Spring 2015

[abatt]

Interesting, because I thought overall Reichlin has had the harder journey to the top. It took her, I believe, much longer to reach principal than Maria. In fact, I recall reading that Reichlin contemplated leaving the company and leaving ballet. Maria, on the other hand, always seemed destined for stardom and rose to principal at a relatively swift pace. The tall girls always get certain roles, so I'm not surprised that they occupy the same rep. I'm wondering if/when they will give Reichlin Terpsichore.

[Helene]

Someone making it up the ranks or not being Principal doesn't influence whether I'm impressed with a dancer -- my reaction to rank is often ??? -- and I loved Calegari and Duell, who were the same rank and had similar career paths -- but for some reason never got that adrenaline surge when I saw Saland's name in the program. It wasn't like I was surprised when she gave a stellar performance, and it wasn't a specific performance like with Fugate, who danced the most beautiful Vision Scene in "The Sleeping Beauty" (my favorite part of the ballet) I've still ever seen. It wasn't until she retired, and I moved from NYC and started to think about my favorites in roles, that I realized she was up there more than any other NYCB dancer.

It took me a while to appreciate Fugate, because she was such a sunny, warm dancer. She was far more than a soubrette -- womanly rather than perky -- but I've always preferred cooler temperaments, and Fugate was so gracious and optimistic

[choriamb]

Interesting, because I thought overall Reichlin has had the harder journey to the top. It took her, I believe, much longer to reach principal than Maria. In fact, I recall reading that Reichlin contemplated leaving the company and leaving ballet. Maria, on the other hand, always seemed destined for stardom and rose to principal at a relatively swift pace.

Oh, I didn't mean that Kowroski had a harder journey in terms of career advancement...just that she's had to figure out how to present a wider swathe of the repertory.

Although this does remind me of another way that bios color my views: scarcity. Kowroski was one of the few bright points in NYCB's early-to-mid-2000s ballerina drought, whereas Reichlen arrived with a cohort of great dancers.

I sometimes wonder if even Wendy Whelan would have been quite so beloved had she not supported the company through that same time period: I definitely don't think that she and Kowroski would have danced the rep they ended up with.

[Amour]

Casting is up for week 5.

[Amour]

Tonight was the second night (and second cast) of Bournonville at NYCB. It was a vast improvement over the gala night. And Ashley Bouder and Andie Vyette were jaw dropping, gasping inducing fantastic in La Sylphide. More on that in a bit.

First was Bournonville Divertissements. The corps was the same in this as last week but some of the soloists were different. Tonight Taylir Stanley and Sara Adams did the Ballabile (last week it was Erica Pereira and Allen Pfeiffer). Taylor was just fantastic. Light, airy jumps, clean, quick batterie, all the while keeping his upper body (especially his arms) smooth and elegant. Sara Adams was quite charming and also very light on her feet. The PDD (Flower Festival in Genzano) was again danced by Sara and Tyler Angle. Sara was much better this week. Shw was lighter on her feet and had a lovely pliancy in her torso, arms and head. She was also much better at making the steps of the choreography into steps. Her high attitudes wrapped around Tyler were lovely. And he is fantastic. His jumps are high and long; he can really cover space in just a few jumps. And his batterie is wonderful, clean, quick, many beats. Bravi. Finally, the Pas De Six. This was a little weaker. Whereas last week Adrian D-W and Amar were the men with Anthony Huxley doing the solo, tonight we had corps men : Aaron Sanz, Peter Walker and Harrison Ball doing the solo. Tonight's men were just not as good as last week but, again, A for effort. However, the first woman who did a solo (unfortunately, there is no way to tell from the program who did what solo) was excellent; again charming and knowing how to work the difficult legs and feet while making the upper body looked relaxed. I think this may have been Emilie Gerrity but I'm not certain. As for the corps in general, they looked more familiar and comfortable with the style. In general, I think tonight's performance was better.

