Here are more of Kokyat's photographs from Avi Scher's rehearsal on May 29, 2010 in preparation for an appearance by Avi Scher & Dancers at the Kennedy Center. Above: Jonathan Mendez and Derrick Agnoletti in TOUCH. Click image for an enhanced view.
You can watch the Kennedy Center performance here.
Victoria North.
Lauren Stewart. Lauren performs with Suzanne Farrell Ballet.
Elizabeth Claire Walker
Shane Ohmer and Jennifer Goodman
Kelsey Coventry
Click on the images below to enlarge.
Derrick Agnoletti and Allison Walsh of the Joffrey Ballet.
Jennifer Goodman & Robert Colby Damon
Victoria & Colby
Derrick Agnoletti, Allison Walsh and Jonathan Mendez.
All photos by Kokyat. More from this rehearsal here and here.
NOTE: Watch the video of Avi Scher & Dancers performing at the Kennedy Center here.
The Cambodian dancer Sokvannara Sar in rehearsal with choreographer Avi Scher for a performance at the Kennedy Center. Avi has created a solo entitled Garden Dance for Sy with references to traditional Cambodian dance forms and Kokyat was on hand to photograph a rehearsal on May 29, 2010. I'd love to see Avi expand on this allegro solo with one or two additional movements to show the breadth of Sy's artistry. As it stands now it is a beautiful snapshot of this charismatic dancer.
Here are Kokyat's images from the rehearsal (click to enlarge):
Avi Scher invited Kokyat and me down to the Joyce SoHo studio on Saturday to watch his dancers in rehearsal for a performance at the Kennedy Center. Inexplicably, there is a ladder stored on the studio wall which - rather than trying to shoot around - Kokyat embraced as part of the architecture of his images: above, Avi and Victoria North.
Most of these images will enlarge with a click.
For his trek to DC, Avi has gathered an excellent troupe of dancers to perform his familiar repertoire...
...and has engaged the Cambodian dancer Sokvannara Sar - the subject of the film DANCING ACROSS BORDERS - to appear as a guest performing a solo that Avi devised for him.
MYSTERY IN THE WIND trio: Victoria North, Lauren Stewart and Elizabeth Claire Walker.
Jennifer Goodman and Shane Ohmer in the MYSTERY IN THE WINDpas de deux.
Sy Sar's solo, inspired by traditional Cambodian dance.
Victoria North and Robert Colby Damon in TOUCH.
Jonathan Mendez, Allison Walsh and Derrick Agnoletti in TOUCH. Allison and Derrick dance with the Joffey Ballet.
Colby Damon and Jennifer Goodman in LITTLE STORIES.
Shane Ohmer and Kelsey Coventry in LITTLE STORIES.
Allison Walsh and Derrick Agnoletti in LITTLE STORIES. Allison and Derrick are dancing my personal favorite among Avi's works to date: Our Love's Defense, a combative duet which shows that the course of true love never does run smooth.
Sorting thru the pictures that Kokyat sent me from this rehearsal, I had a hard time choosing what to display on my blog, not least because these are dancers we really like as individuals. So I decided that I would add a couple of galleries which you will find here and here.
You can watch a video of the Kennedy Center performance here.
Sunday May 30, 2010 matinee - Martha Swope's photograph of George Balanchine and his cat Mourka. This afternoon's performance at New York City Ballet was one of the most satisfying of the hundreds I have attended. Two principals who are nearing their retirement were dancing signature roles and there was also an important and highly auspicious role debut from Rebecca Krohn.
Last night I had really enjoyed DANSES CONCERTANTES and thought it could not be improved upon in any regard, yet at today's matinee Sterling Hyltin and Gonzalo Garcia were as technically adept as they were last night but also seemed to be finding subtler nuances of wit and whimsy which gave their interpretation more facets and more charm. Again the corps of twelve were outstanding.
As Wendy Whelan and Philip Neal walked slowly amid the nymphs of the Elysian Fields I felt something divine was in the offing and - to be sure - this was perhaps the most poignant of the many performances of CHACONNE that I have seen danced by these two sublime artists. Wendy was translucent, the music seeming to emanate from her hands, her supple back, even her hair, and with her green eyes questing the heavens. When the ballet turns more classic in look and feeling, Wendy's dancing was like a poetry reading for the eye: so many gorgeous images that she creates with effortless grace. Philip Neal's performance was a perfect match for Wendy's in terms of musicality and refinement, his turns so calmly resplendent and his landings like a butterfly lighting on a leaf. I don't know why he would even think of retiring with his artistry at such a peak. The audience showered them with applause and called them out three times; each time Wendy graciously bowed to Philip before curtsying to the House.
