Friday June 27, 2008 - The much-anticipated DANCERS' CHOICE evening at New York City Ballet was worth the wait. With the programme and casting devised by principal dancer Jonathan Stafford, NYC Ballet fans got to see several favorite dancers stepping into new roles as they appeared in excepts from the Company's large and varied repertoire. Highlighting the event was the premiere of an "in-house" work, FLIT OF FURY/THE MONARCH, choreographed by Adam Hendrickson to a score by Aaron Severini. The dazzle of the evening spilled off the stage and onto the Promenade where everyone was buzzing about our favorite ballet company, buying the t-shirt and bidding on silent-auction items.
In a way the evening was more like a family gathering than a ballet gala. There was a tremendously enthusiastic and very full house cheering the dancers all evening. Before the performance we met Wendy Whelan and Lydia Wellington, saw Peter and Darci, beamed greetings to Abi and Kaitlyn, wondered if Sean Suozzi was going to shave off his goatee before dancing (he did) and chatted with Teresa Reichlen's mom and aunt. Inside we ran into Kyle Froman who steered us to the Apprentices who were passing out complimentary copies of his out-of-this-world photo booklet - it's like a whole new realm of dance photography. Lydia graciously gave me an extra copy (which I'll be sending to Kay and Georgia in Copenhagen). During the intermission the bloggers and friends met up; we wanted to look at the Silent Auction items but we couldn't get anywhere near the table. We got a chance to wish William Lin-Yee all the best in his grand jetee to PNB. At the end of the evening we sat outside for a while and met the delightful Kathryn Morgan and Sophie Flack, watched all the girls in their party frocks passing by and ended our NYCB season chatting with Faye Arthurs and Gwyneth Muller who were so sweet and looked so Summery. Evan wrote about the evening here and Ariel here. Sarah writes about the evening and reflects on the season here.
Yes, in the midst of all this there was dancing. Lots of dancing. There was the new Hendrickson-Severini ballet FLIT OF FURY/THE MONARCH which won an enthusiastic reception. Driven by Aaron's pulsating score with its ever-shifting harmonics - played on two onstage grand pianos by Steven Peck and Stephen Gosling - the four boys (Rob Fairchild, Sean Suozzi, Allen Peiffer and David Prottas) traded bursts of virtuosity centered in classical technique but with a contemporary edge. In the central duet, Gretchen Smith (in a Kyle Froman rehearsal photo) and Sean Suozzi danced while the three other boys knelt in silhouette. Gretchen's role was rather fleeting and she was a bit hampered by an unflattering costume; Sean 
showed all the power of his personality which makes him one of the Company's most exciting dancers. The four boys then drove the ballet to its conclusion with their relentless energy. Adam knows his fellow dancers and their capabilities and he gave
them combinations which make them look their best but which also push them outside their usual frame of reference. He also designed the men's costumes, dark and sleek with just a hint of colour to match the flame-coloured back panel. The pianists were in complete command of Aaron's music which percolates with rhythmic vitality while ominous undercurrents continually rise to the surface. I hope we will have future opportunities to see this ballet - and judging from the cheers that greeted the creators, dancers and musicians I would say the audience agreed with me. (Second photo by Paul Kolnik from the performance).
There were four extraordinary partnerships to be seen in the course of the evening, starting with Janie Taylor and Craig Hall in PURPLE; they continue to explore their charismatic partnership which has been so striking in AFTERNOON OF A FAUN and THE CAGE. I'd love to see them together in OPUS 19 or IN G MAJOR. Janie's hair drew much comment during the intermission. Amanda Hankes opened the excerpt from DANCES AT A GATHERING with great sense of dramatic urgency. Amanda has made memorable impressions as the Lilac Fairy and as a demi-soliste in TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO #2 and she was one of several corps dancers who shone in expanded opportunities tonight - an indication of the enormous depth of talent in the Company. Megan Fairchild was outstanding as the Girl in Apricot with Tyler Angle, Amar Ramasar and a fleeting appearance by Austin Laurent making me wish this cast could be seen in the entire ballet. Over the years in so many performances of GATHERING I have seen some stellar dancers perform the central duet but I have to say Rachel Rutherford and Jared Angle moved me deeply tonight with the tender lyricism and pure musicality of their phrasing, creating such an atmosphere that you almost sensed time standing still as we eavesdropped on their world of private romance. Rachel and Jared have both had extraordinary seasons and tonight was both a culmination and a reason to look forward to what they will do in future seasons.
