Balanchine & Robbins at NYC Ballet

Friday February 20, 2009 - This was such a wonderful evening; I really had the feeling that all the dancers were outdoing themselves. I thought how great the Company is looking and how exciting to see so many really interesting young dancers among the ranks. Then I came home and read about the announced cutbacks (see next blog entry below). It really put me in a blue funk, especially because I know what it means to a young dancer to get into NYC Ballet; to dance there and dedicate yourself to it, and to then have your dream shattered by circumstances beyond one's control...

Every day we read about billions of dollars being thrown around to bail out this or that corporation or institution. How about something for the arts?  Wishful thinking!

The other day we bought Mega Millions tickets on a whim. I was thinking how great it would feel to win and then immediately write several enormous checks payable to my favorite dance companies. NYCB would be first, of course. Alas, the numbers didn't come up and I remain stuck on the sidelines, fretting helplessly.

At any rate, I guess the only thing I can do is simply tell you what a great time I had at the ballet and express a hope that some benevolent angel will come to the rescue before things get worse.

So, here's the story:

Two of Balanchine's rather late-career masterpieces plus one of my favorite Jerome Robbins ballets were featured at New York City Ballet tonight. Wei really wanted to see this programme and so re-arranged his schedule in order to attend. Both musically and in terms of mood the three ballets created a near-ideal evening. And the dancing was magnificent.

In BALLO DELLA REGINA Megan Fairchild was a vivacious young queen, her technical security and evident joy in the music and steps made her performance irresistible. And Benjamin Millepied was on peak form, his combinations polished off with expansive grace, his partnering neat and secure. I would say in fact that both Megan's and Benjamin's performances were among the best things I've ever seen them do.

The four soloists in this ballet, dancing to one of the score's most persuasively lyrical melodies, created an interlude of resonating beauty as each in turn floated onstage and danced her solo: Ashley Laracey, Erica Pereira, Ana Sophia Scheller and Kathryn Morgan. Watching them I simply felt: are we not fortunate to have them? Pure balletic bliss.

Who knows how the corps girls managed to pull it off tonight? Such thoughts that must have been racing thru their minds, either about themselves or their friends. They did such a gorgeous job, making this overall one of the best BALLOs I have ever seen.

DAVIDSBUNDLERTANZE was absolutely stunning tonight, not least because the lighting seems to have been refined to downplay the garish pink/orange colours of the backdrop that were such an eyesore at the last revival. Now the set looks nice: a subdued glow at the back and the dance area finely illuminated to match the moods of the various duets. Kudos to the lighting people for this magic.

The performance was extremely moving; the music and the dancing held the audience entranced. Much praise is due to the pianist Cameron Grant for his deeply-felt and dynamically subtle rendering of Schumann's incredible music.

We see so little of Jennie Somogyi and Nilas Martins these days; Nilas partners so well and Jennie's performance is expressive and vibrant. Wei and I were very much drawn to Darci Kistler's dancing with her sense of dramatic urgency, the lovely turns, the refinement of the hands. Philip Neal is her perfect cavalier. Jared Angle, who is having such an impressive season, was ardently focussed on his glorious partner, Janie Taylor. I was totally enthralled by her every move  - and yes, the hair is sublime. Sara Mearns was overwhelmingly poetic in communicating the slowly enveloping sense of sadness that underlies all her dancing in this haunting ballet.

At the center of DAVIDSBUNDLERTANZE is Charles Askegard (above, with Sara); his performance with its slow descent into madness and solitude is one of the most remarkable interpretations of any role I've ever seen. He brings just the right sense of inescapable sorrow and remote beauty of expression which so ideally echoes the music. His poignant leave-taking and Sara's final gesture of longing and despair gave the ballet a heart-rending climax. 

GLASS PIECES is always a pleasure to watch and hear. I have a sub-title for this ballet: Celestial Aliens Among Us. These visitors from another world first beam in amongst the busily bustling populace in the opening movement: three couples appear, dancing with a sense of mysterious self-absorption as the earthbound corps seem unaware of their presence.

In the adagio, other-worldliness has taken over: as the corps weave a mysterious BAYADERE/Shades pattern along the back of the stage, the rulers of the spirit world - Maria Kowroski and Philip Neal - perform a cool, stylized pas de deux, pausing occasionally to receive messages beamed from the home planet.

In the final movement, the aliens have departed leaving the populace energized and organized. The music is propulsive and the dancing both ritualistic and - finally - joyous.

Maria and Philip looked (and danced) like inter-stellar divinities and the six soloists - Rebecca Krohn, Tyler Angle, Rachel Rutherford, Jason Fowler, Savannah Lowery and Ask LaCour - were super. The audience seemed very taken with this ballet and called the dancers out three times before the curtain.

Coming home and reading the news about the cutbacks made me think how difficult it must have been for the corps to dance tonight. That they did such a great job speaks highly of their professionalism and commitment. It's a shame that things have come to this sorry pass.

I will always look back on this performance as the end of a chapter in my long love-affair with New York City Ballet. I'll be there several more times before the Winter season ends but things now will feel a bit different. The best thing we can do now - those of us who, like me, find their bank accounts running on empty - is to go to the ballet...as often as we can.

[Performance photos by Paul Kolnik]

Comments

[Lauren Gordon]

Philip,
So wonderful to learn of your blog and incisive comments. I'm trying to contact you.

[Stitches212]

As always, a beautiful and well-deserved review… But like you I am totally heartbroken over this news and can't even begin to express my feelings about it right now for fear of going off on a major rant… For me this has been one of the best seasons as a whole that I have experienced in quite a while and I attribute most of that to the corps… There have definitely been seasons that were not as polished as they should have been, but I noticed at the beginning of this season how tight things were and how much the dancers seemed to be enjoying themselves… I have one more performance next week and it's going to be really hard not to let this news cast a shadow over it.

I guess you said it best, "that we should all go to the ballet… as often as we can." Though it's going to be difficult for us mere mortals to remain as professional and committed as those dancers we so dearly admire.

Now I'm going out to buy a lottery ticket!!!

[Bob]

AMEN! Now more than ever, the company needs our support(even when we are hard pressed to afford to do so). And yes, that program is a magnificent one - outstanding ballets and glorious dancing by virtually everyone.

[Laura]

I am so sad about this. I was at the performance yesterday afternoon and carefully watched the faces of the corps members as they danced, but none revealed the bad news. They will have to keep dancing through Saratoga as if nothing happened. It's so sad.

[Philip]

I don't know how they do it, really. I admire them so much to keep giving it everything they have while knowing their futures are uncertain. It's a really sad time for them, and for us.

[Peter]

Thank you for another excellent post. I haven't seen Ballo since its premiere, which was also the only time I saw George Balanchine. He came in front of the curtain very briefly, seeming rather shy and reluctant, certainly not basking in the applause. I treasure the memory.