As for La Sylphide, I am grasping for superlatives to describe tonight's performance. As I said above, Ashley and Andie were fantastic. First, I have never seen Ashley look so beautiful and feminine. Her makeup was soft, she had loose curls around her face and a crown of flowers on her head. But her dancing! This girl has lightening quick bourres and big jumps as good as Osipova. But her balances and musicality. She did multiple attitude turns and not only did not fall out, she held them, on pointe, at the end for like 10 seconds. She held her arabesques the same way and then would catch up to the music. She can hold a closed fifth on pointe, without even wavering, for about 20 seconds. But the gasp inducing part came when she held a high a la seconde, standing leg on pointe, working leg at about 110 degrees, motionless for about 15 seconds. It made me gasp. I also thought she was a very believable Sylph. Entrancing, light on her feet, nice ballon in jumps and sissones. Her death scene was also marvelous. I watched some of it through opera glasses. Her sadness and despair was not just on her face but read everywhere on her body. In short, I am in awe of this performance. Definitely see it at the Saturday matinee.

I don't want to shortchange Andie. He was a wonderful James. He is a much better actor than De Luz and has much more chemistry with Ashley than De Luz had with Hyltin. You could see how entranced James was with Ashley and, in Act 2, how desperately he searches for her among the syjphs. Then his anguish when she dies. Andie is also no slouch when it comes to technique. His jumps were very high and really travelled across the stage (he has long legs). His batterie is quick, clean, impeccable. His two solos were superlative. Truly a joy to behold. Really have no words left to describe how wonderful he was.

As for the supporting cast, I thought Megan LeCrone was both a better dancer and actor than Brittany Pollack last week in the role of Effie. Last week I found the mime hard to follow and onerous. This week, no problem. Marina Anderson played Madge with a deft touch but nothing at all like the heavy comedy we saw last week from Georgina Pazcoguin. I thought Joseph Gordon was excellent as Gurn, again the combination of technique (high, traveling jumps, quick batterie) and good acting. Finally, I would like to give a huge shoutout to the corps, who did an excellent job. They, too, had the feeling for the Romantic ballet, the soft epaulement, relaxed arms and hands, tlilted head, ballon in jumps. They had it in spades (and even though it's not taught at SAB) whereas las night at ABT's Les Sylphides I did not see one good epaulement. IMO, the superstars are here at NYCB, no need to walk across the plaza to ABT.

[cobweb]

I was also there last night. Fresh off of two weeks of Balanchine and lots of "black and white," to suddenly see all my favorite dancers in this romantic, narrative ballet was a bit of a bizarro experience. I am no expert on Bournonville style, but I thought the dancers mostly looked lovely in the divertissements, if a little ragged and perhaps under-rehearsed at times. Amour, as to your question about the first soloist in the pas de six, if I recall correctly it was Indiana Woodward. Sara Mearns makes a very glamorous village girl, but I thought she and Tyler Angle were wonderful. I don't have time right now to do justice to the production of La Sylphide right now, but a few brief comments on the dancers. Andrew Veyette is much more nuanced as an actor than I would have imagined. When I think "simple highlands girl," the first name that comes to mind isn't exactly Megan LeCrone, but she too surprised me with her acting. Joseph Gordon has such an appealing, wide-open presence that I enjoy. Ashley Bouder -- it was hard for me to forget she's the grinning Ashley Bouder I know so well, but as Amour said, she did a surprising job of being ethereal. The character of Madge was played as a caricature, and I think that's a mistake. It's as if the production doesn't know if it wants to take the plot seriously or not. Especially when she was urging Gurn to propose to Effie, it seemed to be done for laughs. In a few other subtle ways also I had the feeling the plot wasn't completely taken seriously. I look forward to seeing Lovette and Huxley!

[nysusan]

Tonight was the second night (and second cast) of Bournonville at NYCB. It was a vast improvement over the gala night. And Ashley Bouder and Andie Vyette were jaw dropping, gasping inducing fantastic in La Sylphide.

You know that I skipped last night's performance because I thought that despite Bouder's amazing technique she would be too cutesy & presentational for me as the Sylphide. I don't regret switching my tickets so I could see Sarah Lane's T&V - she was wonderful - but based on your description I just picked up a cheap ticket for the Saturday matinee.

