Excellent GATHERING

Tuesday March 29, 2007 - The New York City Ballet's offering of Essential Robbins made me wonder: how much of the Robbins repertoire is really "essential"? Many of his ballets do not seem to have the timeless quality or the emotional depth of the Balanchine works. Aside from DANCES AT A GATHERING, THE CAGE, AFTERNOON OF A FAUN, ANTIQUE EPIGRAPHS, OPUS 19/THE DREAMER, FOUR SEASONS and GOLDBERG VARIATIONS, I am not sure how many Robbins works will  continue to make an impression as time passes. This year his PIANO PIECES  seemed disjointed, and the winter revival of DYBBUK was a big snooze.

Tonight we had IN G MAJOR which is enjoyable and centers on a lovely pas de deux, but some of the corps passages are a little silly (the jogging motif). The 'beach' atmosphere of the backdrop and costumes is attractive and the score works nicely for dance. Among the corps, Faye Arthurs again stood out; I didn't intend to focus on her so much but she always ends up holding my interest. Craig Hall and Adrian Danchig-Waring were really fine here, and Megan LeCrone continues to impress. Maria Kowroski and Philip Neal both danced their solo passages superbly: Maria's breath-taking extension and Philip's very neat pirouettes were among the most memorable features. But there were a couple of minor blips in the partnering; perhaps Maria is just a shade too tall for Philip. As the ballet sped onward, the small flaws were swept away by the jazzy finale.

DANCES AT A GATHERING can seem too long if you're not in the right mood for it. As I was waiting for the curtain to rise I was wondering if it would hold my interest: sometimes, to be honest, it doesn't. But the cast was really tuned-in to the music and created just the right atmosphere. The variety of personalities carried the piece forward and passages that sometimes seem less-than-engrossing were enlivened along the way. Of particular note was the remarkable dancing of Antonio Carmena (in brick) who showed off his spacious technique and ingratiating charm (Kolnik photo, left). Jonathan Stafford (in blue) continues to develop his very appealing presence as he works his way into the repertoire; the original 'catch' of the girl in yellow has been restored and Jon carried it off with real flair, winning a wave of applause. Giving the best performance I have seen from him to date, Amar Ramasar (in green) devoured space with his airy, sustained dancing. His hasty 'escape' from the girl in green made the audience laugh out loud. Dancing with the bravado and assurance that has made them stars, Damian Woetzel and Nikolaj Hubbe were both fantastic tonight. Nikolaj's noble carriage and ardent partnering were ideal and Damian's solo nothing less than a virtuoso masterpiece. Both men found the rapt, poetic expression for their more introspective phrases.

The ladies were equally impressive and here's that gorgeous Bouder jetee photo by Paul Kolnik again; she was just super tonight: so lively and fearless, her technical prowess at an astounding level. Maria Kowroski's endearing tongue-in-cheek flirtiness manifests itself both in her wry expressions and her fluent dancing. Rachel Rutherford (in mauve) was brimming with lyricism and grace, her duet with Nikolaj one of the highlights of the ballet. Abi Stafford is just so luminous now as she branches out into new roles. She is  effortlessly musical and always makes the steps look fresh and alive. Yvonne Borree's duets with Nikolaj and with Damian were impressive in her sense of surrender. She danced with more abandon than she sometimes displays and seemed to relish the playful aspects of the role. At the keyboard, Susan Walters played beautifully, casting a spell over the theatre. The audience responded to this wonderful performance with generous applause.

Although I have never liked I'M OLD FASHIONED, I was planning to stay for it tonight because the cast looked really exciting on paper. But after the remarkable GATHERING I decided I would leave and hold onto the feeling of delight. I think it would be a good idea to always do GATHERING as the closing work since, after watching it, you don't really want to see anything else.    

Comments

[Sarah]

After attending an open rehearsal of Dances at a Gathering last week, and seeing the promise of the performances, I bought tickets to see Saturday's program which was identical to the one you saw on Tuesday.

All I can say is you hit the nail on the head about the performances. Your review is beautifully written and I couldn't have said it better myself. Antonio Carmena and Ashley Bouder's PDD stood out for me on Satruday, especially because they kept up with Susaan (the pianist's) tempo without missing a step, and Susan was playing faster then I have ever heard her play!

I loved it so much, in fact, that I am contemplating getting a standing room ticket for tomorrow night's show just to see it again with Jenny Ringer instead of Yvonne Boree!

