Above: Teresa Reichlen, photo by Henry Leutwyler
Saturday June 9th, 2013 evening - A grand night for dance and music at New York City Ballet as their Spring 2013 season comes to an end. Some programming and cast changes were taken in stride by the dancers; the principals showed why they are among the greatest dancers on Earth, and some of our newly-promoted soloists gave the evening added thrills. The corps had their chance to shine in the closing TCHAIKOVSKY SUITE #3. Meanwhile in the pit three conductors passed the baton back and forth, and violinist Kurt Nikkanen gave a soul-stirring rendition of the BARBER VIOLIN CONCERTO.
The Barber in fact opened the evening and was one of the finest performances of this excellent Peter Martins ballet I have ever seen. Daniel Capps and the NYCB players gave a lush and luminous account of this timelessly beautiful score (I love how Barber works the piano into this piece) and Mr. Nikkanen truly deserved the warm wave of applause at his curtain call.
Above: Megan Fairchild in a Henry Leutwyler portrait
Originally conceived for two ballet dancers and two bare-footed contemporary dancers, this ballet has for many years been danced by four Company members. Tonight's 'contemporary' couple were superb: Jared Angle's sauvage noble is a brilliant portrayal of a misfit who cannot be drawn into the calming world of the concerto's poignant adagio; instead he brings on the darkness. Megan Fairchild likewise jumps from her usual world of tutus and tiaras into the pony-tailed, restless role created by Kate Johnson. In the opening movement, Megan showed her lyrical quality to ideal effect, then transforms herself into a marvelous little pest for the tricky allegro.
Jon Stafford looks like a perfect classical prince at the beginning of this ballet but by its end he is at the mercy of the relentless Ms. Fairchild: she destroys his serenity by annoying the hell out of him. Teresa Reichlen, the epitome of elegance, looked spectacular in the opening movement. Coolly wafting her extension to the skies, she sailed on the gorgeous melodies, totally in harmony with Jon in a polished partnership. But in the adagio, her attempts to draw Jared away from his feral state backfire: Tess instead is subjugated and carried off to an unknown fate.
Above: Tess Reichlen and Jared Angle in BARBER VIOLIN CONCERTO, photo by Paul Kolnik
In BARBER VIOLIN CONCERTO Peter Martins has used the music in a highly imaginative way and created a ballet which combines psychological undercurrents with an intrguing mix of dance styles. It's one of his best works, and I always love seeing (and hearing) it.
A second Martins work, THE INFERNAL MACHINE, created in 2002 to a propulsive Christopher Rouse score (conducted by Andrews Sill), won a big reaction from the crowd tonight. In an intense display of insanely complicated and fast-paced partnering, Ashley Laracey and Amar Ramasar were thrilling. Dressed in sleek black with hints of colour applique, the two dancers took risk after risk as they rushed from one daring motif to the next. Wei and I have been huge admirers of Ashley Laracey since she joined the Company; her recent promotion was really good news for us and tonight it was so exciting to see her exuding dazzling star quality and in thorough command of a difficult role. Amar was simply spectacular: unbounded energy and sex-appeal, masterful physicality, and - as always - making his ballerina look teriffic. The audience gave Ashley and Amar a genuine tribute of cheers and applause, and they were called out three times after this whirlwind duet.
Above: Ashley Laracey, rehearsal photo by Kokyat
Ashley reappeared soon after with three of her fellow soloist/newbies: Megan LeCrone, Brittany Pollack and Lauren King. The girls, in pale sea-green, gave us a lovely opportunity to enjoy their individual attractiveness in Balanchine's ALLEGRO BRILLANTE. Allen Peiffer, Chrstian Tworzyanski, Austin Laurent and Andrew Scordato were their excellent cavaliers. Clothilde Otranto conducted, with Elaine Chelton at the keyboard. Sara Mearns gave a velvety performance and Andrew Veyette was her princely partner; a part of me wished that Mrs. Veyette had been dancing with her husband.
Sara Mearns reappeared soon after in a voluptuous performance of the dreamlike Elegie of TCHAIKOVSKY SUITE #3. Ask LaCour gave a haunting portrayal of the lonely dreamer: when his ideal has slipped away, Ask stares at his empty hands as the light fades. Really a perfect expressive moment. One of my favorite NYCB pairings, Abi Stafford and Jared Angle, were somehow both serene and urgent in the Waltz, reminding me of their perfect partnership in EMERALDS a couple of seasons back. Ana Sophia Scheller's glamour and mystique radiated through the light and fleeting patterns of the Scherzo, with Daniel Ulbricht's high-flying combinations providing a stunning effect. In an evening when the Company soloists were on display, it was lovely to find Lauren Lovette in the Scherzo ensemble with her flowing hair and swift, questing movement.
Above: Tiler Peck and Joaquin de Luz; photo by Paul Kolnik
Tiler Peck moves from one plateau of excellence to another and tonight she gave a glorious performance in THEME AND VARIATIONS. Finding a marvelous mixture of hauteur and warmth, she was a benevolent and beautiful princess from curtain-rise to fabulous finale. Her technical poise and deep musicality are always a joy to behold. Joaquin de Luz is a dancer I could watch for hours on end; he's so fluent, and his presence always lights up the stage. Vamos Joaquin!
The quartet of demi-solistes - Brittany Pollack, Megan LeCrone, Lauren King and Gwyneth Muller - added a sparkling dimension to the ballet, with David Prottas, Cameron Dieck, Devin Alberda and Daniel Applebaum doing cavalier duty with a fine sense of nobility. As Tiler and Joaquin led the final courtly promenade, the audience seemed to embrace the dancers, the musicians, Tchaikovsky and Balanchine with genuine admiration and gratitude.