NYCB 'Nutcracker' 12/9/2015

WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 9, 7:00 PM (Conductor: Capps)

SUGARPLUM: Reichlen Mearns; 
CAVALIER: T. Angle; 
DEWDROP: M. Fairchild; 
HERR DROSSELMEIER: La Fosse+; 
MARZIPAN: Lovette; 
HOT CHOCOLATE: Muller, Applebaum; 
COFFEE: Krohn; TEA: Villarini-Velez; 
CANDY CANE: Ball; 
MOTHER GINGER: Sanz; 
FLOWERS: Mann, Adams; 
DOLLS: Von Enck, MacKinnon; 
SOLDIER: Kayali;
MOUSE KING: Thew; 
FRAU & DR STAHLBAUM: Anderson, Catazaro

We saw New York City Ballet perform 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker' on the evening of our 49th anniversary.  We've probably seen this production over 70 times and it is always a high point of our holidays.  Of course the Company has been performing it since February, 1954, well before either of us had arrived in New York City. 

At this performance the orchestra, conducted by Stuart Capps, was merely adequate.  This was a small-scaled, conventional reading of Tschaikovsky's famous and familiar score that would not be out of place in any elevator in town. It lacked the grand sweep and subtle nuance that this production requires to be its very best.

Despite these musical reservations, it was a unique performance filled with wonderful dancing and special theatrical felicities.  Marika Anderson and Zachary Catazaro presided over the opening party scene with warmth and grace.  The guests and their children (students from the School of American Ballet) were just at the sweet spot in this 46-performance run where they become comfortable in their roles, but are not yet bored.  Aaron Plous as Fritz was gleefully mischievous, Natalie Glassie wavered between solemn and sweet as Marie (and later as The Little Princess) and F. Henry Berlin as Drosselmeier's nephew (later The Nutcracker and The Little Prince) was suitably handsome, polite and aloof.

Robert LaFosse as Herr Drosselmeier reveals the nutcracker in the Party Scene.
Photo by Andrea Mohin for NYTimes

As Drosselmeier, Robert LaFosse, a guest artist and former principal dancer with the Company, enchanted the party guests with his antics and his mechanical dolls -- Olivia MacKinnon and Claire Von Enck as Harlequin and Columbine, and Ghaleb Kayali as the Soldier.  When Drosselmeier returns to repair the nutcracker which Fritz had broken during the party, LaFosse made him mysterious and quite mad without letting him become too creepy or sinister.

The giant mice arrived to menace Marie, the tree grew, the army of toy soldiers assembled to defend her, and the Nutcracker was awakened to do battle with the multi-headed Mouse King.  Then the Nutcracker was transformed into the Little Prince who crowned Marie his Little Princess and lead her into the Land of Snow.

Snowflakes in the blizzard.  Photo by Andrea Mohin for NYTimes

Balanchine's choreography for the sixteen Snowflakes is pure crystalline perfection -- swirling, multifaceted shapes coalesce and fragment in a blizzard of invention.  The corps -- including four apprentices from the School of American Ballet -- was beautifully prepared, crisp and incisive.

Corps of sixteen Snowflakes.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

As the curtain rose on Act II we were in The Land of Sweets -- the domain of Teresa Reichlen's regal and gracious Sugarplum Fairy.  We were greeted by 12 tiny Angels (from SAB, of course) performing one of Balanchine's great dances for children.  The palpable concentration on these tiny faces as they criss-cross the stage is always the sweetest moment in the ballet for me.  They were joined by Ms. Reichlen's Sugarplum.  Bonding with her young subjects is always the first test of an authentic Sugarplum -- Reichlen passed with flying colors -- beckoning each little Angel to cross in front of her and then leading them in a circular tour of the stage before dancing her variation under their adoring gaze.

Teresa Reichlen as the Sugarplum Fairy.   Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Then we were introduced to the Sugarplum's entire court -- Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Tea, Candy Canes, Marzipan Shepherdesses, Polichinelles, and Dewdrop with her corps of Flowers -- before The Little Prince and Princess arrived in their walnut shell boat.  Prompted by the Sugarplum, F. Henry Berlin as the Little Prince described his triumph over the Mouse King in very precise and expansive mime**.  Delighted by his account of the battle, the Sugarplum escorted the Little Prince and Princess to a place of honor where they watched the divertissements unfold.

Among the dancers in the divertissements, I was particularly impressed by the stretch and snap Gwyneth Muller's Hot Chocolate; by the crisp swagger of Harrison Ball's Candy Cane; and by the delicacy and clear articulation of Lauren Lovette (newly returned from surgery) as the Marzipan Shepherdess.  The voluptuous sensuality of Rebecca Krohn's Coffee was nearly undone by the intransigent tempo from the pit, but she prevailed.

Rebecca Krohn as Coffee.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Emerging from her garden of fourteen lovely Flowers, Megan Fairchild's Dewdrop was a revelation.  After a year on Broadway in 'On the Town', Megan's dancing seems to have acquired both larger scale, greater attack and hints of Broadway bravura.  She has always been a superb technician, but here technique was coupled with both nuanced musical phrasing and knowing theatricality that soared over and around the four-square music from the pit.  We truly saw the music at its best while hearing it at its most banal. 

Megan Fairchild as Dewdrop in Waltz of the Flowers.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Of course, the SAB students that populate the second act (as in the first act) -- The Little Prince and Princess, the Angels, the Candy Canes, and the Polichinelles -- are all adorable and well-prepared by Children's Ballet Master Dena Abergel and Assistance Children's Ballet Master Arch Higgins.  And for a change, the Polichinelles weren't completely upstaged by the outrageous behavior of Mother Ginger as played by Aaron Sanz.  

Children's Ballet Master Dena Abergel rehearsing the children from the School of American Ballet.
Photo by Agaton Strom for Wall Street Journal

Five SAB apprentices scattered throughout the ensembles added notes of eager spontaneity to Hot Chocolate and Waltz of the Flowers as well.

