Oberon's Grove

Gala Glamour

Janie Taylor at the recent New York City Ballet Spring Gala, in a Monique Lhuillier creation.

Ashley Bouder, Maria Kowroski and Wendy Whelan all gowned by Bibhu Mohapatra.

Photos by Denis Finnin/Style.Com

Doing My Homework

Better late than never, I suppose. The copy I'd ordered of the Kronos Quartet's recording of Henryk Gorecki's QUASI UNA FANTASIA arrived the day after the premiere of Benjamin Millepied's ballet of the same title. I had some trouble with the work at the Gala and afterward I regretted that I wasn't better-prepared musically.

The recording is so impressive, typical of everything Kronos does. The music has a steady heartbeat under the dark, spare tonalities and folk-inspired passages are heard - somewhat fleetingly - which relieve the overall sombre atmosphere. In my mind I was trying to recall what Benjamin did with the various sections but of course this cart-before-horse process doesn't work. I will be seeing the ballet again next week and now I know what to look for. Hopefully I can play the disc a few more times and get the music in my blood before the next performance.

The Garden of Love

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And "Thou shalt not" writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore;

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briers my joys and desires.

                                 - William Blake (1757 - 1827)

NYCB PREMIERES: Ben & Jiri

Wednesday May 13, 2009 - The New York City Ballet's Spring Gala 2009 featured two new ballets and ended with a performance of Balanchine's THEME AND VARIATIONS. Both premieres are the works of men who are still very active dancers: Jiri Bubenicek of the Dresden SemperOper Ballet and Benjamin Millepied of course is with NYC Ballet. In the event the two new ballets did not fit together well on the same programme; both will profit by being seen later in different settings. The dancing - and the work of the NYC Ballet musicians under Faycal Karoui - was excellent in all three works.

Benjamin Millepied has been making quite a name for himself as a choreographer in recent seasons. In December he presented his group Danses Concertantes at the Joyce in two works both of which I truly enjoyed. QUASI UNA FANTASIA is his first  work created specifically for the NYC Ballet (I loved his earlier duet DOUBLE ARIA when NYCB's Maria Kowroski and Ask LaCour performed it in May 2005 - but like so many ballets, it promptly vanished).

Talking with some of the other fans during the first intermission, it was clear that Benjamin's new ballet inspired widely differing opinions; people either really liked it or they didn't. I'm afraid that, at least on first viewing, I tend to be in the latter group. While elements of it - and in particular most of the third movement - were impressive, most of the first two movements seemed very dark both musically and in a literal sense: the playing area was shadowy and the costuming matched the atmosphere. Across the backdrop a horizontal band of rosy light appears in the gloom.

Benjamin's patterns are not uninteresting: constructions form with dancers borne aloft and there are diagonals of dancers moving in unison, but these are passing moments of interest which are not fully developed. The two leading couples, Rebecca Krohn and Sebastien Marcovici & Janie Taylor and Jared Angle, perform their adagios with their customary skill but the duets dissolve; and Janie's 'character' is curiously droopy but we never find out why.

The third movement shows more of the choreographic brilliance that I know Benjamin is capable of producing; the movement frees up as the music speeds up. There is a brief but extremely pleasing duet for Tiler Peck and Amar Ramasar, though it's over before it begins. Two Robbins signature motifs are borrowed: the dancers gazing skyward in unison from DANCES AT A GATHERING and a lineup stretching upstage with arms aloft from OPUS 19/THE DREAMER.

In the end, I found this as 'difficult' a ballet for me as Douglas Lee's LIFECASTING was in the Winter season. I eventually came to terms with the Lee work simply by watching it repeatedly and I definitely will be seeing QUASI UNA FANTASIA again. In the meantime I hope that some of the people who felt enthusiastic about the ballet will post comments here describing what they liked about it...not merely so we have the other viewpoint but also it might help me find things to look for in it that will enhance the experience.

Tonya writes about the evening here with a more detailed take on Benjamin's ballet. And some nice photos from both premieres. Another blog, Haglund's Heel, covers the Gala here.

