NYCB Reviews Winter '06, Week 3

[oberon]

After going to 5 SWAN LAKES and seeing the house nearly filled each time, it was a bit depressing to go tonight and find so many empty seats. I saw BALLO & MORGEN, then left before OPUS JAZZ.

Bouder delivered the goods tonight is a dazzling performance, and Ben Millepied danced brilliantly as well. The four beauties Keenan, Edge, Scheller & Riggins were delightful, Riggins back to her usual luminous self after an oddly unpolished solo in the SWAN LAKE pas de trois. These dancers elicited a warm reaction from the small but appreciative crowd.

Jessica Jones has the right rapture of tone for the Strauss songs in MORGEN though she sometimes veered a bit sharp of pitch. This beautiful ballet in which three women and three men dance a series of duets seems to me to be about the search for an ideal love. Each woman dances with each man and at the end they each have found the object of affection. While basically lyrical, there are moments of tension and some very demanding partnering work. Darci's gorgeousness here made me forget her MONUMENTUM/MOVEMENTS earlier in the season. In one series of pristine unsupported turns she was simply mesmerizing. Jenifer Ringer also has a most congenial role here, and Sterling Hyltin danced beautifully if missing just the last touch of sheer abandon that Janie Taylor brought to the role. Marcovici, Askegard & Nilas Martins were all very fine.

[ViolinConcerto]

Yes, Bouder was absolutely magnificent, but I felt that the conductor was very uneven, and sped up raggedly in some places so that Bouder had to clip the edges of some of the pas de chats and those incredibly difficult triple turns capped by an extension that Merrill Ashley describes as being her nemisis in her book. When I saw Bouder last year I felt that she surpassed Merrill in some ways.

I also agree that Millipied and the four soloists were superb (and was especially happy to see Riggins in such good form).

To me, MORGEN is the same ballet as IN THE NIGHT, but not as good. At the intermission, I and several friends confessed that we'd dozed off. One friend described the people he was sitting near (all in the orchestra) as sinking deeper and deeper into their seats, it's that soporific.

The music is stunningly beautiful, and I agree with Oberon that the soprano veered off to the sharp side now and then.

I stayed for OPUS JAZZ because I'd only seen it once, and enjoyed the energy, the visuals and -- of course -- the dancing. It has all of Robbins' trademarks, most of which he improved on in later years: the circle, the challenges, the repeats, the passing of a movement from one person to the other: a pre-natal INTERPLAY. It really brought back the essence of those times for me, as well.

[jimmattimore]

Oberon: I too was there, and you are absolutely speaking for me as well.

I agree that "Morgen" is the search for ideal love, the couples changing so often. A review in Newsday mentioned that Darci no longer had the hips for Movements.

Her hips seemed to be working very well tonight in "Morgen," maybe ?? the best of Peter's ballets to me at least.

I can tolerate the Opus thing for not one second. I fled in joy after "Morgen," and I am now happily home writing to you ballet mavens.

I did miss Jock.

As you all know. Sara Mearns turned 20 today. You all have seen more years than I at NYCB-and I am jealous of all of you- , but was ever a corps member thrust into Odille/Odette as was Sara?

I am really liking Hyltin.

Good night balletomanes and sleep well.

[Michael]

I vote for the anti-Morgen party -- The piece is not unusual for Martins. Some fine moments, which appear and then disappear randomly.

The ballet is organized around the three men and three women switching partners -- I call it organization, not "structure" (which should be something more organic) -- this happens three or four times, thus three or four entrees for each dancer.

The switching partner thing is a device Martins uses a lot. It substitutes not only for structure, but also for meaning, plot, emotion, even sincerity or real engagement by the heart of the choreographer. The piece seems shallow, somehow kept at a distance, a series of poses, signifying nothing much more than ... well, switching partners. "Don't like this one, maybe that, gee I'm sorry, oi vey I yearn."

Soprano's diction was poor, but I enjoyed the singing. Choreography is not up to Strauss's songs.

[Leigh Witchel]

The thing about partner switching in Morgen is it feels like infidelity. Somehow the romantic atmosphere Martins is going for calls for more stability - It would be like the couples in In The Night suddenly deciding to open up the relationship. Robbins does the barest hint of this in his closing (one of his devices) but goes no farther. I know Balanchine's done it, but for the life of me I'm having trouble thinking of Balanchine ballets with unstable/switching partner relationships. Kammermusik No. 2?

