Week 6, Spring 2005

[carbro]

New casts in Octet and Concertino. Debuts in Apollo, After the Rain and Symphony in Three Movements. And a very poignant end to the week.

Please report in!

[oberon]

Wednesday June 1

Edge & Abergel & the corps provided much appealing dancing in BAISER DE LA FEE. de Luz also gave a very beautiful performance but I think that he and Fairchild need to be paired with others. There is not much chemistry in their partnership and I feel more variety will be good for both of them.

Nearing the end of her very impressive performance as the Queen in THE CAGE, Rebecca Krohn took a very bad fall; I am amazed and thankful that she did not injure herself; she got up, resumed dancing and took her calls like a pro. She makes a wonderfully predatory impression in this role. Few individual dancers over the years have made a role as much their own as Wendy has as the Novice. She simply IS...adjectives are superfluous. The Whelan/Soto partnership was on magical display here; huge response from the audience.

CONCERTINO provided a showcase for three of the Company's sexiest, large-scale dancers. Sylve with her strength and ungodly extension and flexibility was put thru some complex partnering by Hanna & LaCour, all of them on dazzling form. Each then has a solo, and the boys re-appear at the end of Sylve's "aria" and the piece comes to a rather sudden & amusing stop. In sleek body tights, the three looked jazzy and interacted well.

AGON received a magnificent performance tonight. I have seen Jock & Wendy dance the pas de deux so many times and this will be my last encounter with them (together) in the piece; it was one of their finest renditions, Wendy at the extremes of stretch and precision, Jock in total harmony and control. Seeing Peter Boal for the last time tonight; his beauty & artistry as a dancer will be sorely missed. Over the decades many dancers have come and gone and many leave behind enduring memories but few have matched Boal for easy technique and the nobility, generosity and sheer humanity of his dancing. And while these three dance titans were making their indelible marks on this piece, the younger generation held their own with the deluxe legs of Reichlin, the beauty & elegance of Ellen Bar & Jennifer Tinsley and the contrasting masculine allure of Amar Ramasar & Andrew Veyette. The boys were especially sharp in the final toss of Reichlin into Amar's arms as Veyette hit the floor perfectly on the music. The last time I yelled myself hoarse at the ballet was a Fracci/Nureyev GISELLE but I'm hoarse now after this AGON. How wonderful to be able to really salute the dancers with a long ovation; after coming out 3 times as a group, they came out in 2 trios and then Jock & Wendy together. Really a memorable performance in every respect.