Program for the 2017 School of American Ballet Workshops

The program for the The School of American Ballet's 2017 Workshops will be:

'Scènes de Ballet', choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, music by Igor Stravinsky;

'Hallelujah Junction', choreography by Peter Martins, music by John Adams;

'Scotch Symphony', choreography by George Balanchine, music by Felix Mendelssohn.

There will be three performances of the workshops: 2pm matinee and 8pm evening performances on Saturday, June 3rd and gala benefit performance at 7pm on Monday, June 5th.

'Scènes de Ballet':

Igor Stravinsky composed 'Scènes de Ballet' in 1944 for 'The Seven Lively Arts', a revue staged by the Broadway impresario Billy Rose at the Ziegfeld Theater in December of that year.  The show starred Beatrice Lillie, Bert Lahr and Benny Goodman.  The leading roles in the ballet were danced by Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin.  Dolin also handled the choreography.  

The score is about 19 minutes long and is divided into 9 sections (or scenes):

• Introduction
• Danses
• Pantomime
• Pas de deux
• Pantomime
• Variations
• Pantomime
• Danses
• Apotheose

Stravinsky composed his music as a suite of dances and did not intend his music to suggest any specific scenario.

In 1948 Frederick Ashton choreographed a piece to the Stravinsky score for the Sadler's Wells Ballet (The Royal Ballet since 1956).  It featured Margot Fonteyn, Michael Somes and a corps de ballet of 16. 

For New York City Ballet's 1972 Stravinsky Festival John Taras used the Stravinsky score for a ballet that was lead by Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux .  Taras's work soon disappeared from the Company's repertory -- overwhelmed by acclaim for several Balanchine/Stravinsky masterpieces that premiered during the Festival -- including 'Symphony in Three Movements', 'Stravinsky Violin Concerto' and 'Duo Concertant'.

Christopher Wheeldon created his 'Scènes de Ballet' for SAB students during the 1998-99 Winter Term.  It was first performed by 64 SAB students of all ages at the New York State Theater (now David H. Koch Theater) on May 19, 1999. In June of that year it was a featured work in the School's workshop performances.  Wheeldon created the pas de deux for Craig Hall & Faye Arthurs and Seth Orza & Sarah Ricard (now Ricard-Orza) -- although Mr. Orza was unable to dance in those initial performances due to injury.

Wheeldon's ballet has returned both to the Koch Theater and to the SAB workshops since 1999 -- most recently as part of an all-Stravinsky program during the Company's 2017 Winter Season.

I was already a volunteer at SAB in 1999 and I remember watching Wheeldon setting this work on advanced students in Studio One.  He divided the space with a diagonal row of the moveable barres.  They danced in the two trapezoidal spaces in a strangely distorted symmetry.  It wasn't until we viewed 'Scènes de Ballet' on stage with Ian Falconer's backdrop that Wheeldon's theatrical concept made sense. Before us was an Imperial Russian ballet studio with a diagonal wall of mirrors, a portrait of a ballerina at one end reflected in the mirrors along with reflections of a row of windows looking out on an onion-domed Russian church.  It is brilliant stagecraft, especially when populated with 64 students of various ages and stages of development -- 32 'real' ballet students and 32 'reflections'.

Much of Wheeldon's choreography involves maintaining the central illusion of dancers reflected in the studio mirrors -- but the gorgeous central pas de deux is an early example of his skill in creating complex partnered work.  The duet is staged as the daydream of one of the tiniest dancers.

The tiniest student dreams of her glamorous future in Christopher Wheeldon's 'Scenes de Ballet'.
Photo from NYC Ballet's website.

Here is a video clip from the 2017 Winter Season performances at the Koch Theater which shows the end of the pas de deux and the return of the 'real' dancers and their 'reflections':

https://www.nycballet.com/ballets/s/scenes-de-ballet-(wheeldon).aspx 

'Hallelujah Junction':

Hallelujah Junction is a very small town in California near the border with Nevada where State Route 70 meets Interstate 395.  The composer John Adams has a cabin nearby.  In 1996 Adams wrote a piece titled 'Hallelujah Junction' for two pianos -- Adams has said it was "a good title needing a piece, so I obliged".  It is centered on the interchange and overlap of melodic and rhythmic motifs between the two pianos giving a kind of propulsive stuttering effect.

