Sunday January 27, 2008 - A big day at New York City Ballet on two fronts: important new casting of the leading roles of Balanchine's PRODIGAL SON and an intermission meet-up of NYC dance-oriented bloggers and their friends. Everyone was in a celebratory mood.
This afternoon's SQUARE DANCE went thru various changes of announced casting before settling on the pairing of Megan Fairchild and Nikolaj Hubbe. This therefore will be one of the last times I'll see Nikolaj dance. In the past decade since I moved to NYC his appearances at NYC Ballet have been scattered and rather rare; sometimes he would be announced for things and then drop out. Obviously injuries were plaguing him. He looked incredibly fine today and he has that natural nobility of carriage that sets him apart from the other men on the NYCB roster. His solo was so wonderfully polished. Megan Fairchild's footwork is a delight in this ballet; she & Nikolaj looked super together and made me regret that he can't turn back his clock ten years and keep dancing with her. Lauren King was my focus in the corps today and that was rewarding.
It's been a while since we've seen a young man dancing a young Prodigal; youth alone of course doesn't make the characterization complete but Daniel Ulbricht combined his boyish energy and spirit of rebelliousness with consummate technical ease to bring the character to life and as such gave the (many) young people in the audience a clear connection to the story. As Susan observed regarding NYCB's ROMEO & JULIET, there's something to be said for young people portraying young people. Having seen Villella, Boal and Woetzel in PRODIGAL, their portrayals remain ideal each in its own way. Of course there was a point 'way back when' that they each danced it for the first time and began to build from there. Today I felt privileged to have been present at Daniel's first assumption. This was the most moving rendition of the ballet I have seen, and Wei (who is not much of a PRODIGAL admirer) found he really understood and appreciated the ballet for the first time.
Daniel's spectacular leaps in the opening scene sent murmurs of delight thru the crowd; but after that the Prodigal becomes less about technique and more about acting or - in Daniel's case - more about BEING.
Possibly the Siren posed a bigger challenge for Teresa Reichlen than the one Daniel faced creating the Prodigal. Tess (Andrea Mohin photo) is a beautiful dancer with a sweeping melodious style; could she become a calculating, heartless seductress? Yes! And what I have to say quite frankly is, there was a very real sexual tension between her and Daniel of the sort that doesn't happen when men in their 30s and 40s play the Prodigal. The scene where the Siren and the boy sit on the table as the servants dance was played by Tess and Daniel in such a natural way as she began to touch him and he experienced the wonderment of physical desire. You realized just how young and vulnerable the Prodigal truly is so that his betrayal by the more experienced and manipulative Siren is all the more painful.
Returning home, exhausted and degraded, Daniel turns the humility of his crawling act of contrition into a gut-wrenching expression of shame only to find forgiveness in the arms of his father. Poignant and unforgettable.
How beautifully Dena Abergel and Pauline Golbin portray the sisters: they were wonderfully expressive in the first scene with their younger brother and so dismayed by his sudden flight. In the final moments of the ballet, their attentive stillness was something to treasure. Jonathan Stafford's height and nobility as the father turned him into an icon of parental authority. Adam Hendrickson and Antonio Carmena danced their duet with explosive vitality.
The score was gorgeously played under Faycal Karoui's baton. PRODIGAL SON has never moved me so completely and I felt a little ashamed to be sobbing until I realized that the man in front of me was crying also. And so was Wei. Daniel and Tess were basking in waves of audience approval (and gratitude) and after solo bows they had to come out yet again. They deserved every bravo.
