chiapuris Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 New York City Ballet MOVES ArtisticAdministrator Jean-Pierre Frohlich Ballet Masters Rosemary Dunleavy, Kathleen Tracey, Lisa Jackson Dancers: Principals: Megan Fairchild, Robert Fairchild, Sterling Hyltin, Maria Kowroski, Tiler Peck, Andrew Veyette, Daniel Ulbricht Soloists: Chase Finlay, Anthony Huxley, Ask la Cour Artists: Ashly Isaacs, Lauren King, Lauren Lovette, Brittany Pollack, David Prottas, Taylor Stanley Musicians: violin: Lydia Hong, piano: Cameron Grant, Alan Moverman, Susan Walters Detroit Opera House, October 28, 2:30pm Polyphonia Wheeldon/Ligeti Duo Concertant Balanchine/Stravinsky Herman Schmerman [pdd] Forsythe/Willems Zakouski Martins/Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Tschaikovsky Hallelujah Junction Martins/Adams What a treat it was to arrive in Detroit's Opera House on a crisp, sunny afternoon to enjoy the New York City Ballet! In effect, it was a touring unit of the company, titled NYCB MOVES, consisting of 16 dancers, four musicians, and of course the dozens of technical staff that requires the best American dance company to be able to travel out of the Big Apple and bring us joy, as the Detroit program states, "for their linear purity, sharpness of attack and overall speed and musicality". MOVES came to us with a whole slew of spectacular dancers and tasty bits for the evening, samples of their peerless repertory. Polyphonia begins the evening with Wheeldon's abstract and formal work set in ten piano pieces of Ligeti. Four couples set the work; Kowroski and la Cour (leads), Peck and Veyette (second leads) as well as Hyltin and Stanley and Lovette and Prottas make a microcosm of solemnity and beauty. What a gorgeous ensemble they make, together or parting, alert and tender to the micropolyphony of Ligeti's mysterious music. I particularly liked la Cour's attentiveness to Korowski. They made a handsome couple. Tiler Peck's precision in the double work was awesome. Kudos to Veyette and Stanley and Prottas and la Cour. Bravas to all! Pianos: Cameron Grant and Alan Moverman Duo Concertant was made for the Stravinsky festival in 1972. Balanchine conceived as an intimate assembly for the stage: Suppose you have the musicians on stage the pianist (Cameron Grant) sitting at the key board, the violinist (Lydia Hong) beside him and a couple of dancers ( Megan Fairchild and Chase Finlay) standing by the piano listening to them. The musicians play the music (I. Cantilene, II. Eclogue I, III. Eclogue II, IV. Gigue, V. Dithyrambe). Eventually the dancers move and begin to dance: first the arms, then the legs then the torsos. They eventually listen also. They look at each other's solos. And they eventually attempt lifts. But nothing resolves. There is a mystery about them. And there is darkness. As Finlay recedes into the darkness, Fairchild becomes the unreachable muse, as her face and hand become luminous and insubstantial. He kisses her hand. He becomes the seeker of the unpossessed beauty. I remember going to NYC in June when the end of the season would bring Duo Concertant and inevitably the cast would always be Yvonne Boree. She was good. Fairchild and Finlay are better. Herman Schmerman (pas de deux) was created by William Forsythe for the NYCB in 1992. Presumably for the deconstruction of the classical canon. But no, (said Forsythe in an interview at the Bolshoi Theatre): the title he found in Steve Martin's 'Men Don't Wear Plaid'. The title didn't mean anything, but he liked it. And the dance does not mean anything. But it's fun, no? Well, yes. Korowski is great in it and so is Fairchild. But the decibels of Thom Willems have they…… meaning? Eventually Kowroski enters with the Versace yellow skirt. Then eventually, Fairchild, from the other side of the stage, enters with another Versace yellow skirt. The audience found the joke delightful. Anyway. I first saw it with Whelan and Evans in the sacred place itself. Zakouski has my admiration for the virtuosity and musical aplomb of Tiler Peck and Andrew Veyette. Kudos to both! I have not seen this work of Peter Martins so I can't visualize the sum of piano and violin works of four Russian composers as tasty bits! Is he kidding? Sturgeon with caviar and potatoes? Tenderloin with foie gras? Milk of Magnesia please. The costumes of Barbara Matera are luscious, red and purple and gray. The cavalier Veyette was noble, vaguely ethnic, and …..cavalier. The lady was blue-blood, stylish, and vaguely Slavic. A countess no less. Choreographically indigestible, but bring the dancers back for an encore. Their energy is joyful. Violin: Lydia Hong Piano: Susan Walters Hallelujah Junction is a dual piano piece by John Adams choreographed by Peter Martins and played by duo-pianists Cameron Grant and Susan Walters. Principals are Sterling Hyltin. Robert Fairchild and Daniel Ulbricht in black (black keys). Artists are Ashly Isaacs and Anthony Huxley, Lauren King and Taylor Stanley, Lauren Lovette and Chase Finlay, Brittany Pollack and David Prottas. The architecture traces high speed aerial sculptural effects and….. "a constant shift of pulse and meter, but the main rhythms are based on the rhythms of the word hal-le-LU-jah". A thrilling finale for a piece that propels the dancers to show passion within their work. Sterling Hyltin is outstanding. Link to comment
Helene Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 It's great to hear how the touring company looks. Not much of the US gets to see these dancers, unless they're guesting for other companies. Link to comment
Stage Right Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I'm so very happy that this was at the Detroit Opera House!! I grew up in Detroit in the 50s/60s, when major US and International ballet companies regularly came to Detroit, and as a child I was incredibly fortunate that my mother took me to see the Kirov, the Bolshoi, the Royal Ballet and Royal Danish Ballet, ABT, and national Ballet of Canada (oddly, I'm not sure NYCB ever came). But it has been very rough times for Detroit lately, and I'm so glad that NYCB Moves performed there. The Detroit Opera House is beautiful, too. Link to comment
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