[Helene]

In Schubertiade there was not wholesale partner switching, but there were a couple of trios, in which one dancer chose between two others. In that ballet, I thought Martins successfully provided structure, not organization. Perhaps Martins' approach was still under the influence of Balanchine -- the ballet is a relation to Liebeslieder, however distant -- but it had a palpable and sophisticated tension.

I've never seen Morgen, so I can't compare them.

[Michael]

Well, to begin with, it's hard to bring a readable dramatic action, or even a kind of symbolist/surrealist emotional meaning (think the mysterious relationships between the women and men in Serenade) to a ballet with six protagonists making four entrees. That's a basic point. Peter Martins does that a lot -- too many characters, too many things to look at on the stage, too much action lasting too long, no hierarchy, little focus.

But even when he does reduce to say, a man and two women (I'm thinking of the thing he did for the Gala, with Laracey in it two springs ago) -- He's not particularly good at creating a pas de deux with real emotional depth and resonance in it. By way of contrast, again, when I think of Balanchine -- say the pas from Agon, or the action in Serenade -- I think of the complex evocativeness that he's able to bring to a non-specific dramatic action. I think of the woman with the hand over the boy's eyes in Serenade as he walks to the girl on the floor -- the "dark angel" thing: everyone has their interpretation, everyone is moved. The very fact that you can say "Dark Angel." Something has happened. With PM, I won't say it's never the case, but very seldom. Actually, it's hard to think of when something like that ever "happens." There is little emotional depth to his pdd's.

And certainly not in Morgen, where none of the characters or their situations has dramatic embodiment, much less definition. There's the girl who throws herself at the guy at the risk of a broken back (the Taylor role); the older girl who giggles and turns (Kistler); and the lush girl who swoons (Ringer). The men are even less defined since they basically pace and look around.

Last night of course had two new men -- Nilas Martins in place of Jock Soto (retired); and Charles Askegaard in place of James Fayette (also retired). But with Jock and James the basic dramatic lack was the same.

And, actually, Morgen is one of Martins' better recent ballets.

[Dale]

Wasn't Martins in his original role? I thought Jared Angle and Jock Soto were the ones replaced. ???

[ViolinConcerto]

The thing about partner switching in Morgen is it feels like infidelity.  Somehow the romantic atmosphere Martins is going for calls for more stability - It would be like the couples in In The Night suddenly deciding to open up the relationship.  Robbins does the barest hint of this in his closing (one of his devices) but goes no farther.  I know Balanchine's done it, but for the life of me I'm having trouble thinking of Balanchine ballets with unstable/switching partner relationships.  Kammermusik No. 2?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Liebeslieder Waltzer!

[ViolinConcerto]

For Michael--How soon we forget!

Here's from the rep note on the NYCB website:

Premiere: May 10, 2001, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater

Original cast: Darci Kistler, Jenifer Ringer, Janie Taylor, Jared Angle, Nilas Martins, Jock Soto

I always have felt that CALCIUM LIGHT NIGHT was PM's best work. I only saw SCHUBERTIADE during it's first season, and my immediate reaction was that he'd lost his editor.

[Leigh Witchel]

ViolinConcerto - yes, there's certainly the trio, and there's brief swapping in Liebeslieder, but I can't recall, are there full dances with exchanged partners? The relationships in Liebeslieder seem pretty fixed and stable - if a dancer leaves his/her partner, it's to return to him/her. Similarly in Davidsbundler. The funny thing is that in Balanchine exchanging partners doesn't seem fraught with meaning, and it does in Martins.

Michael - Martins and the trio could be a Master's degree thesis of its own. Poulenc Sonata, Walton Cello Concerto and Eros Piano among them.

[oberon]

I understand the various presentations of partner-switching or multiple partners in many of Martins' works because I spent 25 years of my doing just that. When I look back on it now, I realize the tremendous amount of energy I expended in looking for love. But I wouldn't change anything. Because in the end I found it, and it was worth everything that went before.

[kfw]

I only saw SCHUBERTIADE during it's first season, and my immediate reaction was that he'd lost his editor.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL. I saw it in '99, having left my seat for ABT at the Met to see NYCB's final ballet of the evening, which as originally scheduled was Theme and Variations. On and on and on this poor substitute went, and pretty soon I could barely focus.