In the divertissement, Stephanie Zungre seemed ready for bigger assignments as she led the pas de cinq very prettily indeed, and Erica Pereira and Adam Hendrickson took advantage of a perfect tempo today for their tricky duet: bravi! Andrew Scordato was impressive dancing the pas de trois for the first time - his height and carriage would suggest he be cultivated for cavalier roles down the line - and Gwyneth Muller and Ellen Bar were his tall graces. Add Faye Arthurs, Amanda Hankes, Daniel Applebaum and Allen Peiffer plus a strong corps contingent to the mix and voila! Perfection.
Rebecca Krohn's (above) debut in STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO was a real eye-opener. She put me in mind of some of my earliest memories of watching the Balanchine black-and-white ballets and of the grand ballerinas who danced these iconic roles with such dedication and expressivity back in the day. Rebecca has the look and more importantly the cool, unflappable attitude to make powerful statements in this repertory. And, she's a beauty into the bargain. I've had my eye on Rebecca right from her first appearances on this stage and my instincts were right: she's got it. If I said that she reminded me of Suzanne Farrell this afternoon that would tell you a lot.
Rebecca was fortunate to be paired with Amar Ramasar today; they look simply great together and their pas de deux was full of those little touches - gestures and expressions - that tell us the traditions are being well safe-guarded as these works are passed from generation to generation. Amar's solo dancing was a stage-filling delight: his technique has notched up ten-fold in the past year or two and he's quite a force to be reckoned with onstage. I want to see the Krohn/Ramasar duo in more and more rep.
Yvonne Borree was seemingly dancing her familiar role here for the last time and her performance conjured up many memories - I could feel that she was savouring this music and these steps for one last time and it was touching. Ask LaCour was her tower-of-strength cavalier and he took beautiful care of her. Ask's solo dancing was big-scale and intriguing. The corps were super and the playing of Kurt Nikkanen with Clothilde Otranto on the podium was perfect.
Friday May 28, 2010 - Kokyat and I went down to the Baryshnikov Arts Center where the tall and ultra-handsome choreographer Brian Carey Chung of Collective Body Dance Lab was working with young dancers from The Joffrey School on a piece to be presented Tuesday June 1st at the Skirball Center. Click on the pictures to enhance.
The work is entitled Message to Al and is set to the brink-of-madness music of Gorecki's harpsichord concerto. When we arrived the girls were in practice clothes and Brian was pulling his choreography apart and working without the music on individual moves and combinations. He uses a lot of imagery when describing to the young dancers exactly what he wants to see.
The girls then donned white tutus and Brian began running the piece with music. A feeling of nearly demented restlessness pervades the work while the tutus give it an ironically classic feel. This seeming dichotomy actually works well thanks to Brian's sense of structure and subtle references to balletic vocabulary woven into a contemporary fabric.
The dancers - beauties all, with gorgeous hair as an added attraction - threw themselves into Brian's combinations with zest, sometimes seeming like a clan of young Wilis or swans. It's a great piece and I'd love to see it embellished-upon and developed into something larger.
The choreographer Brian Carey Chung.
The setting sun outside the huge BAC studio windows gave Kokyat some gorgeous light to shoot by.
Saturday May 29, 2010 evening - Continuing their Architecture of Dancefestival, New York City Ballet tonight presented the world premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's ESTANCIA. Above, Tyler Angle and Tiler Peck rehearsing the Wheeldon in an Andrea Mohin photo...
...and the same two dancers in performance, photo by Paul Kolnik.
Set to a score by the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera (above), Christopher's story ballet about a city boy who comes to a country ranch and wins a senorita's heart after he tames a wild horse was a genuine hit with the audience tonight : there were roars of approval for the dancers, singer, musicians, costume designer and the choreographer when the bows were taken.
Baritone Philip Cutlip (above) speaks and later sings (handsomely) about life on the ranch as a large corps of dancers in simple cowboy/country dress create the community of farm workers with their daily chores and villagers from nearby. The young city slicker (Tyler Angle) comes to the ranch looking for fresh air and a new beginning; he is smitten with the vivacious Tiler Peck (understandably) but she's not having any of it. When a herd of wild horses pass by, Tiler grabs her lariat and tames one of them. The boy tries to ride the frisky horse and is thrown, losing ground with Tiler and the locals. He takes it as his task to tame a horse of his own and he succeeds, winning the girl's heart and acceptance into the family of rancheros.
