Above: BalletCollective dancer Taylor Stanley photographed by Christopher Starbody
Thursday June 27th, 2013 - Today Troy Schumacher invited me to a special showing of his new work for BalletCollective, in preparation for the Company's upcoming New York City performances.
At the Ailey Citigroup Theater, friends and supporters of the Collective watched Troy working out some phrases with his exciting ensemble of dancers, all of whom are current or recent members of New York City Ballet. The work is accompanied by live music composed and conducted by Ellis Ludwig-Leone and played by ACME. During this preliminary tinkering session, lighting designer Brandon Baker tried out various effects. We were then shown a run-thru of the work-in-progress.
The ballet, The Impulse Wants Company, takes wing on a poem by Cynthia Zarin, who was present for the showing. The music is both perfectly contemporary and beautifully melodic, with some interesting rhythmic figures; the musicians are expert.
Ms. Zarin's poem reflects on childhood visits to a beach, on nature, weather, on people and conversations recalled from the past. I didn't read thru the poem until I'd seen the ballet, but the line "I was a water nymph" might have inspired the opening solo for Kaitlyn Gilliland, the tall ballerina who - with her poetic arabesque and arching back-bend - seems to conjure visions of Odette. David Prottas, a prince of a dancer, joins her. There is a trio of young women - Lauren King, Ashley Laracey and Meagan Mann - who remind me of Rhinemaidens or the nymphs on the lonely shore of Ariadne's Naxos.
Harrison Coll, a dynamic young dancer, joins Taylor Stanley in an off-kilter waltz, Taylor's solo begins with him swaying like a tree in the breeze; later he travels up a diagonal in some skitteringly fast footwork before circling the space in a questing motif.
Troy Schumacher told us the that this ballet was created in ten days of studio time; in terms of both movement and imagination, it shows his distinctive choreographic style which uses the classic vocabulary of steps and port de bras with fresh, contemporary nuances. And he has the grest good fortune to be working with some of the best dancers in the world.
It was nice to see so many familiar faces from among New York City's serious dance aficianados here supporting Troy today, and to greet the lovely former New York City Ballet ballerina Maya Collins, who now dances with Miami City Ballet..
BalletCollective will be performing The Impulse Wants Company along with a re-working of their 2012 ballet Epistasis at The Joyce on August 14th and 15th. Information and tickets here.
You can follow BalletCollective on Ashley Laracey's blog: The Insider.