In 2001 Peter Martins selected Adams' score for a work he created for the Royal Danish Ballet.  It uses a principal couple (in white), a male soloist (in black) and a corps of four men (in white) and four women (in black).  The two pianos were put on an elevated platform at the back of the stage behind a scrim -- an animated, but shadowy backdrop for the restlessly energetic dancers in the foreground.  

At the ballet's premiere on March 24, 2001 at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen 'Hallelujah Junction' was led by Gitte Lindstrom, Andrew Bowman, and Andrey Batalov.  At the ballet's January 22, 2002 New York City premiere at the New York State Theater, Ms. Lindstrom and Mr. Bowman (as guest artists) were joined by Benjamin Millepied in the male solo role.  It has been revived by the Company several times since then. 

Here's a video clip from a recent performance by the Company featuring Lauren Lovette, Taylor Stanley and Daniel Ulbricht:

https://www.nycballet.com/ballets/h/hallelujah-junction.aspx

'Scotch Symphony':

During the summer of 1952 New York City Ballet's European tour included performances at the Edinburgh Festival. George Balanchine attended the military tattoo at Edinburgh Castle during that visit and came away inspired by the massed marching of the various regiments in their regimental kilts -- something he later explored in two ballets: 'Scotch Symphony' later that year and 'Union Jack' 24 years later in 1976.

For 'Scotch Symphony' Balanchine used the last three movements of Felix Mendelssohn's 'Symphony #3 in A Minor, Opus 56' -- the 'Scottish' symphony.  In addition to the tattoo at Edinburgh Castle Balanchine borrowed choreographic ideas from the 19th century Romantic ballet 'La Sylphide' which is set among the clans of Scotland.  The ballet is for a principal couple, a female soloist and a corps of eight couples.  At the first performance by the Company on November 11, 1952, Maria Tallchief and Andre Eglevsky were the leading couple with Patricia Wilde as the 'Highland lassie'.

Maria Tallchief with Anthony Blum in Balanchine's 'Scotch Symphony'.

The first movement seems to be a clan gathering with the 'Highland lassie' in a red tartan kilt dancing technically demanding passages with the corps.  The male corps wear green tartan kilts with red velvet military style jackets.  The female corps wear knee-length pale pink tutus with laced black velvet bodices. 

The second movement is primarily for the lead couple -- the woman in pink tutu and darker rose velvet bodice and the man in black tights, black velvet jacket with white ruffles at the neck and a red tartan scarf across his chest.  Their pas de deux is interrupted by the clansmen from the first movement who repeatedly separate the ballerina from her suitor.  I have always interpreted this as an expression of clan rivalry and felt that the first movement's 'Highland lassie' (also in red tartan) may have been acting as a distraction of the green tartaned clan so that her brother (or cousin) can court the sylph figure.  No matter what one may imagine, this pas de deux is a gorgeous example of Balanchine's Romantic choreography.

Here's a link to a New York Times video of two SAB students (Mira Nadon and Davide Riccardo) rehearsing the pas de deux:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/arts/dance/spellbinding-luminosity-ballet-students-in-balanchines-scotch-symphony.html?_r=0

Mira Nadon and Davide Riccardo rehearsing the pas de deux from Balanchine's 'Scotch Symphony'.
Photo still from NYTimes video.

The third movement combines the lead couple and the corps (the female soloist never returns after the first movement) in a celebratory mode that to me evokes a Highland engagement or wedding celebration for the lead couple as well as a reconciliation of the two clans. 

San Francisco Ballet with Yuan Yuan Tan (center) in the third movement of Balanchine's 'Scotch Symphony'.
Photo from the San Francisco Examiner courtesy of San Francisco Ballet .

Suki Schorer and Susan Pillare are collaborating on the staging of 'Scotch Symphony' for these workshop performances.

New York City Ballet: Matinee on Sunday, September 25th . . .