Paul Kolnik's rehearsal photo of Abi Stafford and Craig Hall in TOCCATA, Jiri's new creation to a score by his twin brother Otto. This ballet begins in silence. The music, somewhat Glassian, then begins to percolate on two keyboards and later viola and cello are woven in. The musicians are seated and softly spot-lit at the back of the stage. Splashes of colour in the costuming - purple and sea-green - alleviate the overall darkish feeling.

I could see very quickly that Jiri had a great eye for choosing his seven dancers, starting with Abi Stafford. I would imagine that a choreographer coming in to look at the NYCB dancers would appreciate both Abi's technical strength and her musical perception. These attributes, as well as a cool sense of mystery as she moved thru her adagio, made watching her a particular pleasure. Her powerful partner, Craig Hall brought out Abi's delicacy. Power also marked Robert Fairchild's performance, notably in his solo danced to silence. Georgina Pazcoguin replaced Meagan Mann and she danced with her trademark instinctive dramatic flair. 

What gave TOCCATA an extra dimension of appeal for me was the opportunity to see three corps dancers l've had my eye on step out in roles created expressly for them. First there was a very long adagio for Brittany Pollack and Andrew Scordato (photos above). Moving about the stage non-stop in free-flowing combinations, the two dancers took the partnering complexities in stride and together they put a nice lyrical polish on everything. They both looked not merely as ease but seemed in fact to be thoroughly reveling in the opportunity. And Andrew's long arms are quite hypnotic.

David Prottas (photo above) made fleeting appearances throughout the ballet yet it seemed as the work neared its end that he wasn't going to get a chance to really shine. But then he spun through a beautiful solo passage and he ended the ballet moving on a swirling trajectory among the other dancers as the curtain falls. David very much deserved the burst of screams and applause that greeted his solo bow.

TOCCATA reminded me just a little of Jorma Elo's SLICE TO SHARP though Jiri's style is less edgy and more expansively lyrical than Jorma's. Both Jiri and Jorma really move the dancers.    

Balanchine finale, with appetizer: preceding THEME AND VARIATIONS, a Kristin Sloan film took us into the NYCB costume shop where costumes for the Balanchine/Tchaikovsky ballet were being made anew. Wardrobe director Marc Happel showed us how tutus suffer from wear and tear, how colours fade and how partnering stains bodices. The amount of detailed work that goes into making a tutu is pretty eye-opening especially when you think of how many there are in use during a given season.  Several of our favorite corps girls appear in the film, coming in for fittings and to see how the near-finished costume feels as they try out moves in it.

Then when the curtain rose on THEME and the fresh costumes were revealed in all their glory, the audience burst into applause. Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz (photo above) gave the Gala a splash of classic Balanchine magic; their dancing so wowed the crowd that three calls were taken before the curtain. Delicious demis: Gwyneth, Ashley L, Amanda and Dena. The corps in their resplendant tutus would have made Karinska proud. And Mr. B too. 

Kristin Sloan's video of Jiri discussing his work here; Kristin takes us to one of Ben's rehearsals here. Terry Trucco previewed the new works for Playbill here.

I "borrowed" this photo of the Gala preparations from NYCB's Facebook page. You can almost smell the lilacs! The audience looked very much en fete, and several of our favorite balletic beauties seemed to have stepped right off the high couture runway with their elegant frocks: Wendy, Maria K, Kristin, Gina Pazcoguin, Ana Sophia Scheller and Janie Taylor, who wore a frothy cream-colored creation.

[Dancer headshots by Paul Kolnik/NYCB]

Graham's CLYTEMNESTRA @ the Skirball

Tuesday May 12, 2009 - A long-awaited evening at the Skirball Center on Washington Square: Martha Graham's CLYTEMNESTRA was presented, Graham's only full-evening work. The ballet has been lovingly restored and was magnificently danced. Above: Feng-Yi Sheu in the title role.