The grand pas de deux for the Sugarplum and her Cavalier is usually the crest of this enormous swell of dance invention.  Since Ms. Reichlen stepped in to replace Sara Mearns -- who was injured when her shoe split apart on her first entrance as Dewdrop earlier in the season -- I assume that Reichlen and Tyler Angle had limited rehearsal time together.  Both are gifted dancers -- who may even have danced these roles together in previous seasons -- but here they were missing the ultimate polish that makes this piece truly unforgettable. They were fine, but the arc of dance perfection had crested a few moments earlier with Megan Fairchild's exquisite (and show-biz savvy) Dewdrop.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

** One year we attended a seminar at the School of American Ballet where Peter Boal (then a member of SAB's faculty) taught The Little Prince's mime scene to one of the student candidates for the part of The Little Prince.  Peter's explanation of the gestures always comes back to mind whenever we watch this mime scene unfold.

Peter Boal as The Little Prince in 1975.  Photo by Martha Swope

As a young student Peter Boal first danced in Balanchine's Nutcracker as a party guest, before undertaking the role of Drosselmeier's Nephew/The Nutcracker/The Little Prince at age ten in 1975 -- when George Balanchine was still alive and actively involved in staging the ballet.  A few years later Peter was the teen-age boy who crouches under the bed and provides its locomotion.  He went on to dance most of the adult roles in the ballet culminating with The Sugarplum Fairy's Cavalier.  In 2014 he even made one guest appearance with NYC Ballet as Herr Drosselmeier.  

As the Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Peter has just unveiled his own staging of Balanchine's Nutcracker for that company.  He will play the role of Herr Drosselmeier at several PNB performances this season.

The Little Prince has been the launching pad for several distinguished ballet careers in addition to Peter Boal's -- including those of Eliot Feld (who originated the role) and Jacques d'Amboise. 

Jacques d'Amboise as The Little Prince.  Photo by Martha Swope

And don't forget that as a student in St. Petersburg, George Balanchine played The Little Prince himself.  In the early days of this production Balanchine also played Herr Drosselmeier -- including in the first television production of the ballet.

  

    

NYCB 2/1/15 Matinee Performance

SUNDAY MATINEE, FEBRUARY 1, 3:00 PM [Conductor: Sill] 
SYMPHONIC DANCES: *Reichlen, *Catazaro 
THE CAGE: Hyltin, *Kikta, *J. Peck, Suozzi 
ANDANTINO: Bouder, Veyette [Solo Piano: Walters] 
CORTÈGE HONGROIS: Kowroski, *Janzen, *Pollack, *LeCrone, Pazcoguin, Hall

* First Time in Role on Friday, January 30th

It's hard to imagine a more disheartening New York City Ballet program on paper than the one we attended on Sunday afternoon.  Subtitled 'Hear the Dance: Russia', it consisted of second rate works by Peter Martins and George Balanchine flanking a masterpiece and a slight but glistening pas de deux by Jerome Robbins -- all to Russian music.  Fortunately, there were several dancers who had debuted in their roles on the previous Friday evening to add some novelty and hopefully some energy to the afternoon.  Super Bowl Sunday is an odd time to be at the ballet I suppose -- the theater was only about 60% filled (no-one in the fourth/fifth ring and lots of empty seats lower down).

It began with Peter Martins' energetic, but generally uninspired 'Symphonic Dances' to the music of the same name by Sergei Rachmaninoff.  Danced by a principal couple, four demi-soloist couples, and 8 corps couples, it was created in 1994 for Darci Kistler and Nicolaj Hubbe.  Teresa Reichlen and Zachary Catazaro (who had debuted in the roles on Friday, 1/30) seemed poorly matched and generally cautious.  Martins choreography for couples is often so difficult and awkward that it is impossible to say if there were actual slip-ups or just planned but ungainly partnering moves.  Kistler and Hubbe could mask such treacherous terrain, but Reichlen and Catazaro in their second performance in these roles often looked clumsy and exposed.

As usual, Martins choreographs brilliant entrances and exits for the large cast, but if they stay on stage for any length of time the moves and patterns become repetitious and unexceptional.  Especially, the four demi-soloist men (Harrison Ball, Joseph Gordon, Spartak Hoxha and Peter Walker) are given some wonderful, explosive entrances.  

Santo Loquasto's costumes are problematic.  The demi-soloist couples are beautifully dressed in teal and rust outfits that look like Russian nobility masquerading as serfs -- although why two of the four men had differently patterned tunics is a mystery.

Demi-soloist couples in Santo Loquasto's costumes for Peter Martins' 'Symphonic Dances'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik

The corps is similarly attired in slightly less brilliant shades of aqua and peach -- the women with less elaborate Russian style headdresses.  The principal couple wears the palest aqua and peach costumes with little decoration and only a few jeweled clips holding up Reichlen's hair.  Near the end she suddenly appears with a ponytail -- looking almost as if she's getting ready for bed.  She and Catazaro just fade into the background when the entire ensemble comes on stage for the finale.

Jerome Robbins' 'The Cage' is danced to Igor Stravinsky's 'String Concerto in D'.  Robbins created 'The Cage' in 1951 for the great dramatic ballerina Nora Kaye as The Novice.  The scenario is clearly derived from the second act of 'Giselle' -- a band of female creatures led by a queen with two henchwomen is initiating a novice when their precinct is invaded by two male intruders in succession and the queen and her band encourage the novice to dispatch them.

Emily Kikta was sensational as The Queen.  Probably the tallest woman in the company, Kikta has long arms and legs and an incredible extension which give her commanding authority in The Queen's opening solo.  Sterling Hyltin was intense and predatory as The Novice -- emphasizing the weirdly nonhuman aspects of a creature learning to tantalize and victimize her prey.  She makes quick work of the first intruder, Sean Suozzi, barely giving Sean time to make an impact.  By the time she gets to the second intruder, Justin Peck, Hyltin has learned to entice and toy with her victim. There is a wonderfully angular and lustful pas de deux before he too is killed.