SUNDAY MATINEE, SEPTEMBER 25, 3:00 PM 

BALANCHINE x VIENNA

DIVERTIMENTO NO. 15: *Pollack, Pereira, *Laracey, *Isaacs, M. Fairchild, *Finlay, *Ball, *Gordon [Conductor: Litton]

EPISODES: A. Stafford, Suozzi, Lowery, J. Angle, Phelan, *Chamblee, Mearns, Janzen [Conductor: Otranto]

VIENNA WALTZES: Krohn, Janzen, Bouder, Garcia, *Pollack, Stanley, Schumacher, Lovette, Finlay, *Reichlen, J. Angle [Conductor: Litton]

* First Time in Role on Friday, September 23

The Company's rationale for this program is that it brought together three works by George Balanchine to music of composers who lived and worked in Vienna.  While I admit that this is true, it doesn't explain the enormous differences in both the music and the choreography.  In fact, the greater miracle of the program is that all three works were choreographed by a single choreographer.

George Balanchine had first choreographed 'Caracole' to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's  'Divertimento No. 15 in B-flat major, K. 287' in 1952.  Four years later when the Company was invited to participate in a Mozart Festival at the American Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, CT, Balanchine used the music and much of the earlier choreography for a new work that he titled 'Divertimento No. 15'.

'Divertimento' uses eight soloists -- five women and three men -- and a corps of eight women.  The costumes by Karinska evoke Vienna with tutus for the women that are based on Viennese window shades and vaguely military tunics for the men -- all in shades of yellow and pale blue.  The dancers are deployed in a kaleidoscopic array of patterns -- ever evolving and dissolving.  With its odd numbers of male and female soloists Balanchine seems to take great delight in creating shifting arrangements -- two trios and one couple; two couples and a quartet; five women and three men in same-sex circles; a line of five women supported by three men; on-and-on.

In the opening movement, 'Minuet', the soloists are introduced weaving through the corps more regimented patterns.  At the end of the movement the eight soloists are left center stage as the corps bows and withdraws.  In the following 'Theme and Variations' each soloist is shown individually in variations of crystalline grace.  

The 'Andante' has been called a pas de deux for five ballerinas and three cavaliers.  In it each ballerina in succession is partnered by one of the three cavaliers -- the exit of each couple overlapping with the entrance of the next.  The movement ends with a dance for all eight soloists to a cadenza for violin and viola by John Colman that was added in the 1960's.  The five women and three men then form two same-sex circles each with one arm raised before bowing to each other and leaving the stage.  The 'Finale' brings together the entire cast in an exhilarating romp.

The five ballerinas of Balanchine's 'Divertimento No. 15' from a recent performance.
 (Abi Stafford, Meagan Fairchild & Lauren King, I think).
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

'Divertimento No. 15' often serves as an introduction of promising young dancers to the Company's audience.  At Sunday's matinee six of the eight soloists had made their debuts the previous Friday evening -- Ashly Isaacs, Erica Pereira, Indiana Woodward, Harrison Ball, Chase Finlay and Joseph Gordon.  Dancing the 'Theme' of the second movement Mr. Ball and Mr. Gordon were refined and elegant.  Ms. Woodward was a bit edgy in the 'First Variation', taking particular delight in its shifts of weight and emphasizing its off-centeredness.  Ms. Pereira danced the 'Second Variation' with delicate crispness.  The veteran, Ashley Laracey, performed the 'Third Variation' with a mixture of natural graciousness and politisse.  Ms. Isaacs bounded through the 'Fourth Variation' with vigor and grace.  Mr. Finlay danced the 'Fifth Variation' with dignity and ballon.  Megan Fairchild, dancing with a new expansiveness since her return from Broadway, sparkled brightly in the 'Sixth Variation'.

In this most egalitarian of ballets, Balanchine takes care to provide interesting passages for each of the soloists, but it is Ms. Fairchild and Mr. Finlay who occupy the center of his formations and provide the overall focus.  This was a beautifully executed performance and provided a coolly effervescent start to our 2016-17 ballet season.

Egged on by Lincoln Kirstein, Balanchine conceived 'Episodes' in 1959 in conjunction with Martha Graham as a piece that would use all of the orchestral music of Anton von Webern.  In the first section to Webern's 'Passacaglia and Six Pieces' Graham choreographed the rivalry between Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I as a tennis match.  Graham herself played Mary with Sallie Wilson, a NYC Ballet ballerina at the time, as Elizabeth.  Balanchine choreographed the remaining five sections -- including a long solo for Paul Taylor, who was a dancer with the Graham company at the time.  Currently, 'Episodes' is performed by the Company without either the opening Graham section or the Taylor solo. 

