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AnneMC

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    longtime ballet fan, especially of nycb
  • City**
    Jamaica Plain
  • State (US only)**, Country (Outside US only)**
    MA
  1. The Saturday matinee did indeed go on, and there was quite a good attendance. The program began with Peck's Partita. I happened to really like the music, a live performance of the Pulitzer prize winning music by Caroline Shaw sung by the group that it was written for, A Roomful of Teeth. It mostly consists of a wide range of vocalizations, i.e. not many words, but rather beautiful, often reminding me of gospel music and hymns (at least to my ears). I thought it elevated the dance, making it deeper and more interesting. I think I most liked the duet between Claire Kretzchmar and India Bradley; they were often dancing the same steps, but then came together with interesting entwining arm movements that, just as the music referenced different musical styles, these entwining arm movements referenced the more modern dance movements with intricate arm movement patterns I have seen on social media. I can understand that Peck's sneaker ballets (if in fact they can really be called ballets) are not everyone's cup of tea, but I would see it again, especially because the music is so wonderful. And the backdrop that consisted of circles of differently colored fabric fit well with the whole piece. The second ballet, Cunningham's Summerspace did not in my opinion have a likeable musical score (composer was Morton Feldman); it made the abstractness of the ballet even more abstract and cerebral and I found it just hard to warm to. I did however appreciate Ashley Laracey's understated control with the many sustained extensions she had to hold. She maintained such good balance that she just seemed to become one with the whole piece. The standout of the program was the third piece, Wheeldon's DGV: Danse a Grande Vitesse. The music is so fast and wave like, building up and then crescendoing, then doing it all over again. All the lead couples were great, but I thought Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle were fantastic. They often reminded me of ice dancers with lifts that move through space. And they are obviously so familiar with each other that they often seemed to be one body; Sara trusting him in such a way as to make the lifts seem effortless, and thus they could just focus on the presentation rather than whether they were going to manage to do them or not, which can be distracting. Also, Mira Nadon just seems to embody the Balanchine ballerina archetype. There is something about her fluidity, beauty and quickness that makes me imagine Balanchine himself guiding her. I too agree with the others who think she will become a big star.
  2. I attended Friday's performance. Here are some of my thoughts. Mozartiana was danced very movingly by Sterling Hyltin who masterfully manages to exhibit a balance between an interior process and at the same time, a connection to her partner, Anthony Huxley. Anthony Huxley dances so cleanly and articulately, even simple steps were a delight. He really has wonderful line and pointed feet, and is such a light dancer, I thought that technically he really shone. Daniel Ulbricht as usual danced with precision and energy, the latter perhaps somewhat muted, which is what the role seems to call for. The four Ladies, Miller, Lafreniere, Nadon and Hod beamed throughout as if still celebrating their recent promotions (Miller especially has a megawatt smile). Isabella had a little trip up at one point when she slid a little, but otherwise danced with incredible confidence and energy. In Rubies, the three leading roles were danced with enormous energy and clarity. Emily Kikta to me is a like a more refined Savannah Lowery: big energy and amplitude, but more graceful. I thought Megan Fairchild was quite unbelievable: especially when taking into account she is the mother of three! She danced with joy, clarity and speed and really seemed to enjoy herself - she is such a fine technician and makes it look easy. Her series of triple pirouettes with her hands flexed and arms bent were all done cleanly without any falling off pointe that the difficulty of this series can be hard to appreciate. Gonzales also seemed to be having fun and to be able to tackle the steps with ease. In La Valse, I thought Sara Mearns and Jovani Furlan danced very well though perhaps their chemistry together still needs some time. Having read that this ballet was created to mark the end of the popularity/era of waltzing gave it a depth I hadn't experienced when I didn't know this context before. I thought Ashley Laracey really stood out for her grace which can be somewhat other worldly, a nice quality since so much ballet is about being transported to a fantasy, metaphorical or spiritual plane. All the dancers danced with such boldness and confidence it was really impressive, especially since the pandemic must have really challenged them to keep up their technique and endurance. Amar Ramasar replaced Andrew Veyette and was very devilish in his role, seeming to delight in the way he used the vanity of the Sara Mearns character to draw her into death, a clever commentary on the dual levels of how even the privileged can have the rug pulled from under their feet in a second ( or that by grasping for more and more, we ignore signs of risk and danger). Anyway, a complicated piece with absolutely gorgeous music and costumes. A great night, worth having come all the way from Boston to see it. I have tickets to the matinee which I hope will not get canceled!
  3. I am a longtime ballet fan who lives in Boston but have gone to SPAC every summer for years to take in the NYCB performances. I have never written for Ballet Alert before but as I very much enjoy reading this forum and writings about this SPAC season have not yet appeared, I thought I would take the plunge and join in. Yesterday's matinee was a performance of Jewels and the standout performances were Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle in Diamonds. Sara was exquisite. She and Tyler seemed as one; Sara was fluid and lyrical and her extensions, especially her arabesques, were high. She took time to fully extend her movements so that when she momentarily held a pose, the beautiful definition of her line really stood out. Tyler was just an amazing counterpoint: he has a lovely straight and calm upper body and he just seemed to totally give himself to the dance and to Sara rather than try at all to turn attention to himself. The evening performace was a bounty of Balanchine's Black & White ballets. It was also a send off to Craig Hall who is retiring. Last night he partnered Ashley Isaacs in Episodes. A beautiful performace by both and the audience gave many rounds of applause. A bittersweet moment! One last note, Maria Kowroski danced in Agon and looked in her usual beautiful form: luscious extensions and line, dancing confidently with her partner Amar Ramasar. Her face expressed a sense of pride and happiness at her performance at the end when she took a bow. Throughout the evening, the audiences were very appreciative and there were many encore curtain calls.
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