Oberon's Grove: NYCI Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Friday November 5, 2010 - The New York Choreographic Institute celebrate their tenth anniversary with their first public performances at the Miller Theatre, Columbia University. The Institute, founded by New York City Ballet artistic director Peter Martins and Irene Diamond, provides a laboratory for developing choreographic talent using the resources of NYC Ballet and the School of American Ballet. Up til now, attendance at showings of the works created (or in progress) was limited to patrons of the Company and School. Now, for the first time, the general public are able to have a look at the Institute's work. (Above: the Institute's logo by Francesco Clemente)

Starry names appeared on the programme listing, both choreographers and dancers. And several luminaries from the dance world were among the audience. After a brief film (great to see Edwaard Liang on the big screen - wish he'd choreographed something for the evening!) and a greeting from Peter Martins, the dancing began:

TALES OF A CHINESE ZODIAC Choreography: Justin Peck Music: Sufjan Stevens Danced by: Students from the School of American Ballet

*****Justin Peck's ballet was the largest piece on the programme in terms of the number of dancers involved. It's a beautifully-structured work with playful touches which avoid the terminal cuteness of some of the Robbins ballets for young dancers. Justin's cast, though very young, seemed sophisticated in their movement style. I especially liked Lindsay Turkel, Misa Kasamatsu, Austin Bachman and Myles Lavallee who was dancing unannounced. All the dancers in fact were impressive though I am not able to put a name to every face at the moment. Justin's choreography stood out for clarity and musicality, and he immediately set a high barre for the works that followed.

MANDALA Choreography: Darius Barnes Music: Kyle Blaha Dancers: Ashley Isaacs, Lauren Lovette, Erica Pereira, Kristen Segin; Zachary Catazaro, Chase Finlay, Allen Peiffer and Taylor Stanley

*****The evening's second ensemble work - choreographed by former NYCB dancer Darius Barnes - was darker in tone than Justin Peck's opening piece. Darius profitted from Kyle Blaha's dance-able score and also in his cast which featured an impressive solo passage by Taylor Stanley - a dancer to watch for sure - and nice pas de deux pairings of Erica Pereira with Allen Peiffer and Lauren Lovette with Chase Finlay. The four movements blended smoothly and Darius's choreographic patterns developed naturally out of the music.

DROPLET Choreography: Jessica Lang Music: Jakub Ciupinski Dancers: Wendy Whelan & Craig Hall

*****This duet was simply exquisite. Composer and choreographer seemed in perfect harmony as the purity of the ethereal music found expression in Ms. Lang's lyrical choreography, commencing with a short movement phrase from Wendy Whelan that ripples out thru the music to evoke the currents of a pool of clear water. Wendy and Craig Hall were mesmerizing and indeed the audience viewed the piece in awed silence. Ms. Lang spoke of her desire to expand on this duet and create a larger work in collaboration with Mr. Ciupinski: I hope Peter Martins picked up on the idea.

FOR SASCHA Choreography: Marco Goecke Music: Matthew Fuerst Dancers: Marika Anderson, Gretchen Smith, Daniel Applebaum and Sean Suozzi.

*****Matthew Fuerst, who I met while he was at Juilliard, provided the agitated opening segment of Marco Goecke's piece in which Sean Suozzi, in MOPEY mode, gave a stunning performance joined by his excellent NYCB colleagues Marika Anderson, Gretchen Smith and Daniel Applebaum. The dark and edgy string motifs were echoed in the tremulous, spastic gestural language of the dancers' arms and hands. An oddly tranquil adagio for Marika and Daniel gave us a chance to savour these fine dancers, though even at the slower pace the undercurrents of tension ran strong. By the end, the boys are bathed in a gloss of sweat accentuating under the lighting every tiny muscular nuance of their torsos. All four dancers looked great and it was a pity that the choreographer was unable to attend (due to illness) and view their keenly-wrought performance. Matt's score was detailed and ear-enticing; I hope I get to hear it again.

Then followed three short works to the same score (An Inflorescence) composed by Daniel Ott in honor of Pia Gilbert:

FALLING Choreography: Larry Keigwin Dancers: Tiler Peck, Megan Fairchild, Antonio Carmena, Adrian Danchig-Waring and Andrew Veyette

*****The black-clad dancers moved with assurance thru Larry Keigwin's lively choreography. The girls were in soft slippers with their hair down; Adrian was replacing Joaquin de Luz. The dancers brought the choreographic patterns to life, injecting their individual personalities into the movement. It was great to watch them in a dance-style which they've had little opportunity to try out.

SARA SOLO Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Danced by Sara Mearns

*****Sara Mearns, in black spandex shorts and a burgundy leotard - with diamond earrings giving her a touch of elegance - danced Christopher Wheeldon's solo named just for her. Chris keeps Sara on the move, always showing her classy beauty off to its best advantage. Sometimes she plays directly to the audience. The piece has subtle wit and Sara danced with breezy authority.

UNTITLED Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky Dancers: Ashley Bouder, Ana Sophia Scheller, David Prottas and Christian Tworzyanski

*****Excellent dancing here by a strong quartet of top-notch dancers. They took advantage of every opportunity Ratmansky handed them. Kokyat was especially taken with Ana Sophia Scheller, having just photographed her and David Prottas at Avi Scher's rehearsal. She and David are very well-matched and the Argentine beauty danced superbly. Likewise Ashley Bouder was on peak form, really into the music and holding onto one prolonged balance as the other dancers swirled about. David and Christian Tworzyanski both looked really good. The composer noted that his score was dedicated to Pia Gilbert of the Juilliard School. Ms. Gilbert has been an essential asset to the Choreographic Institute by bringing the designated choreographers in contact with Juilliard-based composers. Mr. Ott's score was colorful and spun thru with intoxicating textures; its rhythmic signature was based on saying the name "Pia...Gilbert".

As a celebration of the marriage of music and movement, the programme was really enjoyable and it served also as a chance to see our dancers in fresh works, as well as providing a sneak peek and the next wave of dancers coming up at SAB. The evening was greatly enhanced by the live music provided by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble.

(Above illustration by Francesco Clemente)