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Winter Season 2013


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I thought it was an extraordinary winter season. I find it hard to quarrel with an artistic director and company who put forth:

Taylor Stanley and Bouder in Western

Sterling Hyltin and Ramsar in Sym in 3 movements

Kowroski in Bizet and Vienna Waltzes

Anthony Huxley in Vienna Waltzes, Mozartiana and as bluebird

Mearns and J. Angle is Swan Lake, although she was not in top form, I thought but Angle was an ardent prince and a magnificent partner

Peck and Ramsar in Allegro Brillante

Bouder in T&V and Serenade

Reichlen's debut in Piano Concerto # 2 may have been the high point of the season, looking forward to seeing her do it again

I was happy to see Baiser, although Peck and Fairchild seemed too sunny to me for this fundementally dark ballet and Year of the Rabbit was terrific. There was also some strong dancing from corps members and I continue to be intrigued by Megan LeCrone.

Is it spring yet?

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As it happened, the two Sleeping Beauties I attended were matinees and there were respectably-sized contingents of young children at both performances. (But not enough! I wanted to see even more of them there.) They kids were all very well-behaved: the little girl sitting next to me at Sunday’s performance was such a model of deportment and engaged attention that I wanted to pull out my phone, sneak a video, and have the NYCB folks run in it on the lobby monitors before every performance under the title “Attention Grown-Ups: This Is How One Behaves at the Theater.”

Savannah Lowery, a last-minute substitute for Rebecca Krohn, danced the Lilac Fairy at the Sunday 2/24/13 matinee. While I can’t say that I’d run to the theater just to see Lowery dance something, I find her sunny, unmannered, can-do earnestness utterly endearing and I end up rooting for her whenever she’s on the program. I liked her Lilac just fine. (She’s improved tremendously as a dancer and I really like her Firebird Princess, too.) Anyway, just as she made her entrance in Act IV to herald the arrival of Aurora and Désiré for their big pas de deux, this excited little voice pipes up at full volume: “OHHHHHHHHH! It’s the FAIRY !!!!!!!!” It was the most adorable thing on the planet and if a better compliment could be paid to Lowery’s performance, I surely don’t know what it is: she clearly had that kid in the palm of her hand.

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Reichlen's debut in Piano Concerto # 2 may have been the high point of the season, looking forward to seeing her do it again.

It was certainly the highlight of mine. I'd crawl over broken glass on my hands and knees to see her do it again.

Was it really her debut? I thought she'd done it before -- if not, just wow.

I continue to be intrigued by Megan LeCrone

She debuted as "Diamond" in one of the Sleeping Beauties I attended and was the first dancer I've seen make sense of Martins' thankless choreography for that part -- it's the kind of variation that looks difficult, but to no particular effect. Even really good ballerinas can look clumsy in it, but Le Crone looked like an aristocrat.

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This season was not Reichlin's debut in TPC2. She performed the lead role the last time they revived it (forget when that was). She was marvelous. (She did the soloist role brilliantly for a number of years.) I'm also very glad that Reichlin was given the opportunity to dance the secnd movement in Symphony in C. I thought she did a wonderful job in that role debut (replacing Mearns).

I'm going to disagree about the casting of Bouder in Western 3rd movement. Yes, she did an excellent job. However, that choreography is designed to show off a long limbed ballerina. I thought Bouder was miscast in Western.

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I really liked this Winter Season. Highlights for me were:

1) The two SB's I attended, each with wonderful Auroras (Tiler Peck and Ashley Bouder) and overall great company dancing. No weaknesses, it's like every variation was well-cast. Lauren Lovette's Florine was a star-making turn.

2) Reichlen in TPC #2: I agree, amazing performance, wonderful stamina, attack, fearlessness

3) Mearns in Serenade. Special and mysterious in a way only she can be

4) Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild in Baiser de la fee. This ballet isn't done nearly enough and Peck and Fairchild were wonderful in creating a sense of mystery and foreboding

5) Sterling Hyltin and Chase Finlay in Mozartiana. Hyltin really brought something new and refreshing to a ballet that had IMO gotten rather stale in execution. Finlay partnered her beautifully -- a great "new cast"

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The Martins "Sleeping Beauty" sets and costumes are beautiful.

I agree. I love Martins' Sleeping Beauty and I do think he got it right with this full-length, although I agree it's tempo is a bit too brisk. I'm disappointed with Martins' R&J & SL and I have to agree with comments here - The Per Kirkeby sets and costumes are just not attractive at all. With R&J, they were trying to recall the Diaghilev era, I believe, and esp. 1929's Prodigal Son, with sets by Georges Rouault. It's just too bad because these could have been really beautiful, NYCB-style ballets.

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