THE FOUR SEASONS today was wonderful, colorful and excitingly danced but the spell of PRODIGAL was upon me and I watched SEASONS in a somewhat detached state. Still, Sterling Hyltin was again pure magic in Winter, so sweet as the clusters of girls gave her the cold shoulder. Christian Tworzyanski and Sean Suozzi were her breezy cavaliers. Sara Mearns was a very fetching Springtime ballerina and Jared Angle was splendid both as partner and virtuoso. For Summer, a resplendent Rebecca Krohn mixed sex appeal and glamour in perfect measure and danced sublimely with Amar Ramasar (speaking of sex appeal...) And then Autumn was launched with devilish buoyancy by Antonio Carmena. Ashley Bouder and Benjamin Millepied were so flashy, sexy and fun that one could easily forgive a couple of over-the-top moments. In Summer we noticed that the stage had become unaccountably brighter and quickly realized the reason: Faye Arthurs had stepped into the cast unannounced.
Our blogger meet-up was fun and of course everyone was buzzing about Daniel & Tess. It was so nice to meet some of our readers and even though it was too short of a time to really get into conversations, I very much appreciated having Ariel, Evan, Allison, Taylor and Tonya there. They are all so young and attractive and full of life...they make ME feel young!
I thought Daniel was amazing tonight and look forward to seeing his portrayal of the Prodigal Son develop over the years. He did such a great job. He is so talented and he looked so happy when taking his bows! Congrats to Daniel.
Posted by: PNC | January 27, 2008 at 08:09 PM
I'm sorry I couldn't make it today but can't wait to hear more about the performance and blogger meet up!
Posted by: sophie b | January 27, 2008 at 08:42 PM
Sounds like a wonderful afternoon, I'm sorry I missed it.
Posted by: nysusan | January 28, 2008 at 08:20 AM
Sophie & Susan: I hope you can get to the second Ulbricht/Reichlen PRODIGAL on Tuesday...it's well worth the trip!
Posted by: philip | January 28, 2008 at 08:35 AM
I am still in post-Prodigal glow.
I am so proud/impressed/thrilled for Daniel. His premiere was unbelievable. The height of his jumps and the depth of his interpretation of the piece and his musicality were all spot on and it was lovely to see such a young dancer tackle the young role (as you said as well!). Teresa R did her best with a very difficult role, but I think she still needs some time to settle into the intricacies of it. For a first shot out of the gate, this was a WONDERFUL portrayal and I clapped until my hands hurt.
The rest of the performance was tremendous as well... LOVED Fall and Spring particularly and was a bit heartbroken that this will be the last time I see Nikoaj until his retirement program. Another dancer going out in style, grace and tremendous strength.
It was also nice to meet some of the other bloggers, just sorry I had to run off so quickly!
I wish I didn't have work to do tomorrow night because I would absolutely revisit yesterday's program in a heartbeat!
Posted by: Sarah | January 28, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Sarah, yes I remember you showed me your 'injured palms' from all that clapping. I loved the enthusiasm that Daniel & Tess created in the house.
I wasn't planning to, but have now decided that I have to see it again on Tuesday.
Posted by: philip | January 28, 2008 at 12:09 PM
I'm so jealous that you'll get to return tomorrow night!
I just posted a blog entry about Daniel's triumph. Maybe someday he'll read it!
http://allwillknow.blogspot.com
Posted by: Sarah | January 28, 2008 at 02:44 PM
Sarah! You never told me you had a blog! You are now linked to Oberon's Grove, in the right-hand column.
Posted by: philip | January 28, 2008 at 02:55 PM
That was a truly extraordinary debut by Danny Ulbrict. I have never found PRODIGAL SON more powerful or more moving than it was yesterday. Kudos to Tess Reichlen as well for her outstanding debut as the Siren. I can understand why you would want to see it again tomorrow evening. If I did not already have theater tickets for tomorrow, I would do likewise.
The entire program was an absolute joy. Megan and Nikolai performed beautifully in Square Dance and Four Seasons was the perfect finale to the afternoon - first-rate debuts by Rebecca Krohn and Amar Ramasar in Summer, a smooth as cream performance by Sara in Spring and the usual dazzling display by Ashley in Fall. What a day - so many memories to carry over!
Posted by: Bob | January 28, 2008 at 04:47 PM