I still MUST see Part, Abrera and Lane in Les Sylphides at ABT's Saturday matinee but as soon as that ends I'm heading across the Plaza to catch Bouder & company.

That will make it a 3 Sylphide/s Saturday for me since I'm also going to see Tiler Peck in La Slyphide on Saturday night.

Only in NY, kids

[sz]

You know that I skipped last night's performance because I thought that despite Bouder's amazing technique she would be too cutesy & presentational for me as the Sylphide. I don't regret switching my tickets so I could see Sarah Lane's T&V - she was wonderful - but based on your description I just picked up a cheap ticket for the Saturday matinee.

I still MUST see Part, Abrera and Lane in Les Sylphides at ABT's Saturday matinee but as soon as that ends I'm heading across the Plaza to catch Bouder & company.

Only in NY, kids

What a great idea to see both Saturday matinees! I may be joining you in running across the Plaza after ABT's first ballet. Don't forget that Joseph Gorak is also in ABT's Les Sylphides this Saturday matinee. That performance should be quite a special beauty.

[abatt]

It was. Don't miss the Gorak, Lane, Abrera, Part cast of Les Sylphides. The across-the-plaza dash is a great idea.

[Amour]

Tonight I attended what was billed as the 21st Century choreographers night. It consists of 1 bad ballet (Martins' Symphonic Dances) 1 ok ballet (Justin Peck's Rodeo) and 1 good one (Wheeldon's Mercurial Manoeuvres). Despite the varying choreography, all were superbly danced.

Symphonic Dances, despite the poor choreography (and hideous costumes) looks like a difficult ballet to dance. Because Martins' choreography to the Rachmaninoff piece is so "on the nose" much of the ballet is extremely fast with quick directional changes from lunges or open tendu positions. Also a lot of very fast grand jetes and pirouettes. The men have most of the fast choreography and Zachary Catazaro, as the lead male, partially redeemed himself from last week's dismal Apollo. He had attack, did all the quick windmilling arms and everything else quite well. Of the 4 demi men, Joseph Gordon and Harrison Ball were the most impressive for the same reasons (Spartak Hoxha and Peter Walker were the other 2). I thought Tess Reichlen did well as the lead woman. This role calls for someone with long limbs and she has them. She got to do lots of slow développes and attitude derrieres, wrapped around Catzaro. Even though she's a bit tall for him, the partnering was ok. I thought Catazaro handled her quite well. However I would have loved the lead to be Adrian D-W. This more contemporary piece is right up his alley and he and Tess look good together (they might have danced it in the winter) Tess has developed a lot more personality and artistry in the last year so seeing her is always an interesting experience. I have to say, though, that one day I would love to see the Ratmansky Symphonic Dances choreographed on MCB. I'm sure it's a much better ballet.

Next up was Peck's Rodeo (or Rode,o, as he insists on calling it) This was the 4th or 5th time I've seen it (I saw it several times in the winter). However, it was the first time Andie Veyette got to dance his role (he got injured the day before the premier) so I wanted to see it with him. I loved this piece the first time or 2 I saw it. However, with every subsequent viewing I find it less interesting. Part of this may be because it didn't look particularly well rehearsed tonight (it's only being performed a few times so maybe it's not getting much rehearsal time), There are 4 different sections, not all done as well as possible. The first section featured the soloists (Garcia, Ulbricht, Ramasar and Veyette) dancing against a backdrop of the entire cast. I thought Danny was especially wonderful, great lines, pirouettes and anamazing series of turns in a la seconde, that get progressively slower. Although Andie did a lot of high jumps, I didn't think.he looked terribly comfortable in the choreography. The best part for me is the 2nd episode, which is kind of an adagio section. The section has Taylor Stanley leading a group of 4 other men, who, btw, include Preston Chamblee who only a year ago was an SAB student. I have always liked Taylor but the wonderful job he did in Bournonville Divertissements, the other night gave me new respect for him. He is always able to keep an open relaxed upper body, no matter what the legs are doing. Somehow, the 3rd episode -a PDD for Amar and Sara - didn't work for me. I thought she looked great but he's simply not strong enough to handle her. Just because he works well with Maria K doesn't make him a good partner for all large ladies. So this part was a little disappointing for me. The 4th episode has everyone in it again and it's very lively. The audience really loved the piece and it got a standing ovation (at least in the orchestra). As an aside,one thing I noticed was that the milliskin jerseys seemed stretched out on some of the men. Maybe it was a bad fabric to use. I bet they'll have to redo some of those costumes within a year.