[Helene]

I agree that Schubertiade needed some editing, and that the orchestrated version of the "Serenade" (?) was a mistake, but I thought the piece had a modern voice and great roles, particularly for Kyra Nichols, Joseph Duell, and Ib Andersen, as well as a sweet one for Nichol Hlinka. I thought the roles were tailor-made for the dancers.

Martins lost me with Fearful Symmetries, where to me, it looked like all of the lead women were molded into Heather Watts clones.

[AmandaNYC]

Since I'm still shying away from reviewing much (as a way of just letting myself purely enjoy perfs), this is more of a report than a review. I wanted to post about a crazy two performances.

At Friday night's perf, there were 2 falls and 1 collision in Fearful Symmetries (the final ballet). And, at today's matinee, there were 2 falls in Ballo. And Bouder replaced at the last minute (announcement, not insert). Not sure if it's a slippery stage or exhuberant dancers or both!

Needless today, it took all the great dancing the rest of the time to keep me from being completely on edge!

I'm actually surprised there are not more falls during Fearful, considering how fast and "go for broke" that choreography is. The collison was between Marcovici and Ramasar.

In Ballo, Fairchild made her local "debut" (she performed the piece at SAB) and faced a conductor who seemed even faster than Quinn. Ballo is normally a fast piece, but this seemed even more so. The conductor was one of the guest conductors (I misplaced my program). She fell (or just stumbled?) in one spot and had much trouble in another spot, and I think the tempo was more to blame than lack of rehearsal or last minute notice. She was the true MVP of today's perf, as she only has one ballet to recovery before she had to then perform in Fearful.

I hope the bruised dancers are ok,... and I pray that Bouder's absence was not indicative of anything more than a temporary injury or illness. My sister thought I looked i was going to cry when the announcement was made (I didn't; i was more worried!)!

My one "review" is that I thought Pazcoguin fabulous in Opus Jazz. I had previously seen the solo parts done by Krohn. Pazcoguin really seemed to get the kind of energy and tension needed for this type of Robbins piece, and it was truly appreciated. I think some of the dancers are still too reserved in their moves-- afterall they are ballet bancers. But, some, like Pazcoguin took the steps the extra mile. Hendrickson, Carmena, and Suozzi were other standouts for their immersion into the Robbins world.

-amanda

[Michael]

I can't say enough about Sofiane Sylve's performances in both Fearful this afternoon, and in Bizet 2d movement tonight. The Bizet was just one of those special ones -- She performed it almost in a trance it seemed, very dreamy to the woodwind melody and lost in the music and in the motion, she seemed almost of another race, sort of inhuman or more than human. ( "o quai te memore virgine ..."). The dancing was very pure, geometric even at times, and completely without ballerina airs -- she let the dancing, the steps convey everything, nothing was "emoted" -- but with total ballerina authority. In that sense -- that she lets the steps do the talking without more, she is the most New York City Ballet of all the NYCB ballerinas. My gosh, also those sharp escapes to point in 2d position, and the way she etched the jetees in transition into further steps. Lovely.

And this, in the most regal, the most "Paris Opera" of tutu and tiara roles, after displaying just a gorgeous, modern weight and plasticity in the adagios in Fearful Symmetries this afternoon. Tremendous range this girl has. The company I think would be quite lost without her right now. She literally carried City Ballet through successive performances today.

It was all the more important because Bouder came out of 3d movement Bizet tonight too, just as she did Ballo this afternoon.

Although it's a minor point, I also have to mention how good it is to see Sophie Flack getting a chance to dance in prominent corps de ballet roles night after night. She came out of SAB with Tess Reichlen, at least I think so, but has not had a great deal of opportunity. She's a corps de ballet girl through and through, very lovely in what she does -- one means it as the highest complement. No corps de ballet, no company.

[carbro]

I attended the Saturday night performance. The pieces I expected to love I did not. The piece I did not expect to enjoy I did. Go fig.

