NYCB in DC/opening night

[Dale]

I hope we can soon read some instant reviews from our Washington spies:)

[Ari]

Okay, a quick take on tonight --

A good, well-rehearsed and well-danced performance, but -- with one exception -- no real excitement. Fiorato took Serenade too slowly, so it lacked the vigorous sweep it needs. Since I haven't seen Kistler recently, I was pleasantly surprised by how good she looked. Carla Korbes, in the first solo I've seen her do (Dark Angel) made me want to see more of her. Even Borree wasn't bad. But the performance as a whole suffered from the slack tempi .

The unquestionable highlight of the evening was Peter Boal's magnificent, electric Apollo. This is the best performance of the role I've seen him do, and he's been terrific in it before. I don't know if it's his work with Farrell, but everything seems to have fallen in place for him now; he's a young god hungry for life and pulsating with the discovery of his powers. As good as his muses (Ansanelli, Bouder, and Rutherford) were, it was hard for me to take my eyes off of him. Even just sitting on the stool, he had more life in him than most dancers have dancing full out. The audience saw it, too, and gave him well-deserved bravos.

Symphony in C got a crisp, clean performance, but without any memorable individual performances. I'm not sure Jenifer Ringer is suited to the first movement, but it may have something to teach her about the grand ballerina manner. Megan Fairchild made an accomplished debut in the third movement. The audience cheered her partner, de Luz. I wanted to shoot him, but then I loathe salesmanship. I can't really tell you if he danced well. I was too put off by his manner. The audience loved this ballet, and gave it an enthusiastic reception. Andrea Quinn conducted a lively Apollo and Bizet, not too fast.

The house looked well sold, with only a few empty seats here and there (from what I could see). Intermission comments seemed happy. I wish the company had planned a more adventurous repetoire -- all the ballets danced tonight have been seen in Washington in the last few years -- but what's most important is that NYCB is back after 17 years.

[scoop]

:yes: Thanks for the quick review, Ari! Hope to read more from you and others...

How's this for bad timing: The New York City Ballet comes to the Kennedy Center for the first time in 17 years -- the exact time I've lived in the area -- and this week I'm on a business trip in ... New York City! Shoot me NOW! :green:

Hope to get back home by Saturday so maybe I'll get to catch Serenade et al that night and Jewels on Sunday...

[carbro]

Carla Korbes, in the first solo I've seen her do (Dark Angel) made me want to see more of her. 

Ah! So now you see what all that yacking is about! :gossip:

[paolo]

I agree with Ari that the Wed. evening performance was generally well-danced and also that it lacked excitement. Boal was wonderful as Apollo and, having never seen her dance before, I thought Ansanelli was most impressive. On the other hand, I thought Symphony in C was far from crisp and clean- the dancers being unable to keep up with the tempo with alarming frequency. Reminded me a little of the ABT Raymonda in this regard.

Wow, that Kowroski has some legs and feet. As for Joaquin de Luz, rather than shoot him, I was so thankful that someone on stage expressed some emotion and looked they he enjoyed being there. He danced well, by the way. Other than de Luz, the performances did lack excitement. Is it always this way with NYCB? Is emotion discouraged?

[Alexandra]

Paolo, I think there are (and have always been) those who think that NYCB is unemotional, and those who think that their non-presentational stlye is what classical dancing should be. As there have always been people who look at the ballets and think "This is it? There's nothing going on here but steps!" and those who see an infinity in those steps.

I thought DeLuz had been tamed considerably from his performances of the same role (3rd movement Symphony in C) with ABT. The solo is now integrated into the ballet, not an Evening of Championship Skating moment. I liked Fairchild very much, but I don't think they're well-matched as a partnership. Tiny as she is, she dances big -- I thought she was the most old-style Balanchinean dancer on stage! -- and needs a taller partner.