The last piece was Wheeldon's Mercurial Manoeuvres, set to Shostakovich's Piano Concerto no. 1. Although I like the Ratmansky piece that uses the same music, better, this is still a good ballet. I thought everyone in it -from corps to principals - looked much more comfortable in it tonight than last winter. It uses the corps well as they jump and twirl on pointe. The piano's opening them is represented by Anthony Huxley (who alone wears a red unitard in a sea of blue costumes). What can I say about this marvelous dancer. He is a real classicist. His rounded arms and epaulement are always perfect. He is quick, can jump fairly well has a lovely line and beautiful feet. He transfixes me every time he's on stage. He partnered demis Sara Adams and Kristen Segin deftly. Since he is able to partner so well, I don't really see his height (and he's much taller than De Luz and Ulbricht) being an obstacle to promotion. Tiler and Tyler Angle were the true leads and did a wonderful PDD in the middle. She is so musical, has expressive arms and expansive gestures. Tyler is a good dancer but a greater partner. Tonight he outdid himself. Tiler would jump into his arms, he would hold her as she put her feet in a pas de chat position and he "rang her", he could lift her any number of ways. Everything looked absolutely seamless. I didn't detect one problem, not even strain. It was just wonderful to behold. The piece got lots of cheers at the end and absolutely deserved them.

On a final note, the music sounded especially glorious tonight under the baton of guest conductor Paolo Paroni, who will be a regular guest conductor in the future.

[vipa]

Thought my ticket buying was over for the season but then decided I wanted to see Raymonda without paying a fortune. 2 days ago 3rd and 4th ring had 0 tickets. Tonight I got row A of 3rd ring for $29 per ticket for May 22. Seats are off to the side but I know from experience that the sight lines are fine.

I'm not sure what NYCB is trying to do re ticket sales but I do know the last few times I've gone the theater has been nicely filled.

[Amour]

Tonight was the second cast night of Walpurgisnacht, Sonatine, La Valse and Symph in C. Overall a good night but you could tell it was second cast.

Tess Reichlen, Adrian D-W and Erica Pereira (as the lead demi) were in Walpurgisnacht. I thought Tess and Adrian were quite good. Tess has developed a lot both technically and stage presence wise in the last year. Her long limbs give her incredible lines. No, she did not power through some of the very fast sections (like the chaînes ) that Sara did last week. But Adrian was a good partner. Certainly better than Ask la Cour last week. I did not enjoy Erica, however. She was underpowered and for much of the piece, off the music (ahead of it). I enjoyed corps dancer Alexa Maxwell better last week than Erica tonight. So a good performance but not like last week's phenomenal one.

Sonatine with Ashley and Gonzalo Garcia was not better or worse than last week (with Tiler and Joaquin) just different. Tiler and Ashley are just very different dancers. Tiler is softer, with more expressive arms and maybe a bit more musical. Ashley has that scintillating footwork and is more of a virtuoso. I think I liked Gonzalo a bit more than Joaquin but I'm hard pressed to say which performance I liked better. Both were very good.

La Valse with Sara was definitely better tonight with Sara than last week with Sterling (and that despite the fact that Sterling had vastly improved since the winter). No, Sara is not vulnerable and tragic like Janie Taylor was. But she is very dramatic and really draws you into the piece. I was also impressed with Faye Arthurs as one of the lead demis. I never realized how tall and long limbed she was before. And Amar really outdid himself tonight as Death. Menacing yet seductive he was wonderful in both his characterization and his dancing. Actually, though I've seen this piece many times, I never realized how much actual dancing that role has. He was splendid. And lest I forget, Jared Angle was a fine partner to Sara.