I must say it took me a while to find my bearings while watching this performance. The evening started off with an unexpected distraction: my tickets showed an 8:00 PM curtain time; Rob and I met at 7:30, feeling we had ample time to settle in and read a bit of the program notes. Suddenly Susan came rushing up with the news that the actual start time was 7:30. We just had time to get seated and catch our breath when the house darkened. Things were unsettled and it took a while for CLYTEMNESTRA to begin to weave its spell.

At first the piece seemed very dated; I kept thinking that the music was 'wrong' or that it needed fresh costume designs...something to make it more current. But soon I realized that CLYTEMNESTRA is all of a piece and no element could possibly be changed. Graham knew exactly what she was doing and she chose her music (Halim-El Dabh) and the visual context (sets by Isamu Noguchi and costumes by Graham herself collaborating with Helen McGehee) to show her work to fullest advantage. Susan had brought along her Playbill from the first time she'd ever seen this work back in the 1970s, with her scribbled notes. This memento from the past helped me think of the evening in a context of visiting a living museum.

But as the work progressed, it shed its preserved quality and seemed increasingly vital and contemporary. The powerful personalities and dynamic movement of the dancers compelled admiration and drew us deeper and deeper into the theatrical experience.

Rob and I are very familiar with these characters from our opera-going: ELEKTRA and IPHIGENIE EN TAURIDE keep these characters alive for opera-goers though as Susan pointed out, the stories of the House of Atreus are not well known to the general public...and especially not from a female perspective. The hit film TROY tells part of the story, but it's a man's tale. And we don't find Clytemnestra herself there. These are stories so rich in personalities and events that they cry out to be remembered, pondered and kept alive.

Tonight the ancient characters came to life again, and I especially loved the 'chanted' capsule biographies of each of the main players which formed the heart of the prologue. Super-titles, usually not a part of a dance performance, seemed appropriate here...almost giving the evening a silent-movie feel.   

As Clytemnestra, Fang-Yi Sheu (photo: Costas) had a singular triumph thru her majestic yet hauntingly feminine portrayal of the Queen. The strength and physical nuances of her dancing kept the viewer riveted to her throughout the evening. Slumbering under a vast red silk cloak, the dancer evoked the iconic image of Martha Graham; this historical connection was an unavoidable aspect of the evening... and a poignant one. I never saw Martha Graham perform, but her spirit seemed to hover over Fang-Yi Sheu's magnificent interpretation all evening. 

Every member of the cast seemed perfect for his or her role; the dancing and characterizations were so impeccably meshed and the spirit of the work so passionately expressed by each performer that the evening became an engrossing whole. The double layer of historical textures - the story itself and the Graham vision of it - created a unique theatrical experience.

Here is a gallery of the main players:

Fang-Yi Sheu with Maurizio Nardi (Aegisthus)

David Zurak (photo: Costas) as Agammemnon

David Martinez (photo: Costas) as King Hades

Tadej Brdzik (Orestes)

Blakleley White-McGuire as Cassandra

Miki Orihara appeared as Iphigenia

Jennifer DePalo danced the role of Electra

Kerville Jack as the Messenger of Death (photo: Costas)

All of these dancers were ideally cast and formed an ensemble of compelling power who succeeded in bringing CLYTEMNESTRA back to us from across the years, from the time when Graham herself moved to this music and then spanning back the centuries to the ancient world of legend.

Above: Martha Graham in the original production. 

Above: The Martha Graham Company

Sasha Cooke @ Merkin Hall

Tuesday May 12, 2009 matinee - Speaking of glamour, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and three of her extremely gifted colleagues presented a lovely and quite glamorous recital at Merkin Hall today. Above photo: Sasha and cellist Alisa Weilerstein from their Washington DC recital last week. My appreciation to William Maselli for letting me use his photograph.

Sasha has an inimitable gift for communicating and for showing us the beauty of the music. The performance she gave today of Ravel's SHEHERAZADE with pianist Pei-Yao Wang was beyond extraordinary; it was one of the most magical renditions of a piece of music I have ever heard...anywhere. And I have heard a hell of a lot of music over the years. 