In 1986, Paul Taylor taught his solo to Peter Frame, one of the Company's principal dancers.  From 1986 until 1989, Mr. Frame danced the 'Taylor' solo in the Company's performances of 'Episodes'.  When Peter retired from the Company in 1990, the 'Taylor' solo was also dropped.  Peter Frame discusses learning the solo from Paul Taylor in his blog here:

http://www.balletacademyeast.com/PageId/1/LId/1/Id/28/My-Blog/BlogId/10/Peter-Frame---Reviving-a-Solo-for-Miami-City-Ballet.html

As you will learn, Peter mounted the 'Episodes' solo for Miami City Ballet in 2013.  Peter is on the faculty of Ballet Academy East and teaches Weight Training for Men (a preventive injury program) at The School of American Ballet.

The four remaining movements of 'Episodes' as currently performed by the Company are austere -- verging on arid.  In the first, 'Symphony, Opus 21', Abi Stafford and Sean Suozzi fronted a corps of three couples -- the bland leading the bland thru a bleak musical landscape.

Abi Stafford and Sean Suozzi in the 'Symphony, Opus 21' section of George Balanchine's 'Episodes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Savannah Lowery and Jared Angel danced 'Five Pieces, Opus 10' -- a series of five short duets on a dark stage under spotlights that includes the grotesque but memorable 'antlered man' image plus several other uncomfortable and slightly erotic moments -- always ending abruptly and inconclusively.
  

Savannah Lowery in the 'Five Pieces, Opus 10' section of George Balanchine's 'Episodes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Here's a link to a video of part of the 'Five Pieces, Opus 10' danced by Teresa Reichlen and Ask la Cour on the Company's website:

http://www.nycballet.com/Videos/Ballet-Detail-clips/Episodes-excerpt.aspx#.V_AgBn94i7s.email

Unity Phelan and Preston Chamblee danced 'Concerto, Opus 24' with a corps of four women.  The focus here is on the manipulation of the ballerina by her partner through a series of convoluted, evolving steps and poses -- almost as if she is a puppet and he the puppet master.  Ms. Phelan and Mr. Chamblee are to be congratulated on presenting these knotty movements with a semblance of continuity despite the Webern music.  Mr. Chamblee's whose first performance in this role was on the previous Friday evening continues to make very positive impressions as he takes on an ever expanding selection of the Company's repertory.

The 'Ricercata in six voices from Bach's Musical Offering' was lead by Sara Mearns and Russell Janzen backed by a corps of 12 women.  Webern's use of Bach's 'Musical Offering' as the basis for his composition makes it by far the most accessible music of 'Episodes'.  Ms. Mearns, ably supported by the tall and confident Mr. Janzen, amplifies whatever shreds of lyricism and drama exist in the score and makes another strong case for her musicality and sense of theater.

In 'Episodes' I am always put off by Webern's music which mostly seems like disjointed squiggles and burps.  It is certainly one of the most problematic scores for the Company's dancers to interpret since it lacks much character or continuity and often lacks any dance rhythm.

I wrote extensively about 'Vienna Waltzes' in a post last spring which you can read here:

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7731047659115669466#editor/target=post;postID=7314167606255794895;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=5;src=postname

So here I'll concentrate on the cast in this performance.

In 'Tales of the Vienna Woods' Rebecca Krohn and Russell Jansen were convincing as a shy couple whose love blooms over the course of the movement.  Their waltzing in the woods of silvery trees with ten supporting couples conveyed both the innocence of the mid-19th century and of their relationship.

Ashley Bouder -- recently returned to the stage from maternity leave and partnered by Gonzalo Garcia -- led 'Voices of Spring' with confident elan and controlled bravura.  It seemed surprising that the audience response to Ms. Bouder's performance was fairly muted while Mr. Garcia's solo was greeted with a large (and disruptive) ovation.  Perhaps Ms. Bouder's failure to call attention to her technical feats with her pre-motherhood look-at-me antics left the audience without sufficient clues to her virtuosity.  Let's hope that her return to the stage brings greater maturity worthy of her undisputed artistry and technical brilliance.

