Week 2

[oberon]

Tuesday 1/11 - Men's Night at NYCB. Three very different performances from 3 stellar male dancers were the highlights of the evening.

Joaquin de Luz danced BALLO DELLA REGINA like a whirwind. His myriad turns and newly perfected softer landings for his numerous jumps added to his dazzling smile and the best (male) hair in ballet, assured him of a big success. Bouder has all the technical stuff down pat; now a slightly more lyrical approach will put the frosting on the cake. Excellent demi-solistes: Edge, Hyltin, Riggins and the sparkling Scheller. The ballet really is just a very pretty appetizer.

Julio Bocca created a furore in TODO BUENOS AIRES, which has been thoroughly reworked to showcase his sultry & commanding bravura in this repertoire. The piece, which used to be just a pleasant series of tangos, now has an edge of sexual tension as Bocca dances with the women and then with the men. Everything hovers on the edge of a sexual volcano. Wendy & Darci look particularly fetching in their sexy dresses & black toe shoes...Wendy totally inscrutable here, while Darci is softer but still enigmatic. I thought at one point Darci actually said something, either "Now!" or "Wow!" but I may be mistaken. The four hunks who wove in and out with the women but ended up with Bocca were Albert, Philip Neal, Tewsley & Nilas...prompting the question: who has the best chest? The finale smouldered as Bocca danced with each man, then they danced with one another and finally all fell at Bocca's feet. Bocca's speedy turns and flashing jumps ignited the biggest applause of the evening.

Robert Tewsley repeated his triumph in MUSAGETE...the ballet was thoroughly discussed here when it opened and there is no point now is going back over the pros and cons. I cannot think of another role in any ballet that I have seen that makes such demands on the male princpal, not just the dancing but the very complex partnering of three very different ballerinas, while meanwhile portraying the angst, joy and dementia of the character. Tewsley never spares himself for a moment...total commmitment. Wendy was again inhumanly flexible and superbly mysterious, Ansanelli's portrayal of LeClerq's catastrophe (however unpleasant to watch) was powerful, and Kowroski looked wonderful and her toe shoe brushed the stars in full extensions. Stephen Hanna partnered Maria (very complex stuff) perfectly and has the body of a god. And what a wonderful dancer and astute partner Edwaard Liang is...always a joy to watch. Without going any further, I think the real problem with the ballet is the sudden switch from dance drama to ballet-pastiche finale. The audience was clearly absorbed in this piece, but it was TODO BUENOS AIRES that won the big ovation tonight.

[Colleen Boresta]

I went to the January 16th matinee. I have seen "The Four Temperments" many times, but every time I see it, I get more out of it. What a perfect ballet it is! I thought Sean Suozzi showed promise in the Melancholic section, but he wasn't up to the standards I've seen set by Peter Boal, Sebastien Marcovi, Tom Gold, and Damian Woetzl. I really missed Albert Evans in the "Phlegmatic" section. He always brings such a sly sense of humour to the role. I found Ash LaCour to be very colorless in the part. Sofianne Slyvie (who I found to be a bit uncomfortable in the part when I saw "The Four Temperments" last May) was absolutely sensational in the "Melancholic" section. I agree totally with what NYSusan posted about Slyvie's performance. Teresa Reichlen in the Choleric section was wonderful. I still miss Monique Meunier in this part, but I think Reichlen is really making Choleric her own.

I agree with what Lampwick and Oberon have posted about "Todo Buenos Aires". When I bought my ticket for the January 16th matinee, it was because I wanted to see "The Four Temperments" and "Carnival of the Animals". I thought of "Todo Buenos Aires" as another humdrum Peter Martins ballet I'd have to sit through, hoping for it to end quickly. But to my delight, I really enjoyed this ballet (though I think it went on a bit too long). I loved the music, the choreography, and especially Julio Bocca's performance. (Of course I've been a big Julio Bocca fan for years.)

"Carnival of the Aninmals" was very entertaining, and John Lithgow's narration (in rhyme no less) was quite clever. I especially enjoyed Melissa Barak and Rachel Rutherford as the old turtle can can dancers, and Arch Higgins as the baboon piano teacher. And Lithgow as the Elephant/Nurse was very funny. As much fun as this ballet was, I can't see myself watching it year after year. It seems more like a ballet for children. There were many children in the audience, and I think "Carnival fo the Animals" is a good way to introduce them to the world of ballet.

[AmandaNYC]

The theme for my experience of the last week+ of performances was, unfortunately, of miscasting (that's not to say I didn't enjoy most of what I saw, but I shall focus on the bad first).

4 T's: Ansanelli, though small, would seem more appropriate for Choleric. She didn't have the sharpness that I have come expect in Sanguinic. There's wasn't an "edge". There's still more of nervous energy to her work than the type of control needed for this part rather than Choleric. I also don't think Sylve has the "edge" needed. She certainly is crisp in her footwork, but she's still too much of a ballerina in her approach (I felt the same way, but more strongly, when she did the blue girl in who cares? and seemed to be too much of a "ballerina" in it).