Turning this simple narrative into dance was the challenge that Christopher set for himself and, buoyed by the colorful orchestration and rhythmic variety of the Ginastera score, he creates a ballet quite unique in the Company's repertoire. Central to the piece is a magnificent duet for Tiler and Tyler in which their love is expressed in partnering that is both risky and romantic, reflecting their youthful impetuosity and their increasingly tender feelings for each other. It ends as they lay down to sleep. Tiler and Tyler shared a much-deserved joint triumph as they were recalled to the stage several times by the wildly enthusiastic audience.
The two scenes of horse-taming are brilliantly depicted as five dancers in wonderfully inventive costumes leap and cavort wildly, led by Andrew Veyette who is given some extraordinary combinations which he carries off with bravado. Adding another exciting portrayal to her gallery, Georgina Pazcoguin deserves a special Playbill listing and a solo bow: as the mare that Tyler tames, she's fantastic.
Santiago Calatrava's design for the front drop: a herd of cattle fancifully depicted.
The Calatrava backdrop evokes the wide open spaces.
Rehearsal photo of Christopher working with the corps by Paul Kolnik. I'm hoping for some production photos soon. Among the girls at the ranch, Maya Collins continually caught my eye with her sparkling performance - she was in all three ballets tonight and was delightful in each.
A revival of Balanchine's DANSES CONCERTANTES opened the evening.The Eugene Berman setting with its fantasy drop curtain and the colorful costumes give the piece a music-hall feel and the Stravinsky score is a delight, all the more so as it's so rarely heard. I'm reminded visually of FANFARE and also JEU DE CARTES,
Four colour-coordinated trios are introduced in succession and then the principal couple of Sterling Hyltin and Gonzalo Garcia appear. This is a great role for Sterling where her natural charm and stage savvy are in full play, her tricky pointe work and a series of slowing pirouettes particularly impressive. Gonzalo is handsome, technically polished and subtly droll. In their perky yellow costumes, Sterling and Gonzalo brought this Balanchine rarity vividly to life.
Corps-watcher's delight: twelve of our top corps dancers get to shine in DANSES CONCERTANTES in a series of pas de trois in which each boy has two ballerinas to manage. Graced with deftly etched-in touches of humour, this series of dances were tonight performed by Alina Dronova, Stephanie Zungre and Giovanni Villalobos (in green); Maya Collins, Lauren King and Troy Schumacher (in blue); Kaitlyn Gilliland, Gwyneth Muller and Christian Tworzyanski (in purple) and Faye Arthurs, Ashley Laracey and Daniel Applebaum in red. Since these are some of my favorite dancers on the planet, you can imagine my pleasure in watching them.
DANSES CONCERTANTES ends with everyone onstage and it's one of the shortest finales on record, seemingly over before it begins. I look forward to seeing this ballet again soon.
In BRAHMS-SCHOENBERG QUARTET Jennie Somogyi (above) recalled her recent beautiful performances in LIEBESLIEDER with the romantic appeal and technical security of her dancing; Sebastien Marcovici mastered the motif of swirling Jennie around in mid-air and Savannah Lowery's authoritative pirouettes were given with a classic polish. In the Intermezzo, Jenifer Ringer's complete perfection in a signature role was most welcome as she swooned gorgeously into the arms of the ardent Jared Angle.The trio of tall women - Dara Johnson, Kaitlyn Gilliland and Gwyneth Muller - looked aristocratic and swirled silkily around the principal couple to lovely effect. Kaitlyn, by the way, almost stole the show in DANSES CONCERTANTES.
The waves of nostalgia that will sweep thru the theatre in the coming weeks seemed to begin flowing today as Yvonne Borree (photographed above on the Mariinsky stage) appeared in the Andante with her lovely air of modesty and gentleness ideally supported by Benjamin Millepied. Ashley Laracey in a demi-soliste role was totally gorgeous.
In the concluding Rondo, Maria Kowroski was a fabulously fiery gypsy lass as she and Charles Askegard threw caution to the wind and danced up a storm. As they swirled and flashed madly around the stage the audience's temperature rose resulting in a gale of applause and three calls before the curtain.
Darci Kistler and Robert LaFosse photographed by Annie Leibovitz. There's a lovely article about Darci in the Wall Street Journal. Her farewell performance at New York City Ballet is set for Sunday June 27th, 2010.
I think I'd like this production of TURANDOT which has been playing at De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam. Above: Lance Ryan (Calaf) and Lise Lindstrom (Turandot).
An interesting follow-up to the old story of Dame Margot Fonteyn's involvement in an bungled attempt to overthrow the Panamanian government led by her husband Roberto Arias in 1959. Arias had tried to enlist the support of Fidel Castro for the coup. Above: Castro with Fonteyn and Arias.
Dancer and choreographer John-Mark Owen has created a new website. Kokyat's photo above of John-Mark working in the studio with dancer Ramona Kelley. Click on the image to enlarge.