Saturday October 9, 2010 evening - Maria Kowroski, partnered by Tyler Angle, opened the evening at New York City Ballet with a spectacular performance of Balanchine's CHACONNE and Rebecca Krohn finished the evening with her debut in the adagio of Robbins' GLASS PIECES, dancing opposite the also-debuting Craig Hall. In between we saw a joyous performance of CONCERTO BAROCCO and a riotous and superbly danced TARANTELLA.
Joaquin de Luz welcomed us, apologizing for his English - which he speaks so much more lyrically than most people - and telling us how exhausting it is to dance TARANTELLA and how each year he says "Never again!" and then Peter puts him on the casting list for the Balanchine duet. Joaquin had his revenge this afternoon with a thrilling performance.
In the opening CHACONNE, Maria Kowroski and Tyler Angle danced like deities, surpassing their already-perfect performance earlier in the week. What a fabulous season Maria has had: everything she touched turned to gold. Tyler's blossoming career as a premier danseur noble is on track.
In the pas de trois, Gwyneth Muller, Ellen Ostrom and Andrew Scordato had cleared up some disunity from their earlier performance and they looked just fine today; Erica Pereira and Antonio Carmena brilliant in the pas de deux and Lauren King so appealing in the pas de cinq. Faye Arthurs and Amanda Hankes looked like perfect princesses in their demi-soliste roles partnered by Allen Peiffer and Daniel Applebaum.
Conductor Andrews Sill gave perfect-for-dancing tempi all evening; I was especially looking forward to seeing Abi Stafford in CONCERTO BAROCCO again at Maestro Sill's more subtle pacing. But after dancing superbly at the matinee, Ellen Bar was absent in the evening so Abi stepped into Ellen's role and Teresa Reichlen appeared in the pas de deux with Justin Peck.
Tess and Abi instantly struck up a sisterly rapport that was great fun to watch; Abi danced immaculately and expressively. Tess and Justin looked so poised and refined in the adagio that it was hard to believe it was a last-minute thing. The corps, with the aid of Maestro Sill's tempo, looked their best.
Tiler Peck and Joaquin de Luz gave a blazing TARANTELLA, trading fantastical solo passages and turning up the heat in this sexy wooing duet. Tiler is on incredible form this season and Joaquin danced with devil-may-care aplomb. They were applauded throughout and took 4 bows to an eagerly appreciative ovation at the end.
Ashley Laracey was new to a soloist role in GLASS PIECES and Amanda Hankes stepped in for Ellen Bar; both Ashley (in gold) and Amanda (in pink) along with Faye Arthurs (in green) are on my corps de ballet A-list so I was thrilled to be seeing them all in one place at one time. The boys - Chase Finlay, Christian Tworzyanski and Adrian Danchig-Waring - were great and I must again mention that Adrian looks just remarkable this season. He has that innate gift of making his every move resonate powerfully - something that can't be taught.
In the adagio, Rebecca Krohn and Craig Hall were outstanding for their physical appeal, sculpted lines and the atmosphere they generated in this mysterious duet. Rebecca and Craig were so fascinating to watch and so confidently synchronized in their moves. Really mesmerizing. Two soloists dancing at this level is an impressive indication of the vast wealth of talent that the Company can draw upon.
Joaquin's comments about Tarantella are so interesting...the dancers make it look so easy that one would never guess they were exhausted by the end!
Posted by: Laura | October 10, 2010 at 11:21 PM