THOU SWELL!

Wednesday February 20, 2008 - I've always avoided the Peter Martins ballet THOU SWELL (Kolnik photo) because it sounds like the sort of thing I would not enjoy. This season it's been on a programme with another of my favorite avoidables, WEST SIDE STORY Suite. It looked like we would get thru the Winter without attending this programme, despite the allure of Wendy in IVES SONGS. However, anyone who has read my blog knows that I have a gigantic weakness for Faye Arthurs and so when her name went up on the casting list I decided it was time to give THOU SWELL a whirl.

And, as it turns out, I really liked it. It has a lot of DANCING in it which is all that matters. Arrangements of Richard Rodgers songs were transformed into a Deco-nightclub dance floor vignette in which four couples dance a series of duets with occasional trios or ensembles thrown in. When they aren't dancing, the couples sit at their tables talking quietly and observing those on the dance floor. A small corps of waiters and waitresses liven things up from time to time. An onstage trio of musicians as well as the orchestra in the pit played the Rodgers tunes with pure, unabashed romance and the superb song styling of Betsy Wolfe (photo) gave the piece a special lift. She really knows how to make these familiar tunes come alive. Mike McGowan was her vocal partner. As Evan noted, THOU SWELL would have been a more optimistic Valentine ballet than DAVIDSBUNDLERTANZE.

Faye (in the Contact Sheet photo, left) and her partner Charles Askegard gave a beautifully meshed performance, their line gracefully complementing each other as Faye showed off her spectacular extension and also delivered a couple of Plisetskaya kicks. Chuck's partnering is so effortless; he swirled Faye into beautiful lifts and they  spun through their duet as if dancing on air. Appropriately, their music was "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World". Nilas Martins also knows a thing or two about partnering and his wonderfully relaxed style gave Yvonne Borree the cushioning security to deliver one of her best performances ever. Looking dishy in a red & white ruffled frock and a red peony in her jet-black hair, Yvonne's allegro dancing was really impressive and she and Nilas made their duet passages sing. Darci Kistler, whose dancing has become increasingly fluent and spacious as the season has progressed, wafted thru her turns and sweeping extensions with ideal support from the dashing Jared Angle who at one point amazed the audience by taking over the keyboard from the onstage pianist. He plays really well. Sara Mearns brought just the right touch of vamp to her glamourous character, stunningly gowned in black with a diamond hairband. Dancing lavishly, Sara captured the hearts of the audience along with her dashing beau, Amar Ramasar.

IVES SONGS is a very dark 'Americana'  ballet with haunting images of lost childhood, regret and remembrance. Baritone Philip Cutlip (left) sang the songs with remarkably clear diction and plaintive, sombre tone; like many of the Jerome Robbins 'period pieces' this one is about five minutes too long. Robert LaFosse is the mysterious daydreamer. Wendy Whelan and Charles Askegard in an austere duet were hypnotic, and Sara Mearns had a solo that she danced as if she were reciting poetry, her arms creating beautiful images. She is developing into a really expressive dancer. Adam Hendrickson also had a solo which he danced with great clarity. Megan LeCrone stood in for Gwyneth Muller and was striking, and Jared Angle and Adrian Danchig-Waring made strong impressions. Dena Abergel and Jason Fowler as parental figures and the three charmers - Katie Morgan, Rachel Piskin and Stephanie Zungre - were part of an ensemble which included Glenn Keenan, Savannah Lowery, Justin Peck, Troy Schumacher and Christian Tworzyanski. Among the corps, Ashley Laracey stood out for the brimming lyricism of her every moment onstage. Cameron Grant at the piano seconded Mr. Cutlip to perfection. The ballet seemed to leave the audience mystified. Horribly, a cellphone started ringing just as Wendy began to dance. And it rang and rang and rang...

Georgina Pazcoguin, in a Contact Sheet photo with the City Ballet boyz: Adrian, Antonio, Adam, Andrew and Amar (hey, this must be the NYCB A-List...their names all start with A). Gina was the star of WEST SIDE STORY SUITE tonight. Overall, I didn't care for this ballet which is not really a ballet. It seems dated and overly long. But several dancers did very well, and Andrew Veyette can really sing, and so can Gretchen Smith.  Faye was a very pretty Maria and Gina really had a blast with AMERICA. Amar and Rob Fairchild were fine but as the piece progressed I found myself less and less engaged by it. It's actually something of a period piece at this point in time and maybe that is part of its appeal to some audience members; but young people seemed to enjoy it also even though they could not possibly remember the era. (Black & white photo of Saskia, Adrian & Kyle by Paul Kolnik). I remember back in the 1960s my brother, who was a James Dean sort - a rebel without a cause - went to see the film of WEST SIDE STORY. My mother was surprised that he would go see a musical but I think the girl he was dating wanted to see it. When he came home my mom asked him how he liked it; he said "When I go to the movies I want to see a fight, not guys dancing around."

I spent the evening with my fellow bloggers Evan and Taylor; during the intermission we caught sight of former NYCB corps dancer Emily Coates who always added something distinctive to performances in which she danced (far left: a Ben Beitler photo of Emily). Meanwhile, I've been questing The Winger in search of a photo of Charles Askegard and Faye Arthurs that I remembered Kristin Sloan had posted there. I told Evan I would find it and I did. And here it is.

On leaving the theatre we were treated to a view of the lunar eclipse.

Comments

[Bob]

At long last, welcome to the "Thou Swell" fan club. But I see that we still have a long ways to go before we get you to join the "West Side Story Suite" fan club. I have always regarded West Side Story as one of the greatest of all American musicals and whether we want to call NYCB's West Side Story Suite a "ballet" or not, the fact remains for me that I still find it exciting and I still love the Bernstein score and the Robbins choreography.

[philip]

Well, it will be a LONG time (if ever) before I see WEST SIDE STORY again. Luckily it is always the last thing on a programme and I can leave before it starts.