Erica Pereira and Troy Schumacher did what they could to enliven the 'Explosion Polka' -- executing the very fast heel-and-toe footwork with extraordinary precision even at Maestro Andrew Litton's breakneck pace.  Still, they can't get through this section fast enough for me.

Lauren Lovette -- another Friday evening debutante -- and Chase Finlay lead the 'Gold and Silver Waltz' from Lehar's 'Merry Widow' which makes allusions to the characters and plot of that operetta.  Ms. Lovette who dances many bubbly lyrical roles in the repertory seemed wildly miscast as the mysterious woman in black.  While I love her dearly in most other roles, she lacks the physical presence and temperament to portray the aloof, worldly widow.  Her partnership with Mr. Finlay here (they were engaged to be married a little over a year ago, then broke up) seems awkward here and they never rose to the heights that can make this most complex waltz sequence memorable.

Teresa Reichlen had also made her debut in the 'Waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier' on Friday evening.  In the opening sequences she was compelling as the innocent waif dreaming of an imaginary ballroom with ghostly waltzing couples and a materializing/dematerializing dance partner -- Jared Angle.  With a deep, deep backbend she left the stage just as the chandeliers blazed on for the finale.  With 25 waltzing couples -- including all five principal couples -- magnified by the wall of mirrors across the back of the stage, it was once again a magnificent theatrical spectacle.

Massed waltzing couples in the finale of Balanchine's 'Vienna Waltzes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

There is no question that every performance of 'Vienna Waltzes' that we see carries whiffs of nostalgia for dancers who have long since retired from the stage -- the original cast, memorable replacements, even some casting misfires along the way.  Here is a video of the 'Der Rosenkavalier' section with the incomparable Suzanne Farrell -- for whom Balanchine created the role -- dancing with Adam Luders.  It's taken from the 1983 Balanchine Tribute which was aired by the PBS show 'Dance in America': 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PMAc0MRto0

Still, 'Vienna Waltzes' remains a showcase for each succeeding generation of dancers to leave their own after images as they deepen their interpretations of a role or advance from one role to the next.  Sometimes they remake themselves to fit these roles, sometimes they simply emerge in them fully formed and occasionally their interpretations evolve into memorable artistry.

Wrap-Up to the SAB 2015-16 Winter Term

Workshop Gala Dinner at David Geffen Hall following
the performance on Tuesday evening, June 7th. 

The last day of The School of American Ballet's 2015-16 Winter Term was Friday, June 17th.  Following the successful Workshop Performances on Saturday, June 4th, and the Workshop Performance Gala Benefit on Tuesday, June 7th, the students in the advanced division were back in the SAB studios again on Wednesday, June 8th, refining what had already seemed perfect at the performances.

2016 Mae L. Wien Award winners with Kay Mazzo, Co-Chairman of the SAB faculty
were (left to right): Jon Stafford (faculty award), Ms. Mazzo, Ethan Fuller,
Emma Von Enck, and Christopher D'Ariano
Photo by Paul Kolnik for SAB

Advanced students at the end of the last class on June 17th.  Jon Stafford is at left.

Of the Capstone students (those that aged out of the School's programs this June) 18 have accepted offers of apprenticeships, second company positions and traineeships.  Look for these students (now SAB alumni) on professional ballet stages during the years ahead:

New York City Ballet apprentices:

• Eliza Blutt
• Christina Clark
• Ethan Fuller
• Jennifer Hackbarth
• Kennard Henson
• Emma Von Enck

Pacific Northwest Ballet professional division trainees:

• Christopher D'Ariano
• Hailey Dupont
• Dallas Finlay
• Marie Millard

Other companies around the U.S. and the world:

• Lillian Casscells, apprentice at Dresden Semperoper Ballett
• Lucia Connelly, apprentice at Joffrey Ballet
• Rachel Costin and Wilson Livingston, apprentices at Sarasota Ballet
• Gabriela Schiefer, member of Boston Ballet II
• Marc LaPierre, apprentice at LA Ballet
• Taylor Ayotte, trainee at Carolina Ballet
• Lucy Nevin, trainee at Washinton Ballet

In addition, four students have elected to go on to universities and colleges:

• Ana Maria Del Mar, Harvard University plus London University of the Arts
• Trevor Dines, Columbia University
• Michael Garcia, The Julliard School
• Xhosa Scott, University of Virginia

Thirty students graduate(d) from high school this spring.  Twelve of them received a total of 37 acceptances from 31 different colleges and universities.