Symph in C was a whole other story. Basically it was worse tonight because Ana Sophia (who did 1st movement) was never as good as Ashley to begin with (last week's 1st movement) and now is just coming off a 1 year injury. Basically, she got through it but barely. Even though conductor Clotilde Otranto really slowed the music down, Ana Sophia still had trouble getting through the movement and looked ready to collapse by its end. Lucky for her, Andie Veyette was her partner and made up for any of her problems. We saw sky high jumps, great batterie and multiple, multiple (did I say multiple) pirouettes in series, one after another from him. I think Andie did about 7 pirouettes in one go. And they were centered and he did not fall out of them. Thank you Andie!!

Maria K and Tyler Angle did the 2nd movement just like last week. Only this week it was worse. Although Maria can hit those penchee positions, she is hanging on to Tyler for dear life. As I believe Canbelto noticed, there is a whole lot of visible shaking going on, on Maria's part. When she did the développe to a la second and with her arms overhead and has to switch hands, she was shaking so hard I thought she might fall off point. Luckily, Tyler is probably the best partner NYCB has right now and he saved her. Although many in the audiences screamed and cheered after her movement I was thinking (like Canbelto,again) Maria might need to start thinking about giving up this part. I've seen Sara do it and she's wonderful.

While the first two movements were played fairly slowly (by NYCB standards) the third movement sped up enormously; suddenly we were off to the races. But the leads Ashley Isaacs and Joseph Gordon were totally ready for it. They were terrific, made all those pique turns en tournant seem no big deal. They were absolutely wonderful, much better than Erica and Gonzalo last week. I enjoyed this movement best of all because the dancers were so well prepared to dance it (I didn't have to cross my fingers that someone would get through it.)

What was true if the 3rd movement was also true of the 4th. It was played very, very fast. But Lauren King (especially) and Sean Suozzi were able to keep up fine. The problem came with the re-entry of the earlier movements' leads. As soon as Ana Sophia came out, Otranto started to slow the music a little. Maria had a very hard time keeping up. I was sitting close (row J,orchestra) but looked at Maria through the opera glasses. Her neck muscles were so tense, as was her face. She was behind the music for all the pirouettes. I know it's sad but there does come a day when you have to retire certain roles. Maybe not this season but soon. There is so much talent in this company, I'm sure finding a replacement will not be too difficult (and, as I said earlier, Sara already does the role)

So not a bad night overall. Really there's nowhere else I'd rather be than at NYCB.

[vipa]

Had a very enjoyable afternoon at the ballet. I have to admit I am a sucker for Bournonville and I loved B. Divertissements. I thought everyone in Ballable looked great. Fine jumps, cleanly finished ronde de jambs (on point for the ladies/jumped for the men), lovely foot work, nice epaulement. There was one weird moment when the men, as a group, started late and were behind the music. I think that was an orchestra mishap because they caught up and were fine.

Flower Festival pas was done by Ashly Isaacs & Antony Carmina (replacing Catazaro). She is a dancer that makes me smile. I love the way she eats up space. I wouldn't say her performance was flawless. I think there were balances that didn't go the way she hoped and a few other small things, but on the whole it was a delight both in technique and performance quality. This is a lady who is destined to be a principal and I look forward to seeing her dance many many roles. Carmina's jumps were high and easy, and his beats clean. As a couple they looked nice together.

Pas de six from Napoli was well done. I thought some variations went better than others. Unfortunately the program doesn't list who did which variation, and I am not familiar with the corps dancers. If anyone out there knows who did what variation I'd love it if you'd name them.