But to start at the beginning, there was Schubert: the wonderful sense of urgency that the girls brought to Rastlose Liebe ("Restless Love") was followed by a rendering of Konig in Thule ("The King of Thule") full of interpretive detail and with Sasha's expert command of dynamics to the fore. Pei-Yao started the melodious Im Fruhling ("In Springtime") with quiet clarity; the song moves from major to minor and back again. Sasha sang it lovingly, plucking the upper notes out of mid-air. 

Ravel's SHEHERAZADE is a gorgeous Oriental tapestry, woven in colours which are at once rich and subtle. Pei-Yao (above) and Sasha unfurled the songs with a sense of rapture; the sensuous nuances which Sasha drew from the poetry were gently underscored by Pei-Yao's silken playing. In the opening song Asie in particular, time and place were forgotten as the two musicians tranported us to Ravel's dream world, Sasha's voice so warm and luxuriant in the lyrical passages. It was a dream from which I did not wish to awaken: a musical experience all too rare and all the more valuable for that. 

Composer Lera Auerbach (above) joined Sasha and cellist Alisa Weilerstein for a performance of Ms. Auerbach's The Last Letter which was on the same high level of musical inspiration and interpretation as the Ravel.

Ms. Auerbach spoke of the intensely passionate relationship between the poets Marina Tsevetaeva and Rainer Maria Rilke which they expressed in writing since they were fated never to actually meet. Their correspondence was highly emotional in the context of kindred souls, and Marina's attempts to reach Rilke after one of her letters went unanswered ended with her discovery that Rilke had died.

Drawing on this last letter, Ms. Auerbach has created a scena for voice, piano and cello that reverberates with fascinating sonorities: the cello represents the spirit of Rilke and Ms. Weilerstein poured so much passion into her playing as the score moved from deep-dark melodic phrases to eerie pianissimi of ghostly, spine-tingling beauty. Sasha's voice spanned the vast range demanded by the composer from soulful low notes to extensions into the upper range which bordered on a state of frenzy. With Ms. Auerbach at the piano, the musical texture moved from dense to spare in a panoramic revelation of the poet's state of mind.

Last Letter is a complex and richly-layered work; the audience was clearly intrigued with it and lavished long applause on the expert musicians; the girls were called out twice. It seemed to me to be a work that would grow increasingly meaningful with further hearings; there is so much to take in.

For their closing piece, Sasha and Pei-Yao reverted to the straight-forward melodic flow of Verdi with his quasi-operatic L'Esule (The Exile) which with its recit-cavatina-cabaletta format seemed like a lost aria from a forgotten bel canto rarity. The piano introduction has an interestingly hesitant quality which Pei-Yao nicely underlined, as if Verdi did not quite know how to begin to tell this story of an unhappy man banished from his homeland. Sasha's tone was ample and warm, but the flavour of her singing was full of longing and regret.

Sasha and Pei-Yao - both elegantly gowned - were called back for an encore: Sondheim's Losing My Mind which they performed with sincerity and grace, a further testament to their musical range.

During the intermission I had the great pleasure of seeing again one of my favorite people, Eve Shapiro. We met very shortly after I arrived in New York City and though we don't see one another very often, I just love running into her. We are kindred spirits, I think, and she has that Old-World beauty of soul and expression that is so utterly genuine and disarming.  Eve shares my admiration for Sasha Cooke and we had such a nice conversation.        

In the Deep Glamour article the question was raised as to whether music can still be an immersive experience. Sasha and her three companions gave an emphatic answer today, and the answer is YES!

SCOTCH SYMPHONY Photos

Here are a couple of photographs by Paul Kolnik of the recently-revived Balanchine SCOTCH SYMPHONY at New York City Ballet. Above, Jenifer Ringer and Benjamin Millepied. I wasn't sure about the new backdrop by Karin von Aroldingen when I saw it in performance, but here it looks pretty atmospheric. I will give it another look next week when I revisit this ballet with a new cast.

Above, Jenifer with her clansmen. I must say she has never looked more delectable than in this ballet.

