Sunday December 4, 2011 matinee - Sebastien Marcovici and Janie Taylor (in a Henry Leutwyler photo above) led the cast of this afternoon's NUTCRACKER at New York City Ballet. Their performance drew cheers from the large audience which - being a matinee - included a goodly percentage of children. It was a well-behaved and attentive group of youngsters; nary a peep out of them most of the afternoon. While they seemed to like narrative of Act I well enough, it was the pure balletic dancing of Janie and Sebastien, along with the dazzling Dewdrop of Ana Sophia Scheller, that drew their loudest and most delighted applause.
The Balanchine NUTCRACKER still exudes its special charm even as its 60th birthday draws nigh; it's just a few years younger than I but it's held up better. The enigmatic cat is still in the window; the Stahlbaum's parlor still seems comfy and inviting; snowflakes still stick to the lips and lashes of the swirling ballerinas as they move thru Mr. B's matchless Winter-woods choreography.
Gwyneth Muller and Christian Tworzyanski hosted the festivities; they have hosted dozens of such parties but they still keep things fresh. Andre Kramarevsky's Drosselmeyer magically guides Ralph Ippolito's entrechats as the Soldier while Lauren Lovette and Mary Elizabeth Sell make a particularly pretty Columbine and Harlequin. Jeremy Wong is now the Prince, very precise in his mime as he tells the story of the battle of the mice to the Sugar Plum Fairy and her court.
The procession of 'treats' now begins with Brittany Pollack and Devin Alberda as an attractive Spanish couple. Georgina Pazcoguin's seductive Arabian kept the young audience entranced; watching this solo from above is always interesting since the dancer casts a triplicate shadow. Antonio Carmena's Tea made the most of his brief solo, and Allen Peiffer nailed the Candy Cane's tricky hoop dance with flair. Ashley Laracey's Marzipan looked fetching and Joshua Thew was Mother Ginger. Megan LeCrone and Gretchen Smith were the lyrical leading Flowers.
Ana Sophia Scheller (Paul Kolnik headshot, above) lead the Waltz of the Flowers in a scintillating performance as the Dewdrop. This famous set-piece gives the ballerina a series of solos while her attendant flowers weave thru Balanchine's finely-mapped patterns. Rising up from among the roses, Ana Sophia lingered on her pointes in utter stillness til the tempo di valse motif began; then she was off on her brilliant way, thru myriad pirouettes and swirling leaps. A series of immaculate attitude turns were spun off with the ballerina's customary finesse, and throughout the Waltz she maintained a direct connection with her audience, drawing us in with her smile and her youthfully regal poise.
Janie Taylor and Sebastien Marcovici then stepped into the throne room to dance their pas de deux. I feel that I've only rarely seen these two dancers - a couple offstage - actually dancing together in performance. Their chemistry and their mutual confidence in one another gave this adagio an added dimension; Mr. B it seems to me has devised one of ballet's trickiest passages with this pas de deux and the two dancers took it all in stride as they built the momentum up with many felicitous touches. Janie flew twice to Sebastien's shouder, and their deep supported lunges had a dramatic flair. As she stepped into the arabesque for that final promenade I had the feeling that Janie had something special up her sleeve for us...and then...wham! a huge and spectacularly 'still' final balance to put the crowning touch on their performance.
But, there was still excitement ahead: in the finale, Allen Peiffer sailed breezily through his hoop; Ashley Laracey's beautifully-stretched jetes were lovely. Gina Pazcoguin was fantastic as she effortlessly delivered the blazing pirouette-to-arabesque combination (often eliminated) three times before flying offstage in a big leap. Scheller's timing of her turns into luminous arabesques was perfect, each arabesque held a bit longer than the previous one.
Clothilde Otranto and the orchestra played the beloved Tchaikovsky score for all it's worth, and Kurt Nikkanen's violin solo was a musical high point.
SUNDAY MATINEE, DECEMBER 4, 1 PM (Conductor: Otranto)
SUGARPLUM: Taylor; CAVALIER: Marcovici; DEWDROP: Scheller; HERR DROSSELMEIER: Kramarevsky; MARZIPAN: Laracey; HOT CHOCOLATE: Pollack, Alberda; COFFEE: Pazcoguin; TEA: Carmena; CANDY CANE: Peiffer; MOTHER GINGER: Thew; FLOWERS: LeCrone, Smith; DOLLS: Lovette, Sell; SOLDIER: Ippolito; MOUSE KING: Dieck; DR & FRAU STAHLBAUM: Muller, Tworzyanski
As with so many of my friends who are long-time fans and supporters of NYC Ballet, the year 2011 has been a testing time. While maintaining our admiration, affection and respect for the dancers, musicians and everyone involved in the artistic aspects of the Company we watch unhappily as marketing decisions seem to alienate core supporters and marginalize those for whom the ballet has a special meaning. Today was my first visit to the State where the long-time volunteers who have always manned the gift shop have been replaced by 'professional' retail clerks. It was especially disheartening to see a woman wandering up and down the orchestra-level aisles, hawking souvenir booklets during intermission. Prices for the wares on offer seem to have increased exponentially since last season; an overall air of cheap commercialism now prevails. I can hear Mr. B sniffing indignantly.