In tonight’s performance I found Rotunda to be just as “blah” as I had found it the first time I saw it. There are of course individual moments that are lovely to watch such as Daniel Ulbricht’s solo; but overall not something I need to see again.
Tiler’s piece was a refreshing return to a more “ballet-ey” new work. I have been less than impressed in the last few years with the new works trying too hard and leaving little to no lasting imprint in my mind. Was this piece a genius work? No. But it was entertaining and you can certainly see her style of dancing within the choreography. She showcases Roman well. Crazy jumps, spinning top turns, and a charm that only he has onstage. He honestly looked like more of an ABT male dancer tonight than a NYCB male lead hiding in the female shadow. Mira and Chun make for a lovely partnering match. Very flowy and calm amidst commotion. Emma is spunky and sparkly and every role I see her in I love her more and more. India I truly do not understand the recent spolighting of her. She is stiff, she has no stage presence and I just do not see the appeal. She has of course long legs and long lines, but I don’t see the control within all of that flexibility that I see in other dancers. I was eager going into the piece after reading the NYTimes Tiler Peck interview. I wanted this to be the chance for India to wow me since Tiler mentions how people think she isn’t as technical as other dancers. Unfortunately, I was not convinced. There is getting through a piece and then there is actually dancing and allowing the audience to feel something with the dancing. India just doesn’t have that spark for me. I enjoyed the corps dancers selected for this piece. I thought they did well and it was nice to see some faces I feel like I don’t get to see as often such as Kennard Henson.
Odessa was a lovely surprise for me having never seen it. Megan and Unity did well. Megan talks about how she is rarely is new works or more contemporary works. I think that she did fine here. The one who really shone for me though was Indiana. Precise turns, fast footwork, made it all look like just a ton of fun instead of an asthma attack waiting to happen for all that dancing. Daniel Ulbricht was great in this. He is very underutilized in my opinion. I did enjoy his pairing with Megan and I wonder why they aren’t paired more often. Stop pairing him with Erica Pereira please! Give this guy better partners!