The Interview: Deep Glamour

Recently I was interviewed by Deep Glamour as part of their Dance Week coverage.

Here is the link to the specific interview. I'd like to thank Matt Murphy and Kyle Froman for generously providing photos, and an extra thanks to Kyle for the above photo of the New York City Ballet corps de ballet looking ever-so-glamorous in Balanchine's SYMPHONY IN C.

Martha Graham's CLYTEMNESTRA

The Martha Graham Dance Company will be presenting a revival of CLYTEMNESTRA at the Skirball Center opening on Tuesday May 12th. I have been looking forward to this since it was announced in October. Above, a photo above of Graham as she appeared in the title role, having set the work to a score by Halim El-Dabh. Among the original cast, Paul Taylor created the role of Aegisthus. Read about the previous revival of the work which was originally created in 1958.

Last September, I experienced another work derived from stories of the House of Atreus: the Xenakis ORESTEIA presented at the Miller Theatre. This dysfunctional family have inspired three of my favorite opera: Gluck's IPHIGENIE EN TAURIDE, Strauss' ELEKTRA and Marvin David Levy's MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA.

In addition to CLYTEMNESTRA, the Graham troupe will present a repertory evening during the Skirball engagement, a programme I would love to see but unfortunately the dates are conflicted for me. I have very little experience with Graham's work aside from a single evening at the Pillow when Peggy Lyman danced THE INCENSE - perhaps the most memorable modern dance moment in my catalog - and where I first saw Miki Orihara dancing.

Above: Miki Orihara, with Tadej Brdnik in Graham's EMBATTLED GARDEN. Photo: John Deane.

NYCB's Revival of SCOTCH SYMPHONY

Saturday May 9, 2009 matinee - We haven't seen Balanchine's SCOTCH SYMPHONY at New York City Ballet for a few years; Margaret Tracey danced it at her farewell and it was one of Kyra Nichols' most attractive roles. It's come back into the repertoire now with a new set designed by Balanchine legend Karin von Aroldingen with the principal ballerina role danced by Jenifer Ringer (above); Benjamin Millepied was debuting as the cavalier and Erica Pereira was newly cast as the girl in red tartan.

In a way, this afternoon's programme could have been entitled This Is What New York City Ballet Is All About because it had all the elements that make the Company so exciting to watch: a full-blown Balanchine classic as well as two of his signature Stravinsky/leotard ballets; a fun and crowd-pleasing showpiece, and a recent addition to the repertoire by one of today's most prominent choreographers, Alexei Ratmansky. The Company are dancing very well, the orchestra sounded fine playing to Clothilde Otranto's right-on tempi as they moved from style to style and the audience - though far from a full house - were enthusiastic.

Above, SCOTCH SYMPHONY's composer Felix Mendelssohn. His symphony which Balanchine used for this ballet is so melodious and rhythmically varied that having it be danced-to seems an inevitability. Today's revival was the first look at Karin's new backdrop which left me frankly puzzled; it seemed to depict a stormy beach but was stylistically at odds with the literal Romanticism and traditional Tartan costuming of the ballet.

The dancing quickly swept aside such concerns however because soon after curtain-rise the dazzling Erica Pereira raced onto the stage in her plaids to deliver such a technically polished and sprightly performance of her solo that one wished the role was longer...much, much longer. She received excellent support from Devin Alberda and Andrew Scordato.

Jenifer Ringer looked surpassingly beautiful and the poetry of her adagio style in the opening phrases created an ideal atmosphere for this ballet. Benjamin Millepied in his role debut looked fine and danced with airy assurance, much puzzled by his elusive muse and angered by her protective clan. A few unsteady moments in the partnered passages didn't really deflect from the attractive performance that Jeni and Benjamin delivered.

The corps are a vital part of SCOTCH SYMPHONY and a particularly luscious group of ballerinas led by the inimitable Dena Abergel gave much pleasure. The boys looked spiffy in their kilts and all the dancers seemed to be having fun with this ballet which many of them had probably never danced in before.