I think there are two big differences between the way NYCB did this and the Danes who I saw at the Joyce. One is that the NYCB dancers push things in a way the Danes don't. The Danes have a more relaxed approach. Of course this could be a result of growing up with the material. The second is a matter of accents. The NYCB dancers tend to create accents in the movement and music that the Danes don't. Anyway, that's my observation. Overall I'd say that as dancers that didn't grow up in the Bournonville tradition NYCB dancers probably handle it better than most.

On to La Sylphide. I thought Bouder and Veyette were perfection. She used her formidable technique totally in service to the character. Her look, acting and dancing all blended to create the sylph. Her jumps were amazing and her musical phrasing heart melting. Bravo. Veyette is one of the best male dancers on the stage today. Megan LeCrone was sweet and delightful as Effie, which was a surprise to me. I think of her as a leotard ballet dancer. Clearly she's more versatile than I thought. Joseph Gordon's dancing as Gurn was excellent (his acting was good too). His jumps were high and beautifully shaped, beats strong and stage presence secure. How much longer will he be in the corps?

I loved Marika Anderson as Madge. I love a glam witch!!

James clearly was a fool. Anyone who has ever read a fairy tale knows that a basic rule is be nice to the witch. He broke that rule right away!

What a great company.

[Royal Blue]

I have attended every performance of NYCB this week and perhaps in a day or two I'll make a few observations about each. But right now being under the strong spell cast over me by this evening's presentation of La Sylphide I simply have to say: Tiler Peck is ineffably graceful!

[Amour]

Just back from a Bouronville day at NYCB. Attended both the matinee and evening performances. vipa has nicely explained the matinee and I agree with all she said. I don't think Ashley and Andie were quite as spectacular as Tuesday evening but they were still very good (he was a bit sloppier this afternoon). But this evening. Oy! I am a big Tiler fan and I hesitate to say this performance was terrible. But it was not good. She was third cast and,IMO, looked third rate. Very, very disappointed.

First the Bournonville Divertissements. There were a lot of last minute substitutions though the corps has remained the same throughout. In the Ballabile from Napoli, Taylor Stanley (who also danced it in the afternoon) replaced Troy Schumacher. Georgina Pazcoguin was his partner. I love Taylor in this section! His footwork is fast and clean and his upper body open and relaxed. Gorgeous. I liked Georgina a lot. She has a big (if loud) jump, can dance fast and has charisma. I thought the two looked pretty good except at moments where their arabesques were at different heights. Otherwise, Bravi! In Flower Festival PDD Ask la Cour was replaced by Zach Catazaro. That was unfortunate. I think Ask is a much more reliable presence onstage and a partner. To me, Catazro looked a bit of a mess, trying to catch up to the music, do the footwork cleanly, meanwhile his hair is flying every which way (hairspray, Zach, they have lots of it) and he's trying to partner Tess Reichlen. Antonio Carmena was much better in this role at the matinee. And of course no one is better than Tyler Angle, who danced it with Sara for the first few performances. As for Tess,she started very strong, good epaulement and footwork, lots of charm. She seemed lighter on her feet than Sara but can't get into that arabesque/wraparound position as easily. Still, except for one minor slip I thought she did well. Onto Pas de Six from Napoli. This had some strong women -Sara Adams, Brittany Pollack. Lauren King (subbing for Ashley Isaacs. I thought Andrew Scordato was near flawless in his longer solo. Russell Janzen is taller and has a harder time trying to control those long limbs. And then the featured solo was Joseph Gordon. I love him. He danced Gurn very effectively in the afternoon and was wonderful in this solo. NYCB is lucky it has so many young, wonderful dancers. If someone is injured or out it's not as big a deal as at ABT, where the lower level dancers simply aren't as good , IMO.

Since vipa covered the matinee of La Sylphide, I'll just stick to the evening. As I said above I was very disappointed in Tiler. None of the Bournonville style or Romantic style seems to have made it into her body. My biggest problem was her lack of romantic epaulement and her stiff, upright head. She barely turned it to the side at all. Then there was the lack of lightness and ballon in her jump. I know she's not frail like Sterling or a great jumper like Ashley but I expected more. There needs to be some etherality or magiic in this ballet. But no Also, virtually no acting. I was close in the orchestra all the times and I looked through the opera glasses at, for example, Ashley in the death scene. Her face was despairing and her body wilted. With Tiler I saw almost nothing on her face or body. And the one big pose with her James (Gonzalo Garcia) where her leg is in a high arabesque and her lower body turns to look up at him. Awkward is the best I can say about this. I expect this kind of dancing from ABT but not Tiler Peck.