Capstone students with Suzy Pilarre (second from left), Suki Schorer (third from right) and Kay Mazzo (far right).

Obviously, Jonathan Stafford's efforts as Professional Placement Manager (one of the three positions Jon fills at SAB and NYC Ballet) and the Student Life staff directed by Kelly Novitski have done another wonderful job this year in assisting students as they move along their paths toward professional careers or other opportunities.

Most of the remaining advanced division students will be attending summer programs at ballet companies and schools around this country and the world, before returning to SAB in September for the 2016-17 Winter Term.  And SAB will be hosting 200 students from around the world during its own 5-week Summer Session and then several more students at its 2-week summer workshop for younger dancers in southern California.

We wish them all further successes as they move forward now and anticipate learning more about their future achievements both on ballet stages and in the wider world. 

On a Sadder Note:

The SAB 2015-16 Winter Term has had some sad moments as well.

Jock Soto with Luis Fuentes and their dog Bandit in near their home in Eagles Nest, NM this June.
Photo from Laura Ortman's Hair Today on Tumblr

Jock Soto, a highly regarded member of the SAB faculty, retired at the end of 2015 to pursue his interests in the culinary world.  Jock hopes to write more cookbooks (he co-authored 'Our Meals' in 1997 with Heather Watts -- his long time partner at NYC Ballet).  He and his spouse, Luis Fuentes, also hope to open a restaurant and catering business.  Jock had been a teacher at SAB since 1996.  His Adagio (Partnering) classes were widely admired in the ballet world and produced a long line of superb male partners for New York City Ballet -- including Jared Angle, Craig Hall, Amar Ramasar, Tyler Angle, Chase Finlay and Taylor Stanley.

Violette Verdy teaching an Advanced Division class at SAB.
Photo from http://www.bigouden.tv/ obituary (probably by Rosalie O'Connor)

Violette Verdy, the School's first permanent guest teacher, died in early February 2016 after a short illness.  Her regular visits to the School were always highly anticipated by SAB's advanced students.  As one of George Balanchine's favorite ballerinas during her years with New York City Ballet (1958 thru 1977), Ms. Verdy had danced in a wide variety of the company's repertory and creating memorable roles in Mr. B's 'Liebeslieder Waltzer', 'Emeralds', 'Tschaikovsky Pas des Deux', 'La Source' and 'Sonatine' and in Jerome Robbins' 'Dances at a Gathering'.   Following her retirement from the stage, Ms. Verdy had a distinguished career as artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet and Boston Ballet and as a dance educator at Indiana University.  During her brief residencies at SAB her students were privileged to have both a link to the great ballet creators of the 20th century and an inspiring and caring teacher.

New York City Ballet Matinee on Sunday, May 8th

SUNDAY MATINEE, MAY 8, 3:00 PM (Conductor: Sill)

ALL BALANCHINE:

BALLO DELLA REGINA: T. Peck, Garcia, Laracey, Pereira, Isaacs, King 

KAMMERMUSIK NO. 2: Krohn, Ramasar, A. Stafford, Danchig-Waring [Solo Piano: Grant] 

VIENNA WALTZES: Reichlen, T. Angle, M. Fairchild, Huxley, Pereira, Schumacher, Krohn, la Cour, Mearns, J. Angle

For this matinee performance we sat in the Orchestra, Row S, rather than in our normal seats on the right side of the Second Ring.  While the sight lines were fine, the sound from the orchestra was spotty and wan.  There were times in 'Vienna Waltzes' where all we heard were the double basses.  Although the Company sells some seats as 'partial view' at reduced prices, they should really designate these particular seats as 'partial sound'.

The three works on this program were all created by George Balanchine during a concentrated period from June 1977 through January 1978.

George Balanchine choreographed 'Ballo della Regina' in 1978 to ballet music intended for Giuseppe Verdi's opera 'Don Carlo'.  Verdi created a libretto for the ballet about a fisherman searching for the perfect pearl to present to the queen of Spain (who is a character in the opera).  Balanchine alludes to Verdi's story with an iridescent decor, a few 'swimming' movements for the ballerina and a 'searching' motif for her cavalier.