Kristin Sloan's video introduction to Balanchine's MOVEMENTS FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA features soloist Rebecca Krohn. Rebecca wasn't dancing today, but her insights into the ballet are interesting. MOVEMENTS is always performed with its sister-ballet, MONUMENTUM PRO GESUALDO.

Watch an extended version of the Rebecca Krohn video here.

In these ballets today, Maria Kowroski seemed goddess-like with her stunning extension and the sheer beauty of her persona. Striking the sculpted poses which show off the Kowroski line so well, Maria was expertly partnered in MONUMENTUM by Ask LaCour (who seemed taller that ever today) and in MOVEMENTS by the edgier Sebastien Marcovici. The two men seemed well-suited to the individual demands of the two works since the first seems to call for cool-toned poetry and the latter for a more purely contemporary dynamic. The corps again excelled.

Above, in MOVEMENTS: Maria with Ask LaCour, a Paul Kolnik photo. 

Interestingly, Carlo Gesualdo (above), the composer on whose madrigals Stravinsky based the music for MONUMENTUM PRO GESUALDO, was involved in a famous murder case. Read about Gesualdo here.

TARANTELLA is a saucy little interlude, danced with infectious bravado today by Tiler Peck (subbing for Megan Fairchild) and Daniel Ulbricht, seen above in Erin Baiano's photo. Daniel, armed with a high-impact tambourine (he has a tendency to demolish tambourines in this ballet) elicited repeated bursts of applause with his aeriel feats and the speed and dynamism of his dancing.

There was no slip in the programme announcing the switch from Megan to Tiler (luckily I noticed it on the lobby casting sheet before the show) and the loudspeaker announcement of the change was drowned out by audience chatter. When Tiler appeared I thought for a moment that Patricia McBride had suddenly teleported herself onto the stage; Tiler and Patty don't really look alike but in this costume there was a definite deja vu moment. Tiler danced with sparkling assurance and spun off dizzying multiple pirouettes at several points, as well as a diagonal where she paused along the way for some for some sweet attitude turns. The audience went wild for Daniel and Tiler. (Surprisingly, I think this was Tiler's debut in TARANTELLA).

Alexei Ratmansky's colourful CONCERTO DSCH rounded off this really enjoyable performance; Sara Mearns was to have debuted in this ballet today but she seems to be sidelined at the moment and so Janie Taylor debuted instead. 

Backed by a 'corps' comprised of some of our best soloists and corps dancers, the five leads gave really impressive performances. The virtuoso trio of Ana Sophia Scheller, Andrew Veyette and Joaquin de Luz more than lived up to the virtuoso label.  Ana Sophia's garlands of pirouettes and her spicy charm teased the two boys on to some remarkable feats, Andrew tossing off some complex combinations with nonchalant brilliance while Joaquin's internal gyroscope was set on 'stun' today as he nailed one set of spins after another. While doing all this, the three seemed to be having a grand time.

Tyler Angle's dancing was expansively phrased and he partnered Janie Taylor so beautifully: they should be cast together often. For me, few dancers can succeed Wendy Whelan in one of her roles and actually succeed but Janie was breathtaking. Dancing with Tyler to the most gorgeous melody Shostakovich ever penned, Janie's cool and luminous grace created such a beautiful image that I felt like crying. So I did.

Several of the 'subsidiary' dancers here were especially impressive here and I continue to be puzzled by the lack of opportunities for Antonio Carmena who makes the most of each chance he gets but could be doing much, much more.

Corps-watching from upstairs was rewarding today and the focus was on Justin Peck - not just because he's tall, athletic, moves well and has excellent hands but also he happened to be paired with two of my A-list girls, Lydia Wellington in SCOTCH SYMPHONY and Faye Arthurs in CONCERTO DSCH.

A large bouquet of roses for pianist Elaine Chelton for her sense of quiet rapture in that Shostakovich adagio.

It was a really good programme choice for a visit from my friend Debbie who was in from Connecticut for the day.     

[Dancer headshots by Paul Kolnik]