As for Gonzalo, he was ok, nothing more. In his solo in Act 1 towards the end of his batterie he just stopped it, clearly he was tired and just jumped up and down in a closed fifth. Thank God this problem didn't happen in Act 2. He kept his batterie going. His jumps were small compared to Andie but they were clean as were his tours. His acting was fine but nothing to write home about. I didn't find Harrison Ball as Gurn or Faye Arthurs as Effie particularly convincing, especially after the wonderful Joseph Gordon and Megan Le Crone at the matinee. All the Madge's seem to be playing the role with a bit of comedy, but thankfully none have approached the broadness Georgina showed in the role opening night. The corps was fine and at each outing look a little better. This cast doesn't have to perform again until next Saturday night. I fervently hop that between now and then they practice a lot (they have a whole week) because they need to.

[kaskait]

I was at yesterday's performance of Bournonville Divertissements and La Slyphide.

I can heartily agree that Taylor Stanley was a true standout. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't substitute him in the Pas de Deux section. He did have the fast footwork down cold along with a gorgeous upper body form.

In the Pas De Six, I was very impressed with Indiana Woodward. She was the only one who looked truly romantic and at home in the style. She had good musicality, dance phrasing and truly finished, elegant upper body form. The others seemed to struggle.

Also the rest of the male dancers seemed a bit too tall for me. They struggled to pull in their long legs in time for the next few dance phrases. Although it wouldn't look as pretty, I think the ballet would be better if they had more dancers who were the same body type as Taylor Stanley.

La Slyphide was wonderful. I loved Megan LeCrone as Effie and Andrew Veyette as James. Everyone in the company was so good. The sylph section was lovely.

The only problem I had was their take on Madge. If she is played as a funny old lady, well than that makes James look like delusional monster. If she is truly evil, it turns James into a tragic figure. I lean toward the latter since it is a romantic ballet. So the NYCB version is a bit skewed and modern in that respect.

[canbelto]

I've now seen three casts of Bournonville/La Sylphide. It is odd how many of the corps de ballet/soloist members seem to be taking to the style like ducks to a pond, whereas the principals are struggling. For instance, Joseph Gordon and Harrison Ball were both terrific as Gurn, whereas Daniel Ulbricht barely looked like he knew what to do. Actually both Gordon and Ball were excellent in Bournonville Divertissements as well. Lauren King and Indiana Woodward look like they could dance Bournonville all day but Sara Mearns and Teresa Reichlen were totally lost in the style.

As for the three Sylphide casts, I thought Bouder was the strongest technically (her jumps gravity defying), Sterling Hyltin had the best characterization (very soft, feminine, flirtatious), and Tiler Peck was ... well, she was average. I never thought I'd say a Peck performance was average but I don't think this is her thing. de Luz was the best technically, but to me he was way too extroverted and didn't convey any restlessness. Both Veyette and Garcia were better at conveying the moody Romantic hero.

It's been an interesting experiment.

[mimsyb]

I've now seen three casts of Bournonville/La Sylphide. It is odd how many of the corps de ballet/soloist members seem to be taking to the style like ducks to a pond, whereas the principals are struggling. For instance, Joseph Gordon and Harrison Ball were both terrific as Gurn, whereas Daniel Ulbricht barely looked like he knew what to do. Actually both Gordon and Ball were excellent in Bournonville Divertissements as well. Lauren King and Indiana Woodward look like they could dance Bournonville all day but Sara Mearns and Teresa Reichlen were totally lost in the style.