Justin Peck and Sterling Hyltin in Jerome Robbins' 'The Cage'.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Kikta and Peck had debuted in their roles on Friday evening.  Both made a considerable impact and the audience reacted with an extended ovation for the entire cast.

After a pause, Ashley Bouder and Andrew Veyette danced Jerome Robbins' 'Andantino'.  Robbins created 'Andantino' to the Second Movement (Andantino-semplice--Prestissimo) of Tschaikovsky's First Piano Concerto in 1981 for the Company's Tschaikovsky Festival.  Susan Walters played the solo piano part which is mostly contemplative, unlike the more bombastic outer movements of that concerto.

Ashley Bouder and Andrew Veyette danced this pas de deux with refinement and attention to detail.  There is little opportunity for technical bravado, but their well-honed technical skills were put in service of elegance and beautifully controlled unison passages and partnering.  This brief (8-minute) work was like a refreshing shot of ice-cold premium vodka in the midst of a long, heavy Russian banquet.

Balanchine created 'Cortege Hongrois' in 1973 as a parting gift for Melissa Hayden who retired at the end of the 1973 Spring season.  It was also a sort of apology for having ignored Ms. Hayden in favor of younger ballerinas, particularly Suzanne Farrell, for much of the previous decade.  It is not among Balanchine's finest work -- it is mainly a rehash of Petipa's 1898 choreography from the original 'Raymonda'. 

The music is from the third act of 'Raymonda' by Alexander Glazunov -- a melodious score that Balanchine turned to frequently throughout his career ('Pas de Dix' in 1955 and 'Raymonda Variations' from 1961 which is still in the active repertory).  The ballet that Petipa choreographed in 1898 is about Raymonda, a countess loved by a Hungarian crusader knight, who is seduced by a Saracen but ultimately stays faithful to the knight.  The third act celebrates Raymonda's wedding to the knight.  

'Cortege' is for a principal classical couple (Maria Kowroski with Russell Janzen on Sunday) backed by a classical corps of eight couples; and a principal Hungarian character couple (Georgina Pazcoguin with Craig Hall) backed by a corps of eight Hungarian couples.  The costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian are white decorated with gold for the four principals and white decorated with gold and emerald green for the corps.  The character men wear white boots (for stomping) and puffy 'Hungarian' hats.  The overall effect is garish and somewhat silly.

Rebecca Krohn and Sean Suozzi in the ridiculous Rouben Ter-Arutunian costumes from 'Cortege Hongrois'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Janzen had debuted in the role on Friday evening and his partnering and solo work were still somewhat tentative.  With his height, he is an ideal partner for Kowroski and they look good together.  Kowroski was regal and cool in her solos.  Somehow, she makes the Hungarian mannerisms of her variation seem tacked on rather than integral to the choreography -- perhaps because Balanchine just tacked them on.

Pazcoguin and Hall led the stomping, heel-clicking Czardas with charisma and authority.  Brittany Pollack (a Friday evening debutant) was radiant in the first classical variation, but Megan LeCrone (also new on Friday evening) seemed distracted and pinched in the second.

'Cortege' relies for impact on its courtly parades and massing of dancers in serried ranks.  Instead of innovative choreography one settles for warmed over Petipa with half-hearted Hungarian appliques -- but done to a suite of first rate Glazunov ballet music.

Finale of 'Cortege Hongrois' with Jon Stafford and Maria Kowroski flanked by Sean Suozzi and Rebecca Krohn.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The real pleasure of an uninspiring program like this is in seeing favorite dancers undertaking new roles.  Certainly, Russell Janzen and Brittany Pollack in 'Cortege'; Emily Kikta and Justin Peck in 'The Cage'; and Teresa Reichlen in 'Symphonic Dances' fit that description -- although they accommodated the roles with varying degrees of success.  When the choreography doesn't provide surprises, I can always search the corps for familiar faces -- Silas Farley in both 'Symphonic Dances' and 'Cortege' is always totally in the moment with his elegant, stretched lines and exceptional height; Lydia Wellington and Megan Johnson also in 'Symphonic Dances' and 'Cortege' can always be counted on for anchoring lovely moments of corps dancing; Mimi Staker with her sparkling dark eyes was vivacious in the Czardas corps of 'Cortege'. 

Silas Farley dancing the lead in 'Cortege Hongrois' in School of American Ballet's 2012 Workshop Performances.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for SAB

And it's always good to see the pros -- Bouder, Kowroski and Veyette -- in almost any context.  As an alternative to the Super Bowl this was still a super afternoon.

December 6th Matinee of The Nutcracker at NYC Ballet

Poster for this year's 60th Anniversary of 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker'.

This is the 60th anniversary of 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker' which was first produced in February, 1954.  Maria Tallchief and Nicholas Magallanes were the Sugarplum and her Cavalier and Tanaquil Le Clercq was the Dewdrop.  Michael Arshansky played Herr Drosselmeier.

The end of the Party Scene in the 1954 production with Michael Arshansky, Paul Nickel and Roberta Grant.
Photo by Frederick Melton from the Dance Division of the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts

Every year as part of our holiday season we take our nephew and his wife and daughter to see 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker' performed by New York City Ballet.  Because it is always sold out, to get decent seats we order the tickets in mid-summer.  So you always get luck-of-the-draw on casting.

SATURDAY MATINEE, DECEMBER 6, 2:00 PM
(Conductor: Otranto)
SUGARPLUM: Pereira; CAVALIER: De Luz; DEWDROP: Reichlen; HERR DROSSELMEIER: Suozzi;
MARZIPAN: Dronova; HOT CHOCOLATE: Muller, Scordato; COFFEE: Mann; TEA: *Bachman; CANDY CANE: Ball;
MOTHER GINGER: Thew; FLOWERS: King, Laracey; DOLLS: Villwock, Adams; SOLDIER: Hoxha;
MOUSE KING: Sanz; DR & FRAU STAHLBAUM: Arthurs, Catazaro

On paper this was not a cast that I was thrilled with, but in the theater they were remarkably good.