[Philip]

Sarah, I am very much wanting to see the 'second cast' most especially for Ringer, Sara Mearns & Adam Hendrickson. But this week and next are so full of performances and other stuff that I am not sure I'll get a chance. Hopefully it will be back in the Winter season and these dancers will again be involved.

You're right, Susan Walters really gave Tonio & Ashley some brisk tempi but they seemed to revel in the speed of it all.

Antonio Carmena is for me one of the brightest lights on that stage right now; I would love to see him get more & more opportunities and I have on my wish-list to see him dancing with Scheller.

Another partnership I would like to see developed is Bouder & Ramasar; they did a really classy NUTCRACKER pdd together a couple years ago. Amar and Jennie Somogyi also have a great chemistry.

This Robbins evening is one programme where the block-scheduling really is a bummer. I could see GATHERING 2 or 3 times but you're always stuck with I'M OLD FASHIONED. Later in the season we have two of my favorites, RAYMONDA & STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO with the dreary DYBBUK in the middle.

[Susan]

Hi Philip - I didn't see you there last night, sorry to have missed you! I agree, Dances was a real treat. In fact I enjoyed the entire evening (I stayed for Old Fashioned) but agree that this program was not well served by the new block programming system. While I find each of the 3 pieces enjoyable they are just too much on the same program. I'd really rather see each of them in some other combination. And as much as I love SVC putting Dybbuk smack in the middle of that program will almost surely keep me away...

[Philip]

Susan, I had moved to 5th Ring before the show due to 'talkers' in my area...you know how that is!

I'm trying to convince myself that I can sit thru DYBBUK again just to see the other two ballets but so far I have not bought a ticket for any performance of that triple bill.

[Bob]

Sit through Dybbuk again? No never, you might as well ask me to sit through Watermill again! But I do think you should have stayed for I'm Old Fashioned last night. I actually like the ballet, although I think that's due in large measure to the emotional Astaire connection. I never tire of seeing that opening film sequence of Astaire and Hayworth (was she not one of the most beautiful actresses ever and she could actually dance too!)dancing to "I'm Old Fashioned" and the finale to the ballet when the NYCB dancers mimic the steps of Astaire and Hayworth (dancing above them on the large screen) and then stop and just look up at them and wave and acknowledge the beauty of what they have done. But I did try to focus more on the actual Robbins choreography last night and I was surprised at how inventive some of his variations actually are. However, the main reason you should have stayed was because it was so splendidly performed last night. Marvelous performances by Maria and Philip (who were also so exquisite in their pas de deux and solos in In G Major), Jeni and Stephen, and Rebecca and Tyler. They made certain parts of the ballet come alive for me in a way that I had not previously experienced. Still, I'll grant you it's not one of Robbins' masterpieces.

AS for Dances at a Gathering, what can I say? When I first saw the ballet many years ago, I thought, as some people (including my wife) still do, that it was very good but too long. In recent years, however, I have concluded that BAlanchine was right to have encouraged Robbins
to keep making more dances for the ballet. I do believe that it is one of Robbins' two greatest ballets (the other being Afternoon of a Faun)and it was so brilliantly danced last evening - Bouder, Kowroski, Woetzel, Hubbe, Carmena, Ramasar were all in peak form and the others Abi and Jon Stafford, Borree and Rutherford were also strong. Yes, I'm biased, to be sure, but I agree with you that when it's danced well, there is almost nothing that you would want to follow Dances at a Gathering. If I could somehow manage it, I would go in to see it again this week.

And oh yes, three Marias in one evening - it's almost enough to make one believe in a God!

[Philip]

The cast for I'M OLD FASHIONED really looks great but I have been thru this before: thinking that Dancer X or Ballerina Y was going to 'rescue' the ballet for me. And I end up dozing. I think the film clip is a gimmick and the music is shallow. The Broadway/Hollywood style never really attracts me, though I can enjoy WHO CARES? from time to time. But then...that's Balanchine!

[Bob]

Call me shallow but I do like the Jerome Kerns' music for the song "I'm Old Fashioned" - after I hear it again, I start humming it to myself for several days afterwards. The problem, I think, is more with Morton Gould's music for the balletic variations, which leaves much to be desired. Still, I must confess to enjoying the Broadway/Hollywood thing, especially when it's as well done as it is in Who Cares?, which is one of my favorite Balanchine ballets (I know - there are so many, but Who Cares is definitely in my top ten). As for the film clip, sure it's a gimmick but what a delightful gimmick!