Above: Leslie Andrea Williams in Martha Graham's CHRONICLE, photo by Brian Pollock
On Wednesday, April 6th, 2022, I attended the opening night of the Martha Graham Dance Company's season at New York City Center. The program opened with Graham's powerful all-female work, CHRONICLE, which premiered in 1936.
The ballet's score, by Wallingford Riegger, sounded marvelous as played live by the Mannes Orchestra. The curtain rose on the seated figure of the charismatic Leslie Andrea Williams, alone on the big stage. In the work's extended opening solo, Spectre-1936, Ms. Williams was in her glory, moving with compelling feminine intensity and manipulating the iconic red-lined skirt of her costume with flair.
In the second movement, Steps in the Street, the Graham Company's dazzling Italian dancer, Marzia Memoli (above, in a Brian Pollock photo), gave a performance that amplified the vivid impression she has made in several other roles in recent seasons. Marzia is a firecracker of a dancer: vibrant and volatile. I love watching her.
In the second and third movements of CHRONICLE, Graham gives the 'corps de ballet' choreography which demands incredible strength, agility, and speed. Tonight's stellar ensemble dazzled us with their virtuosity and commitment, and they shall all be named: Xin Ying, Natasha M. Diamond-Walker, Anne O'Donnell, Anne Souder, So Young An, Laurel Dalley Smith, Devin Loh, Aoi Sato, and Kate Reyes.
When the curtain fell on this powerful piece, my guest for the evening, a luminary in the Gotham ballet world, immediately leapt to his feet and started yelling. There was a prolonged ovation, with Mlles. Williams and Memoli evoking enthusiastic bravas.
Above: Leslie Andrea Williams in CHRONICLE, photo by Brian Pollock
During the intermission, my companion introduced me to some of his fellow ballet celebrities; it seems they were all seeing a Graham work for the first time, and they were all totally bowled over.
The rest of the evening was less impressive, and in fact somewhat depressing. I know a Graham masterpiece is a tough act to follow, and that the Company need to be dancing new works in addition to ballets from Martha's own catalog. But neither a re-imagining of Graham's mostly-lost 1952 piece CANTICLE FOR INNOCENT COMEDIANS nor Hofesh Shechter's dark and endless club/rave, CAVE, seemed to be the answer...despite being danced as only these dancers could dance them. As the relentless CAVE went on and on, my poor friend slumped low in his seat, murmuring: "...21st century dance...21st century dance..."
I know from social media that the Graham dancers apparently loved doing the Shechter, and the audience really got into it: they gave it a mammoth, screaming ovation at the end, while the two of us rushed for the exit. Moments later, one of Gotham's top dance writers passed us, running even faster.
The program's second half was a dispiriting experience: these dancers are so important to me, and I want to love everything they do.
At least we had CHRONICLE to remind us of everything dance can be.
~ Oberon