In general, the lighting cues sometimes seemed to be out of sync with the Tschaikovsky music emanating from the pit and the pace of the production on stage.  Clotilde Otranto conducted at a brisk pace throughout, keeping the ballet moving forward, but sacrificing nuance for impetus.

In the first act, the School of American Ballet students in the party scene seemed a bit stiff and lacking in spontaneity -- although Sawyer Reo as Fritz, the naughty little brother was outstanding.  I don't believe I've ever been so aware that the motivation for his outbursts is that his older sister Marie is getting all of the presents and attention.  By the way, Marie's party dress has turned a nasty shade of slush grey and needs to be renewed or replaced.  Zachary Catazaro as Dr. Stahlbaum, the host, seemed too flamboyant, but Faye Arthurs as Frau Stahlbaum looked gorgeous and played the concerned mother and hostess perfectly.  Sean Suozzi's Herr Drosselmeier didn't have enough eccentricity or mystery or flamboyance to carry him convincingly into the vital transition scene between the party and the battle of the mice.

Balanchine's snow scene is so exquisitely designed that even indifferent dancing can never bring it down.  Here the dancing by the 16 snowflakes was brilliant -- etching Balanchine's patterns with crystalline perfection.  Bravo, women of the corps (including the four SAB apprentices)!

The final moments of the Act I Snow Scene as the Little Prince and Princess walk among the Snowflakes.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Act II opens with 12 of the youngest SAB students as tiny Angels. Balanchine understood how to give children steps and patterns that were effective on stage, but not too difficult to learn and perform.  Here the little girls floated across the stage in skimming steps that looked effortless.  Even the tricky criss-crossing diagonals didn't phase them -- they stayed in line and in motion without any hesitations or collisions.

Students from the School of American Ballets as Angels in 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Erica Pereira's solo as the Sugarplum was well danced, but she lacks empathy with her adoring 'court' of little angels -- the eye contact and flirtatious interactions that the best Sugarplums create with them was missing.

Philip Henry Duclos as the Little Prince didn't quite pull together the mimed passage recounting the battle with the mice to get the audience ovation that it often receives.

Hot Chocolate, lead by Gwyneth Muller and Andrew Scordato, seemed merely proficient, without the flash and panache that this Spanish-flavored divertissement should have.  Meagan Mann had the right sensuality for Coffee and used the music's pulse effectively.

A highlight of the divertissements was Austin Bachman's debut in Tea.  His split jumps were astonishing and rightly cheered by the audience.  Harrison Ball lead the Candy Canes with a sense of confidence and brio, but missed the mischievous quality that can make this part especially appealing.

Alina Dronova as the lead Marzipan Shepherdess is a proficient dancer, but almost totally devoid of stage presence.  Fortunately, my eyes kept straying to Megan Johnson and Sara Adams who looked especially lovely in her backup shepherdess quartet.

Joshua Thew nicely underplayed the role of Mother Ginger and didn't distract from the dancing of the eight little Polichinelles that emerge from her giant hoop skirt.  I'm sure that their parents appreciated him ceding the spotlight to their little darlings.

The Waltz of the Flowers is the other Balanchine choreographic masterpiece in 'The Nutcracker'.  With Teresa Reichlen's sparkling Dewdrop, Lauren King and Ashley Laracey as the graceful demi-soloists, and a lovely bouquet of twelve corps flowers it was danced with clarity and musicality.  Reichlen has the technical prowess and stamina for the Dewdrop.  More importantly, she imbues it with daring musical freedom -- sustaining balances, curling through pirouettes, challenging the boundaries of time and space with exploding leaps and grand jetes. 

Teresa Reichlen as Dewdrop with corps in Waltz of the Flowers.  Photo by Andrea Mohin for NYTimes

In the grand pas de deux for the Sugarplum and her Cavalier, Erica Pereira was joined by Joaquin De Luz.  Erica is a wonderful partner for Joaquin (who has temporarily lost his regular Sugarplum, Megan Fairchild, to the Broadway revival of 'On the Town').  Erica is slender and petite with a dark beauty that complements Joaquin's short stature and fiery Latin demeanor.

They carried off the difficult adagio with assurance -- missing the timing on the second multiple supported pirouette into backbend, but doing a beautiful arabesque and balance on the slide across the back of the stage and ending with a lovely promenade into Erica's unsupported balance followed by a spectacular fishdive.  Joaquin's performed his variation with extraordinary precision and panache.  Erica's circle of pique turns into Joaquin's waiting arms showed finesse, daring and exquisite timing.

The final coda, which brings all of the characters from the Act II 'Land of the Sweets' back for brief reprises, is always lots of fun.  It gives the Dewdrop one last chance to show off a beautiful series of pirouettes into arabesque and the Sugarplum and her Cavalier a few more bravura lifts before the Little Prince and Princess are sent flying off in a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

The Little Prince & Princess depart in the sleigh in the final scene of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker.

Since we used to see 'The Nutcracker' twice each season, we've probably seen this production at least 75 times since 1967.  With Tschaikovsky's lovely music, Balanchine's indelible choreography, and casts of dancers at every stage of development -- from beginning students to seasoned principals -- it is always a wonderful holiday treat.   

New York City Ballet -- Sunday, October 19, 2014

How disheartening to walk home from the performance by New York City Ballet last Sunday afternoon!  We had just seen four works by Balanchine choreographed to the music of Tschaikovsky -- Balanchine's company performing four works to the music of one of his favorite composers.   And yet, the fall season had just ended for us with a dull thud.  

