Above image: from a performance at the Palais Garnier in Paris 2008 of Balanchine's APOLLO with Agnes Letestu, Sara Mearns, Teresa Reichlen and Sebastien Marcovici. Photo by Sebastien Mathe.
Sunday June 12, 2011 matinee - On the final day of their Spring 2011 season, the New York City Ballet had announced an unusual treat: two dancers who have not previously danced the role of Apollo in the Balanchine masterwork in New York City were announced for back-to-back debuts: Sebastien Marcovici (who has danced the ballet at Athens, Paris and Washington DC) was listed for the matinee, and Craig Hall was set to do his first Apollo at the evening's Dancers' Choice gala. An unfortunate injury to Sara Mearns earlier in the week caused some casting shifts; in addition to her scheduled APOLLO with Sebastien at the matinee she was to debut in RUBIES at the evening performance. We waited to see how things would play out in her absence.
The curtain rose at the matinee on a majestic-looking Sebastien Marcovici. With his long arms, large and expressive hands and the questing gaze of visionary god, Sebastien has a striking stage presence. His dancing had both strength and elegance, with a sense of friskiness that is just being tamed. Beyond his powerful physique, Sebastien's stage savvy and his clarity of both footwork and gesture made him a commanding Apollo. His scheduled trio of muses (Mearns/Kowroski/Reichlen) changed to Sterling Hyltin, Tiler Peck and Ana Sophia Scheller. These three very appealing ballerinas looked fresh and lovely at the end of a busy season; if they hadn't been expecting to be doing this ballet today it didn't show. Their dancing was polished and dramatically detailed; to their pas de deux, Sterling and Sebastien brought an interesting aspect of tenderness and discovery. The ballet's concluding image of the sunburst sent an appreciative sigh thru the packed house.
In MONUMENTUM/MOVEMENTS it was wonderful to welcome Rebecca Krohn back to the stage in this double role which suits her so very well. Partnered in turn by Charles Askegard and Ask LaCour, Rebecca's striking presence and clarity of line sets her among the best interpreters ever of the Balanchine black-and-white ballets. Some observers have been reminded of Suzanne Farrell when watching Rebecca's performances; I agree, and I'm ever so grateful for every opportunity to see Ms. Krohn dancing.
AGON was simply superb today; glorious dancing from a spectacular set of NYCB superstars. Sean Suozzi gave a tremendous performance, so vibrant in his depiction of the music. Teresa Reichlen - playfully witty one moment and sexy the next - looked stunning as she sustained her balances while those two handsome cavaliers Craig Hall and Amar Ramasar hovered around her, then ended up tossing her about. Wendy Whelan and Sebastien Marcovici danced the pas de deux with remarkable tension, stretch and fluidity of shaping; their risky and captivating performance drew a wave of cheers from the audience. Ashley Laracey and Savannah Lowery gave added lustre to Sean Suozzi's brilliance and the supporting quartet of ballerinas - Marika Anderson, Dana Jacobson, Dara Johnson and Gretchen Smith - kept pace with their stellar colleagues in this most impressive performance.
High energy from a stageful of dancers made SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS a grand finale to this Balanchine-Stravinsky matinee. Abi Stafford and Jared Angle danced the pas de deux with its whimsical melody to fine effect, Megan LeCrone and Andrew Scordato added to their laurels with spacious dancing this afternoon, and Sterling Hyltin and Adam Hendrickson sprang thru their opening leaps with verve. The ten demi-solistes who have so much to do in this ballet did it with flair; the diagonal of white-clad, pony-tailed ballerinas at curtain-rise drews gasps and a round of applause: one of the best opening images of any Balanchine ballet.
As this exciting performance drew to close there was also a tinge of regret in knowing that two of our wonderful corps de ballet dancers were onstage for the last time: how often I've enjoyed watching Dara Johnson (above) in her vast repertoire of ballets, always dancing with quiet grace...
...and what a vital personality Henry Seth has been, always outstanding among a Company of outstanding dancers. The Company doesn't make much fuss over corps dancers who come and go, but their colleagues and those of us with a special attachment to this Company of dancers will miss Dara and Henry in seasons to come.
Photos: Dara Johnson by Gwyneth Muller, Henry Seth by Paul Kolnik.