City Ballet Opening Night

Tuesday November 20, 2007 - After the long wait, New York City Ballet is back at the State Theatre. What a perfect way to start a gala - and a season - with the Garland Waltz from SLEEPING BEAUTY. Balanchine's genius for structure is in full bloom here, and his introduction of children into the patterns is masterfully timed.

Megan Fairchild then appeared as Aurora. After a sprightly, youthful opening solo, Megan was on fine form tonight for the Rose Adagio, with nicely sustained balances. It seemed to me that Maestro Karoui was taking the music just a shade too fast. Stephen Hanna, Jared Angle, Jonathan Stafford and Amar Ramasar were the suitors and Dena Abergel just lovely as the Queen. It was great seeing the corps which included some new faces; Lauren King  has managed to get even prettier since the Spring season.

The filmed segment of NEW YORK EXPORT: OPUS JAZZ was introduced by its creators, Ellen Bar and Sean Suozzi. This 'ballet' has never made much of an impression on me; it always seems kind of dated. The film puts the dancers in contemporary  clothing, giving it a whole new look. The camera work is really inventive and Rachel Rutherford and Craig Hall are superb; the opening close-up of Craig is especially powerful. During the intermission, several people mentioned to me that the film made them think about this Robbins work more positively; I felt the same and I can't wait to see the finished product. Photo of Rachel & Craig from The Contact Sheet. (Updated note: I can't get over the colour of the sky in this photo. On the big screen, it really creates a fascinating effect and just as the piece ends the sun drops to the horizon, cutting thru those pale-violet clouds. Throughout the filmed except, the contrast between the luminous sky and the darkness of the ground is powerfully utilized. Ellen & Sean picked an extraordinary day to film.)

Wheeldon's LITURGY was so exquisitely beautiful and moving. Wendy Whelan and Albert Evans seemed to enthrall the audience with the spiritual quality of their dancing. Part's FRATRES might have been written for Wendy: the shining inner light and the mysterious, other-wordly harmonies that resonate through the score seem to echo the very qualities I love most about her dancing. She has this remarkable clarity; the music seems almost to emanate from her body. Albert is magnificent; can partnering be compelling? It's the only word I can think of. They gave an extraordinary performance.   

Maria Kowroski & Damian Woetzel starred in the WESTERN SYMPHONY segment which brought the first half of the gala to a rousing conclusion. Maria's dance hall gal was all extension and haughty strutting, and Damian was just spectacular. The excerpt doesn't really work all that well out of context, but the corps dancers seemed to be having fun. Georgina Pazcoguin was especially magnetic, and Adam Hendrickson was outstanding even in this brief highlight. William Lin-Yee was sadly missing among the cowboys.

Peter's new ballet, GRAZIOSO, to the music of Glinka, featured a brilliant line-up of dancers: Ashley Bouder and - seen below in new Paul Kolnik headshots - Gonzalo Garcia, Daniel Ulbricht and Andrew Veyette. (They are all seen in the new ballet in Kolnik's photo, left). This light-hearted romp calls for virtuosity on a very high level. The boys are especially well-showcased and Bouder's balances were  exceptional and playfully manipulated by the dazzling ballerina. It's an entertaining piece, fun to see once. But mostly it seemed to be virtuosity as both a means and an end. I think Peter choreographs better for men than for women and the three boys here really took advantage of every opportunity. In the end, I thought maybe Bouder and Fairchild might have switched ballets to advantage.   

The evening ended with a Polonaise from Glinka's A LIFE FOR THE TSAR, staged by Peter to include 'every member' of the Company (a few were missing, however) and many students from the School. Everyone wore simple black & white practice-style clothes. Some people we haven't seen for a while, like Jennifer Tinsley-Williams and Jason Fowler were onstage, and it was especially wonderful to see Janie Taylor again; it seems we've been waiting forever for her to come back. Of course we loved spotting Faye and Pauline, but were sorry to see Kristin Sloan's name is no longer listed on the roster.

The theatre was pretty much full, a few empty seats in the orchestra but the upper levels were packed. At the end we all sang Happy Birthday to Lincoln Kirstein - twice! On with the season!

Comments

[Bob]

Amen - it was a great evening! One of the best gala programs in many years. Kudos to Peter Martins not only for his new ballet but for putting together a marvelous tribute to Lincoln Kirstein.

[Evan]

Thank you so much for sharing! It sounds like the season is off to a great start. Only five more weeks until winter rep begins...

[tonya]

Haha, I'm just now reading this (waited until finishing mine to read anyone else's) and we basically said the same thing about Martins! Except I'd like to see it more than once :) I'm so sad about Kristin and didn't notice that until you told me; I'm sure she'll still be doing a lot for the company in a different capacity though until her injury heals when she can go back to dancing. Maybe it was even just a misprint?

[Philip]

Wei thought the Martins was very entertaining and that the three boys were spectacular.

Kristin unfortunately is no longer listed on the website roster. It's really too bad; she's such a beautiful dancer and she's been thru so much.

[sloan]

hi there,

thanks for the comments. i am now working with NYCB as their New Media Director.

i started last week - unfortunately I've been too busy to write something about it on the winger! i will soon though, i'm very excited :)

-ks

[Bob]

We will all sorely miss Kristin's dancing but based on what she did with R & J, I would have to say that this new position of Kristin's bodes very well not only for her but especially for NYCB.

[Sandi]

Sorry I didn't see you and Wei there! I did manager to catch Kristin, which was great. She looked amazing! I enjoyed the evening very much! I did enjoy Megan's Rose Adagio, but did think to myself "I wish Ashley were dancing this".... I loved her and the guys in Grazioso- what amazing dancing from all! I thought Gonzalo made quite a wonderful debut on the state theatre stage.
Here's to a great season!

[Philip]

It's going to be really exciting to see what Kristin comes up with in her new role; if the ROMEO & JULIET films are any indication, we should be having lots to talk about as her future projects materialize.

In his introduction to Kyle Froman's book IN THE WINGS, Peter Martins talks about the Company as a family and how Kyle's status as a fellow dancer gave him opportunities to really give us the inside story that a 'professional' photographer/writer could never attain. Kristin will be working from the same frame of reference since all these dancers we love so much are her friends.

Kristin's new venture, Kyle's book and the Bar/Suozzi OPUS JAZZ project are great opportunities for us - the fans - to see new facets of the dancers lives and work.

Sandi, I wish we'd seen you at the Gala...there was such a crush on the Promenade. We came down looking for people we knew but it was so jammed we retreated to 4th Ring which is where we met Tonya and also Bob A. I was hoping to see Rhona as well. We met Jim Mattimore also, and Susan was sitting a few seats back and she & I exchanged NUTCRACKER casting thoughts. She was planning to go this Friday; maybe she'll let us know how it is.

If GRAZIOSO stays in the repertoire, I hope Megan Fairchild eventually gets a shot at it. Ashley was super, though...and the boys were really terrific.

[Sandi]

I forgot to say two things- I love reading your reviews, and also< I'm moving to your hood, neighbor!

[Philip]

Sandi, when are you moving up here to Inwood?

[Sandi]

Tuesday!

[Angelina]

I would like to buy the picture of the Garland Waltz with the kids posing. How can I purchase this?

[Philip]

That photo is actually from the late 1990s. You could try writing to the Company photographer, Paul Kolnik, c/o New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center Plaza, NY NY 10023 and asking if he has prints available for sale.