Old miscasting- I still think Evans more suitable for Melancholic than Phlegmatic, as there is just a natural ease and control to what he does that doesn't seem to fit with the lethargy of Phlegmatic.

Todo Buenos Aires. I cannot think of more inappropriate male dancers to put with Bocca. Neal, Evans, and Tewsley have gracefulness ingrained them in to the degree that I felt like they were dancing a different piece from Bocca. The differences in costumes made the distinction even worse. Placing the NYCB men next to Bocca only highlighted their shortcomings. I think the piece would have been better served by a dancer like Ramasar.

And, as much as I ADORE Kistler, she seemed too innately "sunny" for the role. She can do sexy-- she has before. So, perhaps, it was the choreography. Either way, it just felt unnatural to me.

Other recent "bummers".

WHile I loved Sylve's expansive dancing, virtuosity, and ballerina presence in the solo work in T&V, in the performance I saw, she did not seem to indicate any awareness of her partner whatsoever during the pas de deux (and I don't mean she needed to look at him). She did not relate to him in any way I could see. At one point I used binoculars, thinking that it might be too subtle to see from the back of the house. But, even through binocs I didn't perceive any consciousness of Askegard. After getting so worked up by her solo bits, it was a bit of a comedown for me to see her dance the pas de deux as if it were another solo.

Weese in La Source. The ingredients were all there in her technique and upper body, but I felt no warmth. With the knowledge that the part was created on Verdy and having seen Ringer in the part, I was left feeling cold... and oddly bored. I had the opposite problem with Weese here that I had with Sylve in Four T's. In La Source, Weese was not ballerina enough in her presence and warmth.

The highlights:

The other ballerinas in Suite No. 3. I saw Bar in a new light (ironically when she was under dim lights) during this piece, and gained a new appreciation of her. She was quietly tragic.

Rutherford and Bouder continue to dance these roles as if the pieces were made on them.

Hanson and Fowler in Four T's. Hanson has generally been a dancer who doesn't draw my attention, but when she does the third theme, time slows and I see the beauty in every little movement.

Polyphonia. I dismissed this piece when I first saw it as just a copy of every Balanchine-Stravinsky piece all in one. Now, I don't mind that aspect-- I was able to see it as more of an homage. And remind myself that Balanchine often echoed himself when Stravinsky also echoed himself across pieces. Wheeldon might even hear those echoes in Ligeti. Whatever the case, Wheeldon knows how to use his dancers so well that I enjoyed seeing different aspects of them. I certainly prefer Wheeldon in this mode, than in his Carnival of the Animals mode...

I reserve judgment about Suozzi and La Cour in 4 T's, as I need to adjust to seeing others in parts I am used to seeing the same people in time and time again.

-amanda

[Amy Reusch]

While I was in NYC on Friday for the Dance On Camera festival a kind friend took me to NYCB taking advantage of her 4th Ring Society membership.

I very much enjoyed La Source which I had not seen before. Bouder & Weese were wonderful, evoking that "if I had the chance that's the way I'd like to dance" sort of feeling... it's a little different from just admiration or awe... gives one more vicarious pleasure in viewing the performance perhaps. There was one thing that bothered me though, Millepied's pumping his arms in his entrechats (sp?). Is that part of the choreography? I remember seeing a regional company principal do it once in another pdd and thinking "well, that's what you get with a regional company". It doesn't resemble flying to me, if that's the intent... but rather distracts from the jump. Is it traditional to flap one's wings? It looked weak to me. However, I did very much enjoy his pas de poisson or sisson faille, whichever they were.

Todo Buenos Aires. I cannot think of more inappropriate male dancers to put with Bocca. Neal, Evans, and Tewsley have gracefulness ingrained them in to the degree that I felt like they were dancing a different piece from Bocca. The differences in costumes made the distinction even worse. Placing the NYCB men next to Bocca only highlighted their shortcomings.

Funny, I kept forgetting to watch Bocca because Albert Evans was so much more vibrant to watch. Perhaps it was because I was up so high, but Bocca didn't project for me. I just don't seem to get him. I sat in practically the front row at an ABT/PBS videotaping though when he did a pdd from Romeo & Juliet with Ferri and he didn't reach me then either. It must have been the angle of watching from the 4rth ring... the "smouldering" was projected at the orchestra I guess.

I must say, though, I did very much enjoy how much the NYCB dancers projected up to the nosebleed seats. I wonder if this might be a dying art elsewhere in this country? I noticed at a Boston Ballet 2003 Nutcracker that most of the dancers weren't dancing for the first balcony, even though those seats were plenty expensive, and on Saturday I watched two BB dancers as guest artists at a local production of The Snow Queen in West Hartford, and they projected down as well. Are we losing ballet's appeal to the balconies?