Sunday May 27, 2007 - As this afternoon's performance of MOZARTIANA moved toward its conclusion, I felt rather sad that I was watching Kyra Nichols in this ballet for the last time. Her Preghiera today was so calm and illuminated from within, and she went on to a lovely rendition of the Theme & Variations with her long-time partner Philip Neal (who was dancing beautifully today). The inimitable Nichols touches were everywhere: the lyrical phrasing, the gracious hands, the matchless eyes. This has been one of her signature roles and memories of her Preghiera are going to last for a long time. It was nice to see a packed house today watching one of the last of the 'real' Balanchine ballerinas dancing one of his masterpieces with such grace. Philip's gallant partnering was rewarded at curtain call by a sweeping reverence from Kyra; Philip has slowly made his way back to fine form following an injury and it was good to see him dancing with such ease and control today. Tom Gold has the soloist role honed to perfection, light and ideally musical in expression. The four girls - Dara Johnson, Gwyneth Muller, Savannah Lowery and Saskia Beskow - were fine. The dancers were liberally applauded and I was hoping for a solo bow from Kyra, but that doesn't happen very often at New York City Ballet.
PIANO PIECES was danced by the same cast as the earlier performance with the exception of Antonio Carmena now taking on Joaquin de Luz's role. Like Joaquin, Tonio miscalculated the end of his first solo and was on his knee before the punctuating chord. Otherwise his buoyant dancing, big jump and charming manner were a joy to behold. Jenifer Ringer, Jennie Somogyi and Abi Stafford were all on peak form, repeating and maybe even surpassing their earlier wonderful performances. The 'problem' with this ballet - that its folksy and romantic aspects don't mesh satisfactorily - was more than ever in evidence today; but the beauty of the individual performances compensated.
Ashley Bouder's debut in the prima ballerina role of Tchaikovsky PIANO CONCERTO #2 was the focal point of the afternoon and she gave a very exciting and technically astonishing performance. I felt during the opening movement that Bouder employed a too-severe facial expression but that's a minor complaint. Bouder is rather shorter than most ballerinas I associate with this role, a fact that was amplified by the fact that the very tall and leggy Teresa Reichlen was cast in the soloist role. I think Bouder would appear to better advantage in the tutu of the BALLET IMPERIAL setting of this work. Aside from these passing thoughts, nothing could deter from Bouder's success in her new role; the audience was very enthusiastic and called the dancers out repeatedly. Jonathan Stafford fulfilled the promise of his debut in this ballet last week and turned in a sterling performance, deftly partnering Bouder and displaying a noble, elegant presence. It's always struck me as a bit odd that Balanchine gave the most beautiful music in this score (the opening of the second movement) to the male principal, the two demi-solistes and a small corps. Again I was moved to tears by the supreme beauty of Faye Arthurs and Amanda Hankes and Jon's almost other-worldly lyricism. As the second movement ends, the ballerina having departed, the man seeks her on either side of the stage as the girls turn away from him. Left alone, Jon takes leave of the stage with a gesture of gallant resignation. Great work from Jon, Amanda & Faye...thank you! Despite a slight slip early on, Teresa Reichlen's dancing radiates with a sort of calm glamour, her legs magnificent, her turns floating down the center line leaving an indelible, beautiful image.
Our friend Deborah was down from Connecticut on this lovely summer day, and it is always a pleasure to run into Susan and Carbro at the ballet.
{The photos of Kyra and Ashley B are by Paul Kolnik. The photo of me & Deborah before the performance is by Wei.}
I am so sorry to have missed Ashley in her debut in the Tchaikovsky Concerto and unfortunately, due to a prior commitment, I'm going to miss her repeat performance next Saturday as well. Thank you for giving me a sense of what she did with the role (it's no surprise that she was a hit!). The good news is that I get to see her tomorrow evening in Dances at a Gathering and next Sunday in Serenade.
Posted by: Bob | May 28, 2007 at 10:39 PM
I imagine she will be dancing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #2 for many seasons to come.
Posted by: Philip | May 29, 2007 at 07:32 AM