guest conductor for these two works was Henrik Vagn Christensen.  Here he kept the players together, but offered no special insights on these iconic, well-known scores.  I would characterize his approach as generic rather than inspired.

Janie and Sebastien are off to Los Angeles where Sebastien will become the ballet master of L.A. Dance Project, Benjamin Millipied's West Coast company.  I wish them well in their new endeavors.  Their special gifts will be missed at NYC Ballet.