In Concerto Barocco, the problem came from the way the dancers were directed to perform. Yes, of course City Ballet is famous for its strong attack. But when EVERY! MOVEMENT! IS! PUNCHED! OUT! WITH! EQUAL! EMPHASIS! , EACH! LOSES! ITS! INDIVIDUAL! IMPACT! , AND! PHRASES! ARE! LIKE! MESAS! -- ELEVATED! BUT! FLAT!. (Sorry for the shouting, but I had to make the point.) Wendy Whelan knew how to balance attack and modulation, but the usually lyrical Rachel Rutherford looked like she was fighting the steps through the whole First Movement. Neither dancer nor dance was presented at best advantage by her uncharacteristic approach. And the corps, between punches, tended to find poses where the motion should be continuous. I expect to be moved by Barocco, and while this was not at the dismal level of Baroccos of five or six years ago, neither was it a model for future ones. Albert Evan's otherwise solid and sensitive partnering was marred by a painful-looking lift that still has me cringing.

The middle section was a pair of pas de deux. Lavery's Balcony pas from Romeo and Juliet was quite enjoyable as done by Yvonne Borree and Sebastian Marcovici. It is not great choreography, nor terribly imaginative, but it works for what it is. Yvonne brought an interesting characterization to the role, starting out as a young teenager who undergoes a metamorphisis and by the end, realizes her womanhood. One of the best things I've seen from her. Marcovici's impassioned Romeo was a suitable foil for her.

The Tchaikovsky pdd, with Miranda Weese and Damian Woetzel was, for me, the evening's high spot. Miranda, with the beautiful legs, did the develope to ecarte into gargouillade just the way I like it -- the slowest possible develope into the neat and speedy little flurry of feet. But it was Damian who floated on the music, hitting every accent perfectly. He may have left out a step here or there, but as the company's senior male, I grant him that privilege. Fifth positions not tight? Who cares? This was the best example of what dancing means to me that I've seen at City Ballet so far in this young season. The jumps are still big and buoyant, if not to the degree they once were, and he can still turn for days. But it was his ability to just go with the music, making no fuss of anything, that set this performance out.

Sofiane Sylve's . . .  Bizet was just one of those special ones -- She performed it almost in a trance it seemed, very dreamy to the woodwind melody and lost in the music and in the motion, she seemed almost of another race, sort of inhuman or more than human. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree with every point you make about Sylve's Second Movement, Michael, but not with your overall assessment. Inhuman? To me she looked more superhuman, and I can't remember seeing the role danced by someone who conveyed less vulnerabilty. As a feminist, I should applaud this, right? But to me, that quality is the tender heart of the ballet, and I sorely missed it. I may grow to like her here, and she may soften her presentation, but as much as I admired the dancing, I was unmoved at evening's end, just as I was at its outset.

Not a bad night, but certainly a disappointing one.

[ViolinConcerto]

Saturday night's performance was more than 75% Balanchine and the house was packed! It opened with a very lovely and gentle CONCERTO BAROCCO, with the two women (who always seem to me to be like the personification of devoted friends, the way they move together) performed by Rachel Rutherford and Wendy Whelan. Albert Evans did the male role. I loved watching Albert -- he made the role a calm, supportive and strong presence. He and Wendy were beautiful together.

The guest conductor, David Briskin, created a dignified, smooth pace, like a soft, comfortable flying carpet for them to dance on. It was a bit slower than usual, and that was most welcome -- IMO -- after all the very rushed tempi we've had to sit through. Wendy seemed as if the music was flowing directly through her.

The corps and the violin soloists (Arturo Delmoni and Kurt Nikkanen) were equally unified.

The ROMEO AND JULIET pas de 2 was nicely performed by Yvonne Borree and Sebastien Marcovici (two dancers I generally don't like). Again, Briskin had a gentle command of the orchestra.

Then came an explosive Tschaikovsky Pas de 2 with Damian Woetzel and Miranda Weese. The entire fourth ring was cheering like crazy. Reminded me of "the old days," in Balanchine's time, when our hands would hurt from applauding!

I agree with Michael about Sylve's performance: she was the high point of SYMPHONY IN C. For me, her style is different from most NYCB dancers, but I am not able to articulate why I feel that way. I have come to feel that Charles Askegard just does not put energy, strength and commitment into his work: he looks "flabby" and just can't keep his part of the bargain. The first movement (IMO again) was similarly unbalanced: Jenifer Ringer just sparkles, and Nilas Martins sort of thuds along.