SUNDAY MATINEE, OCTOBER 19, 3:00 PM
[Conductor: Capps]
SERENADE: Mearns, Lowery, Reichlen, J. Angle, Danchig-Waring
MOZARTIANA: Kowroski, T. Angle, Huxley
pause
TSCHAIKOVSKY PAS DE DEUX: Bouder, Garcia
TSCHAIKOVSKY SUITE NO. 3: ELEGIE: Krohn, la Cour; WALTZ: A. Stafford, J. Peck;
SCHERZO: Pazcoguin, Schumacher; THEME & VARIATIONS: Hyltin, Veyette

Sure, the company had celebrated the retirement of an iconic ballerina (Wendy Whelan) after a storied 30-year career with the company the night before.  Sure, they were just finishing a season packed with premieres of four new works.  Sure, three of its principals have gone on sabbatical to perform in Broadway shows.  Sure, the company's ranks have been depleted by illness and injury. Sure, sure, sure there are excuses to be made for this bloated, dull performance.

The most egregious reason for this lackluster performance, is the continuing erosion of the standards of the orchestra.  It is now nearly three years since the former music director, Faycal Karoui, announced his decision to leave the company.  Since his departure in the Spring of 2012, the company has not succeeded in securing a competent replacement and has struggled along with an inadequate 'interim music director',  two associate conductors of good-to-indifferent quality, and a collection of so-so guest conductors who may have been auditioning for the music directorship.

The failure of Peter Martins and the Board of Directors to find and engage a music director of the stature of Andrea Quinn and Faycal Karoui for the house of Balanchine is a disgrace.  Having allowed the orchestra to deteriorate in the years prior to Maestra Quinn's arrival in 2001, one would think that management had already learned the lesson that inadequate attention to the pit can have a disastrous impact on the artistic merit of what is presented on stage.

It is interesting to note that three of the four new works this season were performed to solo piano music or small chamber ensembles.  Are the choreographers choosing not to entrust their new pieces to an interim music director and his deficient orchestra?

Instead of just complaining about the lousy music making, let me propose a long-term solution.  Together, New York City Ballet, the Julliard School and Career Transitions for Dancers should establish a joint fellowship/apprenticeship program that identifies dancers reaching the end of their stage careers who have the interest and aptitude to become conductors -- specifically ballet conductors.  Julliard provides formal training and mentorship in music and conducting; City Ballet, the Julliard Dance Division and the School of American Ballet provide apprentice conducting opportunities; individuals who understand ballet from the perspective of dancers gain the technical skills to become ballet conductors and music directors; meaningful career transitions for dancers are facilitated; and the pool of qualified candidates for music director is expanded. 

On Sunday, the orchestra's playing under Daniel Capps wasn't awful, merely indifferent, rote and plodding.

NYC Ballet corps in the opening image of the Balanchine/Tschaikovsky 'Serenade'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

In 'Serenade' to Tschaikovsky's 'Serenade in C for Strings' it seemed that the dancers were given no incentive to listen to the music and respond to it.  When dancers of the stature of Sara Mearns, Teresa Reichlen and Jared Angle appear lethargic and unmotivated something is quite wrong.  Reichlen's 'dark angel' barely completed the manipulated rotations in arabesque above Mearns and left out the final stretched arabesque pose that usually makes this moment so striking.  Adrian Danchig-Waring flubbed a lift with Reichlen.  The final tableau with Mearns carried by the four men looked perilously shakey. 

The closing image of the Balanchine/Tschaikovsky 'Mozartiana' with Tyler Angle, Maria Kowroski and 
Daniel Ulbricht.  Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Balanchine created 'Mozartiana' in 1981 for Suzanne Farrell, Ib Anderson and Christopher d'Amboise -- to Tschaikovsky's 'Suite No. 4', his arrangement and orchestration of four short works by Mozart.  Balanchine had used the music before -- first for Les Ballets 1933 and then in 1945 for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.

Maria Kowroski looked calm and poised in the opening 'Preghiera' which Balanchine stages as a kind of prayer.  Unfortunately, the four young students from the School of American Ballet looked ragged and undone by the lack of musical pulse coming from the pit.  The elegant Anthony Huxley, new in the 'Gigue' this season, gave a surprisingly uninspired performance.  The four tall women (Marika Anderson, Megan Johnson, Emily Kikta, Gwyneth Muller) looked gorgeous in the 'Menuet' but the pit undermined their precision.    Tyler Angle joined Kowroski for the 'Theme et Variations'.  They danced beautifully despite the orchestra's failure to adequately differentiate one variation from another.

Ashley Bouder and Gonzalo Garcia in Balanchine's 'Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux'
Photo from (Albany) Daily Gazette

Ashley Bouder and Gonzalo Garcia brought the requisite dazzle to Balanchine's 'Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux'.  They looked great together.  Gonzalo turns the opposite direction from most male principals in the variations, which is a little disconcerting, but doesn't detract from the clarity of his execution.  Bouder's bravura was on full display -- without the smugness that can often undermine her performances.

Corps and demi-soloists in 'Tema con Variazioni' from Balanchine's 'Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

In 1970 Balanchine created 'Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3' by choreographing the first three movements of the Tschaikovsky suite and tacking them onto the front of 'Theme and Variations' -- a ballet he had created for American Ballet Theatre in 1947 using the final movement from the suite, 'Tema con Variazione'.  The first three sections take place behind a scrim in a hazy, dimly lit, 'ghost' ballroom. The women are in long flowing gowns in shades of lavender with unbound hair and the men are in loose silk trousers with ruffled shirts.  

The opening 'Elegie' was lead by Ask la Cour and Rebecca Krohn.  Ms. Krohn seems uncomfortably miscast as the passionate, romantic 'ideal' woman to Mr. la Cour searching dreamer.  Abi Stafford and Justin Peck could not do much with the lackluster Balanchine choreography for 'Valse Melancolique'.  Georgina Pazcoguin and Troy Schumacher took the spins and leaps of the 'Scherzo' with dare devil speed.  Their final jetes into opposite wings lead to a blackout accompanied by the raising of the scrim (which coupled with the dim lighting always seems like an annoyance by this point in the work).

