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!