I was so glad to see the company here. They were a fixture of the ballet season when I first started going. They came every winter -- usually February, and it was always warm, as it is now; one or two standees and latecomers would faint during Goldberg Variations, which they brought regularly then. I miss what were "our" ballets -- the staples then were the then-new works, like Vienna Waltzes and Union Jack (which I don't think I'd like to see now) and Chaconne -- but I realize that this was the "whatever you can throw in the suitcase" season and we're getting the works that were in rep.

[Dale]

I don't want to make excuses, but....I think the scheduling has come at a poor time, the company has been dancing since late November in a season that is full with taxing evening-length ballets (something the company isn't used to). It also is a company that has had to work extra hard to make up for several injured principals and soloists. They barely had time to catch their breath after the Sleeping Beauties before going down to D.C.

[Alexandra]

We always got them right after a NY season. Actually, I expected them to look exhausted and I didn't feel that at all. And they also looked rehearsed! I thought the "Serenade" looked over-careful and I had the same opinion as Ari, generally, about "Symphony in C" -- I thought it looked good. They've never had a regimented corps, and so it looked fine to me. I didn't see any problems keeping up with the music. They're in a place where several of the dancers are a bit too old, and several are a bit too young, but that happens with any company. There was more energy and excitement on this program (parts of Apollo and Symphony in C) than there has been at the few performances I've caught in New York the past few years.

[paolo]

One more thing about Wed. night. Granted, the music is very soft, but Darci Kistler made an unbelievable amount of noise with her landings and steps. Even when she was being partnered and was being lowered down, she still made noise.

[Alexandra]

That's interesting -- I think sometimes the amount of noise you hear in that house depends on where you're sitting. I didn't hear that (but I don't doubt you!) I saw ABT do "Les Patineurs" for about five seasons before I sat in the back, where I could hear the 'swoosh, swoosh' of the 'skating.' Maybe she was wearing new shoes.

I have to say that, as glad as I was to see Kistler again, my measuring stick for that role in "Serenade" was von Aroldingen (not a universally popular choice, I know). She was always the Abandoned Woman, and that worked here. She didn't dance the steps crisply by the time I saw her, and perhaps never did, but she always brought a sense of drama without being overly dramatic, and I thought Kistler was dancing it much as she would have 20 years ago; I didn't see a change in her. She's still a Girl, but an older one.

[DancingGiselle]

I was quite pleased with the opening night performance - the only one that I had/will have a chance to see. Serenade is a beautiful ballet and I am always happy to see it, but the corps de ballet looked off through out the entire piece. Of course, the dancers were much better than the disaster that was ABT's corps at the Kennedy Center last month, but they never moved together as a one living, breathing organism. I could not put my finger on it until I read this thread, but I soon realized that Alexandra's observation was right on target - the ballet looked over careful. On the other hand, Darci Kistler and especially Carla Korbes were quite mesmerizing; I even found Carla's dancing more exciting than Darci's, as beautiful as the latter was. Yvonne Borree - whom I have never seen before - didn't do anything to impress me; she seemed to approach teh performance as she would a class or a rehearsal.

Peter Boal's Apollo was certainly the strongest male performance of the evening - probably the strongest performance overall, but I was too enamored with Maria Kowroski to go as far as to say that. His dancing radiated both curiosity and majesty - if that makes any sense . . . His partnering was flawless, especially in the pdd with Alexandra Ansanelli, who danced Terpsichore with sensitive vitality (in my eyes). Ashley Bouder was decent, but I did not like Rachel Rutherford. When she and Ashley danced after the pdd, she seemed like she was almost struggling to catch up.

I enjoyed Symphony in C - mainly due to Maria Kowroski and Megan Fairchild, as well as because of what I saw as a huge improvement in the corps as compared to Serenade. My room mate, who occasionally accompanies me to the ballet and patiently sits through my ballet videos, remarked that Symphony in C was now her favorite ballet because of the performance (she had never seen it before). I certainly saw more room for improvement in the ballet than she did, but it certainly excited (Megan) and mesmerized (Maria). It was also my first time seeing Joaquin de Luz since he left ABT, and I was actually happy to see that he hasn't lost his bravura touches. A little out of place in this ballet, but it was fun to watch nonetheless . . .