When the lights blaze on for the 'Tema con Variazioni', we are in a magnificent ballroom with Sterling Hyltin, Andrew Veyette, the four demi-soloist women, and eight corps women symmetrically arrayed in glittering costumes of white, gold and turquoise.  The two principals state the theme, followed by the women.  Variations follow, alternating between the ballerina and her cavalier with support from the demi and corps women.  Unfortunately, Hyltin does not have the technique and strength for this demanding role.  Her footwork and beats are blurred and indistinct and her energy flags noticeably.

The polonaise and finale for the full 26-member cast are always glorious and uplifting.  But they couldn't erase the memories of inadequacies earlier in the performance.  Perhaps an all-Balanchine/Tschaikovsky program looks better on paper than the reality -- nearly three hours in their company with inadequate musicianship and spotty casting.  Perhaps the season should just have ended with Wendy Whelan's farewell performance instead.

Matthew Bourne's 'Sleeping Beauty' on PBS Great Performances

I watched Matthew Bourne's 'Sleeping Beauty' which I had recorded from PBS Great Performances over several evenings last week.  It completes Bourne's reconceptions of the great trilogy of Tschaikovsky ballets -- 'The Nutcracker', 'Swan Lake', and 'Sleeping Beauty'.  The so-called 'male' 'Swan Lake' became an enormous hit in London, on Broadway and around the globe.  We saw 'The Nutcracker' in Los Angeles over ten years ago.  It's set in a Dickensian orphanage. 

In rethinking 'The Sleeping Beauty', Bourne has tackled the thorny problem of the love story.  How realistic is it for Princess Aurora to awaken from a 100-year sleep by the kiss of a prince she has never met, then to immediately fall in love with him and marry him?  

Bourne's solution is that the fairies from the Prologue are also vampires -- vampire fairies.  

The six Vampire-Fairies in the Prologue/Christening.  Liam Mower as Count Lilac is third from the left.
Photo by Simon Annand

This clever and trendy (think the 'Twilight' series of novels and films and the HBO series 'True Blood') combination allows him to make the Act I 'Rose Adagio' into a love duet for Aurora and her true love, the gamekeeper.  

Hannah Vassallo as Aurora and Dominic North as Leo, the gamekeeper, after she is pricked by the thorn
Photo from BBC

When Aurora is pricked by the rose thorn and falls into that century of slumber, the Lilac-Vampire-Fairy bites the gamekeeper -- making him an immortal gamekeeper-vampire-fairy.

Meanwhile, Carabosse, the evil fairy is only a fairy -- not a vampire --  and thus sickens and dies after making her curse in the Prologue.  She's replaced by one of her sons, Caradoc,  who is distraught at his mother's mistreatment by the royals in the Prologue.  He proceeds to enact the curse on Aurora at her 21st birthday celebration.  Later, Caradoc deceives Leo, the gamekeeper-vampire-fairy, into bestowing the awakening kiss on Aurora.  Then Caradoc abducts her for a blood wedding to himself.  

Hannah Vassallo as Aurora arrives for the 'blood wedding' to Caradoc
Photo by Simon Annand

Caradoc is foiled by the Lilac-Vampire-Fairy who kills him with the sacrificial dagger he is about to use on Aurora.

Count Lilac (the Lilac Fairy-Vampire) stabs Caradoc with the ritual knife to end the blood wedding
Photo by Simon Annand

Aurora is spared to wed the gamekeeper and the Apotheosis shows them happily married with their own vampire-fairy-child.

Wedding of Aurora (Hannah Vassallo) and Leo, the gamekeeper-vampire-fairy (Dominic North)Photo by Simon Annand

Throughout the ballet Bourne's choreography ranges from inspired to insipid.  Bourne often demonstrates that he has studied the Petipa original and uses it as the reference point for his own choreographic deconstructions.  His variations for the six fairy-vampires in the Prologue is one clever example.  He uses Petipa's dance motifs for each of the fairies, but then lets his choreographic imagination take hold to expand and alter them to suit his fairy-vampires -- half of whom are female and half male.

In Act I, Bourne's choreography to the garland dance often undermined the waltz impulse of the celebratory music in order to make points about the Edwardian setting.  While his choreography to the Rose adagio music moved the love story forward, it really rode over many of the natural climaxes that are so beautifully effective in the traditional Petipa choreography.  

The vision scene was really more of a collection of dance moments than a sustained exploration of longing and desire. 

Bourne discarded much of the Act III music for the wedding guests (bluebirds, precious jewels, red riding hood) and used the Puss'n'boots music for a dance for the corps with cat-claw motifs.  Bourne used Tschaikovsky's music for the wedding pas de deux for the action sequences of the interrupted blood wedding.

The Prologue/Christening is set in 1890, the year that Petipa's production opened at the Maryinsky in Saint Petersburg.  Act I is set in 1911 on Aurora's 21st birthday celebrated with an Edwardian tea dance/lawn tennis party in front of the castle.  The Act II vision scene is set in a birch forest where most of the characters are in Edwardian corsets and undergarments.  Act III begins in 2011, the year before Bourne's production was introduced.  It starts with the awakening in the birch forest and then moves to a blood-red underground club where all of the characters are dressed in red and black for the blood wedding.  It ends in 2012 with the birth of the vampire-fairy-child to Aurora and Leo.

Aurora as a baby and Leo and Aurora's vampire-fairy-child are played by puppets manipulated by puppeteers using sticks.  They add a whimsical note to the Christening and the Apotheosis.

Having seen all three of Bourne's Tschaikovsky reinventions I think they all display some novelty in their conception, but fail to follow through with consistent levels of choreographic invention.  'Sleeping Beauty' falls back on the admittedly clever vampire-fairy concept but dance imagination often flags.