Sara Mearns and Stephen Hanna in BEETHOVEN ROMANCE created a wonderful interlude of romantic classicism; they dance beautifully together with Stephen's tall and elegant cavalier ardently responding to the flowing effortlessness of Sara's style with her expressive port de bras. They were warmly supported in their reverie by violinist Kurt Nikkanen's clarity of tone and phrasing. When the Shostakovich music for the adagio from MERCURIAL MANOEUVRES began, I thought "This won't work out of context." Wrong. It turned into probably the most compelling passage of music expressed in motion all evening. This adagio isn't about steps, it's about stops. Three times the ballerina is caught and frozen in the air by her partner and tonight Abi Stafford and Tyler Angle made it not only visually arresting but musically inspiring. Tyler can no longer be viewed as a 'rising young dancer' - he's already there. Abi's given some beautiful performances this season but she surpassed herself here, finding just the right sense of mystery to make the pas de deux all the more intriguing. I always praise Abi as one of the most musical of dancers; her sense of timing, anticipation and 'finish' is always so alert and polished. That's why watching her is always a joy and Wei agreed that her performance tonight was really special. It would be nice to see the complete MERCURIAL again - with Abi & Tyler in the leading roles, of course.
Andrew Veyette, in the solo from SQUARE DANCE and Teresa Reichlen dancing EMERALDS provided an oasis of Balanchinian calm and refinement. I was wondering how these two solos would work as 'gala' items but thanks to the technical command and presence of these two dancers both solos held the audience under their spell. Tess needs to be seen in EMERALDS at the next revival; she may become one of those Three-Jewel ballerinas who are very rare. Savannah Lowery and Troy Schumacher showed us Balanchine's extroverted side as Savannah relished her dance to the beating drums from UNION JACK and Troy easily flashed thru the zillion pirouettes and air turns of the 3rd Regiment solo from STARS & STRIPES. Opening the evening, Ellen Bar's solo girl in the RUBIES excerpt made me want to see her in the whole ballet. Ashley Bouder and Daniel Ulbricht let their astounding technical powers unfurl in bravura combinations which wowed the audience.
The INTERPLAY except works nicely out of context; Giovanni Villalobos was charming and Ana Sophia Scheller stood out for her precision. Ashley Laracey, Georgina Pazcoguin, Tiler Peck, Antonio Carmena, Vincent Paradiso and Christian Tworzyanski turned what I often think of as a silly ballet into something very entertaining. The finale of GLASS PIECES was a great ending for the first half and evoked a big audience response. At the end of the evening, Tiler Peck glitteringly kicked off the final movement of SYMPHONY IN C and was joined by Jason Fowler and later by Sterling Hyltin, Jared Angle, Rebecca Krohn, Ask LaCour, Megan Fairchild and Antonio Carmena plus a bevy of delightful demis and the full Corps. A quick sweep with the opera glasses and it was easy to find Lydia weaving her way thru the Balanchine patterns; it will be fun to witness her progress onstage.
Crowd? What crowd!? The film When We Were Kids featured a score by Henry Seth and Ask LaCour and revealed several of our favorite dancers in 'home movie' footage from their youngest dancing days. A big Bravo goes to Jonathan Stafford for master-minding the evening which I hope will become an annual event. I wonder how the Silent Auction went? Next year they might consider having Dancers' Choice on a Sunday afternoon with a meet-and-mingle for dancers and devotees on the Promenade afterwards. That way the dancers won't have to get up the next morning and go to work.
Introduced to Katie Morgan, I could think of nothing more original to say than "You're so pretty!" There's nothing like stating the obvious. She took it graciously. I was glad, since Wei has been able to come to the ballet so rarely this season, that he got to see Faye. He loves all the dancers but he adores Faye. All evening the dancers we met were so kind and generous and made us feel part of the extended NYC Ballet family. Tonight certainly reaffirmed the talent, creativity and dedication of the dancers as individuals and as a remarkable Company.