Megan Fairchild took the 3rd movement that Bouder was supposed to do. She and Joaquin de Luz were good, but a little "lite" for my taste. Jason Fowler in the 4th movement had a wonderful classical line. I was glad to see that his work is being recognized. Abi Stafford had good energy, but to me, is still a bit bland, though better than she was.

[Anthony_NYC]

Michael, I enjoyed Sylve's Bizet Saturday night, too. With more experience I'm sure she'll bring more romantic soulfulness to it, the only thing a found a little lacking. On the plus side, hooray, she does NOT touch her forehead to her knee (which always strikes me as a show-offy circus stunt inappropriately inserted in this most generous of pas de deux).

[oberon]

But Anthony, I think it was Suzanne Farrell who first did the forehead-to-knee thing in SYMPHONY IN C. If I recall the story correctly, Suzanne was rehearsing it and was down deep in her penchee arabesque and Mr. B said "Can you touch your forehead to your knee?" and from down below Suzanne murmured: "Like this?" and she did it. And he left it in. I think she also mentioned a night when she was doing the penchee and her tiara caught on her tights which started to unravel. She started coming up, then went back down and luckily the thread came loose. When she finally straightened up, her partner whispered: "What were you doing down there?" This is all from Suzanne's autobiography.

In recent seasons, Wendy & Darci have down the touch, Maria K and Sylve left it out. I think it has something to do with the build of the ballerina in question.

[drb]

I think I remember her touching her instep, not just the knee! But then Her bigger-than-life artistry is also perhaps bigger than reality...

[Anthony_NYC]

Mr. B up in heaven, please forgive me, but I think it's an ugly move. The ballerina always has to hunch her shoulders to make contact. To me, it doesn't express anything except "Looky what I can do!"

I bet Whelan could even touch her forehead to the *back* of her knee.

The story about Farrell unraveling her tights is hilarious! Wouldn't it be a fun practical joke to put a little Velcro on the ballerina's tiara, see what happens?

[Anna NYC]

I can't say enough about Sofiane Sylve's performances in both Fearful this afternoon, and in Bizet 2d movement tonight.     The dancing was very pure, geometric even at times, and completely without ballerina airs -- she let the dancing, the steps convey everything, nothing was "emoted" -- but with total ballerina authority.  In that sense -- that she lets the steps do the talking without more, she is the most New York City Ballet of all the NYCB ballerinas. 

And this, in the most regal, the most "Paris Opera" of tutu and tiara roles, after displaying just a gorgeous, modern weight and plasticity in the adagios in Fearful Symmetries this afternoon.  Tremendous range this girl has.  The company I think would be quite lost without her right now.   She literally carried City Ballet through successive performances today. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[/quote

[Leigh Witchel]

Total conjecture, but I wonder if Sylve was taught the ballet in Europe by Patricia Neary, who set the ballet under Taras' supervision. Those productions don't include the revision to the arabesque penchée.

It depends on who is doing it and how its done as to whether it works. It may be too dangerous for Kowroski, who is so flexible that I've seen her do a 6:05 penchée threatening towards 6:10. If she went any farther Askegard wouldn't have been able to get her back up.

[drb]

.... but I wonder if Sylve was taught the ballet in Europe by Patricia Neary, who set the ballet under Taras' supervision.  Those productions don't include the revision to the arabesque penchée....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You may have something there as La Sylve has a Patricia Neary Euro connection; indeed, it was she who got the 16-year old dancer to the Dutch National Ballet after seeing her dance Balanchine.

Quoting from Allegra Kent's February 2005 interview of Sylve in Dance Magazine:

'... in Karlsruhe they did a Balanchine evening.... Pat Neary came along and said, "Honey, what are you doing here? You have to go to a bigger company, a different rep!" ... Pat said, "Listen, I'm going to Amsterdam; why don't you come and audition?"'

When Sylve danced Balanchine in Holland she said, 'I thought, "Maybe he's watching." I think Pat was into that because it's like he's still alive to her.'

Regarding her experience dancing the second movement of Symphony in C, she said, "It was a blessing. Finally, I got to do something that was technically hard but not like the circus. ...[it] is purely movement: adagio, the connection with the guy, technically hard but not showing that it is so hard. I had a wonderful time filling out that music--the quietness. The adagio is amazing. And by doing it you can show that you have different colors and you're not just a technical animal."

The full article:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_..._79/ai_n8707423