Jonathan Stafford Farewell Performance in 'Jewels'

SUNDAY MATINEE, MAY 25, 3:00 PM

JEWELS

JONATHAN STAFFORD FAREWELL PERFORMANCE

(Guest Conductor: Kessels)

EMERALDS: Bouder, Ramasar, A. Stafford, J. Stafford, Pereira, Carmena, Laracey 

RUBIES: Hyltin, Veyette, Reichlen [Solo Pianist: Grant] 

DIAMONDS: Mearns, J. Stafford 

We attended the first performance of 'Jewels' in April, 1967.  The performances of its original cast are the after-images against which I judge all of the performances that we've seen in the intervening 47 years -- not only by NYC Ballet, but also by Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, the Maryinsky Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet.

Balanchine with his 'Jewels' ballerinas: (clockwise from lower left) Suzanne Farrell (Diamonds);
Mimi Paul & Violette Verdy (Emeralds); and Patricia McBride (Rubies).
McBride's puffy ruffled skirt was jettisoned after the initial performances.

In fact, we also saw Sara Mearns and Jonathan Stafford make their debuts in 'Diamonds' in 2008.  This past January at a NYC Ballet seminar, we heard the four retiring principals (Ringer, Taylor, Marcovici, and Stafford) talk about their careers and their future plans.  The moderator, Tyler Angle, asked them each to pick a word about their career and explain it.  Jon chose the word 'proud' and explained how proud he was when he and Sara finished their joint debut in 'Diamonds' after working so hard to realize it.  I remember noting at the time that they looked thrilled, even triumphant, at having scaled this particular peak of the Balanchine repertory together.

Jonathan Stafford and Sara Mearns in Balanchine's 'Diamonds', 
(NYC Ballet has used this dramatic photo by Paul Kolnik in their advertising this Spring)

Due to debilitating injuries, Jon Stafford has had a rather stop-and-go performing career at NYCB.  He received his early training at Marcia Dale Weary's Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, then came to the School of American Ballet in 1997.  He was named an apprentice at NYCB in October, 1998 and joined the company's corps de ballet in February, 1999; advanced to soloist in March, 2006, and to principal in May, 2007.   Jon began teaching at SAB in 2006.  He now teaches intermediate and advanced men's classes and beginning adagio classes when his performing schedule permits.  Upon his retirement from performing, Jon will become a ballet master at the company and continue to be on the SAB faculty.
  
Jon is a tall, elegant dancer and an attentive partner.  His stage presence is somewhat stiff and formal, often lacking fluency and personal charisma, but Jon can be close to ideal in certain Balanchine cavalier roles.  His first important principal role was as the 'walking' cavalier in 'Emeralds' and one of his outstanding personal successes was in 'Diamonds' with Sara Mearns.

On Sunday afternoon, Jon danced the 'walking' cavalier (created for Francisco Moncion) in 'Emeralds' with his younger sister, Abi (in the role created for Mimi Paul).  Although they looked very comfortable dancing together they have only rarely been paired at NYC Ballet.  For me, some of their steps looked too robotic, lacking the subtle interior pulse that the best performances of these roles convey and that is clearly heard in Faure's hushed, almost mystical music.

Jonathan and Abi Stafford in 'Emeralds', photo by  Julieta Cervantes for NY Times

Ashley Bouder and Amar Ramasar danced the 'Emeralds' roles created for Violette Verdy and Conrad Ludlow.  Both Ashley and Amar successfully tamed their more flamboyant instincts and danced their parts with sensitivity and nuance.  Ashley used her arms and hands to project the depth, mystery and musicality with which Verdy had imbued the role.  Amar was an attentive partner, but also a musically sensitive soloist.  He grins a bit too much when the music is livelier, which dissipates the overall solemnity that should permeates the piece. 

Ashley Laracey, Erica Pereira and Antonio Carmena danced the pas de trois (created for Suki Schorer, Sara Leland and John Prinz) with a nice airiness.  Antonio is a bit too solid to fit my ideal (Prinz was a tall, slender dancer), but he does have the lightness and precisely etched technique required.

Erica Pereira, Antonio Carmena, and Ashley Laracey in the 'Emeralds' pas de trois,
 photo by Andrea Mohin for the NY Times

The music for 'Emeralds' is from Gabriel Faure's incidental music for 'Pelleas et Melisande' and 'Shylock'. In 1976 Balanchine added an additional pas de deux (to the 'Nocturne' from 'Shylock') and the final pas de sept (to 'La Mort de Melisande' from 'Pelleas et Melisande') to the original choreography. In some performances the intricate and stately finale can seem anticlimactic, but on Sunday it was spell-binding -- beautifully danced by all seven dancers while the audience seemed to collectively hold its breath.

A recent pas de sept cast including (front) Ashley Bouder, Jared Angle, Jon Stafford, Sara Mearns,
(back) Ashley Laracey, Antonio Carmena, Erica Pereira, photo by Andrea Mohin for the NY Times

It's interesting to note that six of the ten women in the 'Emeralds' corps are apprentices from the School of American Ballet.  They looked lovely and danced the simple corps passages with novice solemnity and unity. 


On Sunday, Sterling Hyltin, Andrew Veyette, and Teresa Reichlen danced the roles created by Patricia McBride, Edward Villella, and Patricia Neary in 'Rubies'.  The music for 'Rubies' is Stravinsky's 'Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra' with Cameron Grant as the piano soloist.  It is one of Stravinsky's jazziest and most approachable scores and inspired Balanchine to choreograph a lively 'American' piece filled with his version of bathing beauties, pin-up girls and jocks.

At this point, Tess Reichlen virtually owns the role created by Patricia Neary as the tall, enigmatic siren.  Her technical control of the difficult balances, soaring jetes and assorted exotic moves is astonishing and she dares to be witty, flirty, sensuous and aloof.