Balanchine's primary reason for creating the ballet was to showcase Merrill Ashley's extraordinary speed, clarity and sunniness.  Although Ashley had been with the Company since 1967 and had danced featured and principal roles in large swaths of the NYCB repertory, this was the first (of only two) ballets that Balanchine choreographed for her.
  

George Balanchine, Merrill Ashley and Robert Weiss working on 'Ballo della Regina'.
Photo by Martha Swope

It remains a daunting challenge for the most accomplished of ballerinas.

Merrill Ashley dancing in Balanchine's 'Ballo della Regina'.
Photo by Martha Swope

Here's a clip of Ms. Ashley discussing the creation of 'Ballo della Regina' (1:29):

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

And here's another made while she was staging the ballet for The Royal Ballet (3:01):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmYiiP9-JgY

At this performance Tyler Peck met the technical challenges with great glee. 
 

Tyler Peck in Balanchine's 'Ballo della Regina'.
Photo by Julieta Cervantes for NY Times

Gonzalo Garcia in the role Balanchine created for Robert Weiss offered Ms. Peck tremendous support in the pas de deux and displayed his own sparkle in the male solos.  Ms. Peck and Mr. Garcia are ideally suited to take on the ballet's technical demands while remaining bouyant and carefree.  Their jaunty presentation stopped just short of cockiness.  Ashley Isaacs and Lauren King seemed particularly delightful among the four demi-soloists.

Balanchine's created 'Kammermusik No. 2' to Paul Hindemith's music of the same name for piano and orchestra in 1978.  It is an astringent, spiky work for two principal couples and a corps of eight men.  At times the eight-man corps dancing primarily to the music of the orchestra is the star of this ballet.  They execute the complicated knots and clots that Balanchine usually created for the female corps -- providing both a frame and a counterpoint to the dancing of the four principals.

The eight-man corps in Balanchine's 'Kammermusik No. 2'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Of the principals, Rebecca Krohn and Amar Ramasar definitely understand the hard-edged, austere choreography that Balanchine devised to the complicated piano part.  Abi Stafford and Adrian Danchig-Waring seemed both less comfortable and less assured.  It's difficult music and requires razor-sharp reflexes and clarity of execution.  Blurring of movements makes the whole thing look sloppy.  There are several passages in canon for the two women that tend to look uncoordinated unless they both dance with conviction. 

Abi Stafford and Rebecca Krohn with the all-male corps in Balanchine's 'Kammermusik No. 2'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

'Vienna Waltzes' which Balanchine created in 1977 is a five-part survey and celebration of 19th century social dancing.  The transforming scenery by Rouben Ter-Artunian sets the stage for each of the five sections and acts as an important adjunct of the choreography.  The sumptuous costumes are the last created by Mme. Barbara Karinska for the Company.

Balanchine seeded the original principal cast with European dancers -- Karin von Aroldingen (with Sean Lavery) in the first part, Helgi Tomasson (with Patricia McBride) in the second, Peter Martins (with Kay Mazzo) in the fourth, and Jorge Donn (with Suzanne Farrell) in the fifth -- because he believed they had grown up amidst the Viennese waltz tradition and were therefore more naturally attuned to its refined execution.  The third part is a polka which he created for Sara Leland and Bart Cook.

Here's a video of Ms. von Aroldingen and Mr. Martins dancing together in the fourth section (Lehar's 'Gold and Silver Waltz') which clearly demonstrates their waltzing dexterity (8:45):

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjY9v9p5dlA

The first 'movement' is set to Johann Strauss II's 'G'Schichten Aus Dem Wienerwald (Tales of the Vienna Woods)' from 1868.  The setting is a magical silvery forest with five trees scattered across center stage.

The ten corps couples waltzing amid the trees in 'Tales of the Vienna Woods' from Balanchine's 'Vienna Waltzes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

They form a kind of obstacle course to be negotiated by the dancers  -- Teresa Reichlen and Tyler Angle with ten corps couples -- and contributing to the complexity of Balanchine's choreography.  The women are in pale pink ball gowns and the men are in military uniforms -- perhaps cadets and their dates taking a woodland break from a military ball.  Ms. Reichlen and Mr. Angle projected the right combination of flirtatious innocence and romantic ardor -- while proving that American dancers of the current generation can indeed waltz.