Teresa Reichlen with corps women in 'Rubies', photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet
(I'd swear that this was Photo-Shopped, if we hadn't just seen Tess do it live)

Hyltin and Veyette are less persuasive in the McBride and Villella roles.  Sterling's technique has improved tremendously since she first burst on to our radar as Juliet in Peter Martins' 'Romeo+Juliet', but McBride made this role more angular and spiky than Sterling manages.  No one any longer bends her knee slightly the way McBride did when she swung her leg forward with knee nearly touching forehead and then back so toe nearly touched the back of her head -- which always struck me as one of the role's signatures -- or crumples rag-doll limp into her partners arms the way McBride did.  Sterling performs the role like a slightly inebriated southern sorority girl, never achieving McBride's mix of control and abandon.

Andrew Veyette and Sterling Hyltin in 'Rubies', photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Like Villella, Veyette is a jock.  Balanchine made this role a slightly tongue-in-cheek tribute to Villella's prowess as a college baseball player and championship boxer.  Veyette came to ballet via gymnastics and his dancing is always athletic and usually vital.  On Sunday though, he seemed a little off his game and slightly preoccupied -- not fully invested in this role that can seem such a delightful romp with jogging, mimed rope skipping and chases by the four corps men.

Teresa Reichlen with corps (including Messrs. Schumacher, Villalobos and Laurent) in 'Rubies',
photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The work of the four corps men (Ippolito, Laurent, Schumacher, and Villalobos) was vibrant and joyous throughout.  Their interaction with the disdainful Reichlen was especially fun to watch.

Balanchine set 'Diamonds' to the last four movements of Tschaikovsky's 'Symphony #3 in D Major (he deemed the first movement 'undanceable').  On Sunday afternoon, the fourth movement (Scherzo: allegro vivo) -- with its swirling bravura variations for the lead couple and eight demi-soloists -- was also omitted, probably in deference to Jon Stafford's having earlier danced a leading role in 'Emeralds' as well.  I believe that there are some previous precedenst for eliminating or truncating this section. 

'Diamonds' was Balanchine's tribute to the Imperial Russian ballet of his youth.  The ballet's first movement (Alla tedesca: allegro moderato e semplice) for 12 corps women and two demi-soloists is filled with diamond patterns and often lacks a sense of urgency or purpose.  The two demi-soloist women drift on and off stage, while the corps women form various pretty configurations to a gentle waltz tempo.  Basically, it feels like the warm-up to the main event.  

The principal couple have an extended pas de deux (Andante eligiaco) which makes allusions to the encounter between Odette and Prince Siegfried in the second act of 'Swan Lake', the vision scene in 'Sleeping Beauty', and even moments in 'Raymonda' -- all works that Balanchine knew from St. Petersburg.  It was created for Suzanne Farrell and Jacques d'Amboise, although it is more closely associated with Farrell and Peter Martins.  Martins began dancing with NYC Ballet as a guest artist in 1967 and became a principal in 1970.  One critic suggested that d'Amboise presented Farrell like a proud father at his daughter's debut, while Martins treated her as a consort fit for a royal prince.

Peter Martins and Suzanne Farrell in 'Diamonds', photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Jon Stafford presented Sara Mearns on Sunday afternoon with both pride and deference.  As Balanchine intended this adagio is all about the ballerina (Farrell, the 'elusive muse') and Sara looks splendid with Jon's support and guidance.  Jon seemed appropriately enthralled, dropping to one knee at the end to kiss Sara's hand.

Jon Stafford and Sara Mearns in 'Diamonds', photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Moving from the pas de deux directly to the finale (Finale: allegro fuoco: tempo di polacca) brought the entire cast of 12 corps couples and four demi-soloist couples onto the stage for the grand polonaise followed by the long, hierarchical tribute to the principal couple.  Jon lifted Sara in a triumphant series of split jumps before they led the ensemble forward first in a slow, stately unison wave and then again in a swift, showy surge -- Jon dropped to one knee in a final tribute to Sara Mearns, his final ballerina.

Jonathan Stafford holding the mystery envelope during final ovation, photo by McClure
(behind Jon from left Ashley Laracey, Russell Janzen, Peter Martins, Sara Mearns)

The applause was thunderous, there were several traditional curtain calls including three in front of the curtain.  Then the curtain rose on the entire company; bouquets of roses were presented by each of the company's principals -- women then men -- then single roses from the female soloists; a bouquet and a mysterious envelope from Peter Martins; and finally a bouquet from Jon's fiancee, soloist Brittany Pollack (they'll be married in August); then streamers and confetti and bouquets tossed on stage from the audience.  Jon made two or three additional bows before the golden curtain -- a self-effacing, courteous cavalier acknowledging his many admirers -- before disappearing behind it to begin the next chapter of his dance life.

Quibbles & Bits:

The orchestra, conducted by yet another 'guest conductor', Koen Kessels, sounded best in the Faure music for 'Emeralds'.  The Stravinsky music for 'Rubies' was enlivened by the piano soloist, Cameron Grant, but was otherwise wan and predictable.  The Tschaikovsky music for 'Diamonds' was a disaster and certainly contributed to the enervating affect of the first section.  Orchestra balances were way off in both the Stravinsky and the Tschaikovsky -- often bass heavy and lacking vibrancy from inner voices.  Where's the new music director?  In my opinion, this was another failed audition.

I was offended that in the corps of 'Diamonds', two wonderful young multi-racial dancers, Silas Farley and Olivia Boisson, were paired.  Silas is the tallest man in the corps and should have been paired with the tallest woman, Emily Kitka (who he danced with as demi-soloists in 'Who Cares?' in SAB workshop performances).  Olivia -- neither short nor tall -- would look well with any number of partners (she's a gorgeous woman).  Enough of the 'separate, but equal' casting policy!  It's offensive and out of line -- let's go for color-blind casting from now on -- 2014 is the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.