Teresa Reichlen and Tyler Angle in the 'Tales from the Vienna Woods' section of Balanchine's 'Vienna Waltzes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

The second 'movement' is set to Johann Strauss II's 'Fruhlingstimmen (Voices of Spring)' from 1848.  It is the only section done on pointe.  The music begins with a kind of prelude while three of Ter-Artuniun's five trees rise into the overarching forest canopy.  Megan Fairchild and Anthony Huxley and the corps of eight corps women gamboled through this section with the abandon of forest nymphs.

Megan Fairchild and Joaquin De Luz leading an earlier performance of 'Voices of Spring'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

As the last two Ter-Artuniun's trees disappeared into the flies we are greeted by the rather grotesquely attired dancers in the 'Explosions-Polka' -- set to a polka by Johann Strauss II from 1848.  Erica Pereira and Troy Schumacher executed the rapid heel-and-toe steps with great glee backed-up by three corps couples.  However, since 1977 the humor in this section has palled and as usual in recent years I couldn't wait until it was over.

 Ana Sophia Scheller and Sean Suozzi lead a different cast in the 'Explosion Polka' from George Balanchine's 'Vienna Waltzes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Now Ter-Aruniun's forest completely disappears and the stage is transformed into a belle epoque society cafe with art nouveau overlays.  There Chase Finlay's prince met Rebecca Krohn's merry widow to the strains of Franz Lehar's 'Gold und Silver Walzer (Gold and Silver Waltz)' from 1905.  Their waltzes amidst ten couples are among Balanchine's most complex and beautiful waltz variations.  It is worth returning to the video of von Aroldingen and Martins to enjoy the set transformation and these wonderful waltzes -- which were beautifully executed here by Mr. Finlay and especially Ms. Krohn. 

Ask la Cour and Rebecca Krohn in the 'Gold and Silver Waltz' movement of
George Balanchine's 'Vienna Waltzes'.  Chase Finlay replaced Mr. la Cour at this performance.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

After the final embrace of the prince and the merry widow -- an ending that Balanchine added after the initial performances to mollify critics who found their separation too harsh -- Ter-Artuniun's set transforms into a fin de siecle mirrored ballroom during the pensive opening phrases of the first sequence of waltzes from 'Der Rosenkavalier' by Richard Strauss which were arranged by the composer in 1944.  Several couples in formal dress -- the women in white ball gowns with trains and long white gloves and the men in white tie and black tail coats -- criss-cross the stage. 

Sara Mearns in the 'Der Rosenkavalier' movement of 'Vienna Waltzes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

As the final couple leaves the stage, Sara Mearns appears alone in reverie.  She dances a private waltz, frequently joined by a seemingly phantom partner, Jared Angle.  Several couples whirl around them but Sara evenutally leaves the stage alone.  It is a breath-taking sequence and Ms. Mearns executed it with gorgeous drama.

With her exit the chandeliers blaze on and the casts of each prior movement swirl on and off stage -- lead by Ms. Reichlen and Tyler Angle.

Tyler Angle and Teresa Reichlen in the final movement of 'Vienna Waltzes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet

Gradually the stage fills with 50 dancers magnified by the mirrors covering the entire back wall in a triumphant whirlwind of complex choreography.  All 25 women suddenly drop into a reverence curtsey and the curtain falls.

Here's a link to a video of the final 'Der Rosenkavalier' movement of  'Viennna Waltzes' featuring Suzanne Farrell partnered by Adam Luders (13:45):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PMAc0MRto0

Dance lovers will also spot Kyra Nichols with Sean Lavery, Heather Watts, Judith Fugate, Karin von Aroldingen and Peter Martins, the Sackett brothers and many others.

If you'd like to see a more recent cast in only the swirling final minutes of 'Vienna Waltzes' here's a link to a NYC Ballet video (0:46):

http://www.nycballet.com/Videos/Ballet-Detail-clips/Vienna-Waltzes-excerpt.aspx#.V12qKTubovU.email

The entire cast in the finale of George Balanchine's 'Vienna Waltzes'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for NYC Ballet