As for the three Sylphide casts, I thought Bouder was the strongest technically (her jumps gravity defying), Sterling Hyltin had the best characterization (very soft, feminine, flirtatious), and Tiler Peck was ... well, she was average. I never thought I'd say a Peck performance was average but I don't think this is her thing. de Luz was the best technically, but to me he was way too extroverted and didn't convey any restlessness. Both Veyette and Garcia were better at conveying the moody Romantic hero.

It's been an interesting experiment.

I've seen only one cast of this double bill, which was on Saturday PM. Not having seen the other ladies, I felt Tiler was wonderfully soft with her port de bras and had a nice touch of the sprite about her. Her jump was nothing special, as I'm sure Bouder's was, yet I enjoyed her dancing quite a lot. Nice footwork and attentiveness to details. "Bringing the water" was one and her happy little "hand claps" another. Garcia, for me, lacked some of the cleanliness of the jumps, but he was, I think, very good at his mime and story telling. City Ballet dancers don't often have to do this, so it was nice to see this aspect of portrayal in evidence. Harrison Ball as Gurn did well, but I would very much like to see Joseph Gorden in this role. The corps looked fairly at ease with much of the sylph work, but was a bit stilted in the party scenes.(Claire Von Enck a lovely sylph) Again, the story telling was at times stiff. I like this ballet quite a lot, and am happy that NYCB took it on.

The "Divertissments" in the first half of the evening had some wonderful moments and then some that were not so. First, I have to say in full disclosure, that after seeing the Danes perform many of these same dances this Winter at the Joyce, I found NYCB's version to be not quite up to par. It's not in their DNA. And certainly difficult to learn in a few short months of rehearsal. What I found most lacking was the deep and luxurious demi plie that the Danes use to wonderful effect. At times I saw a "Bottom" to their plies before the beginning of the next step. This is not evident with the Dances. The City Ballet men would jump to a' la second, pause and then do a turn, for instance. Not so with the Danes, who would continue through the plie up into the turn and make it all of a piece.

Also, the women in particular still retained a lot of the "broken wrist" aspect of their arms which made the movements seem even more stilted at times. Also, I noticed a lot of self consciousness about the dancers, especially during the final Tarantella section, where dancers exit and re-enter quite a bit. The "new greetings" to these entries seemed a bit forced, whereas with the Danes they retain the sense of "community" throughout and just go about their business of doing the dance. The upper body carriage for many was difficult, particularly the men, who have to lift themselves off the ground without use of their arms and still look elegant. My teachers used to call it the "aplomb of the upper body". The Danes have been doing this for years. Not so at City Ballet .

Still there were moments of beauty and joy. While not possessing the sheer joy and amplitude of Ida Praetorius during the pas de deux from Flower Festival, Teresa Reichlen accomplished a certain sweetness and breath to her work. I wasn't as much a fan of Taylor Stanley in the Ballabile section, who seemed to have a tightness in his neck and shoulders, and again a shortage of plie. But then there was Joseph Gorden who seemed to take to the Bournonville stlye as if born to it. What a joy to see him toss off his beats and turns, etc. I think he was one of the men who didn't substitute his endedans piroettes for endehors. He did them, cleanly and precise. Bravo to him! All the while looking as if he could do this all day!

And there was one lady in the final pas de six who was so fine. Don't know her name. She had dark hair and wore a pale blue dress. Danced the last of the variations. Her epaulement was just wonderful, as were her jumps, beats and turns. So, while there was a certain lack of naturalness about some of the dancing (and at the end, some dancers did look tired out!), in general I loved seeing these dances. It cannot be easy to switch gears and dance in a completely different style than from what one is used to doing. So A plus for the effort and let's see more of this again.

[kfw]

So A plus for the effort and let's see more of this again.

I'm not surprised, but I'm very happy, to see from a Kennedy Center mailer that NYCB will dance it in D.C. next year.

[Natalia]

Delightful Bournonville program this afternoon, with most of the first-night cast. While there was much to admire, I give my top honors to two men:

1. The ageless Joaquin de Luz as James in SYLPHIDE, earning volleys of "bravos!" at every turn

2. Adrian Danchig-Wowee-Waring as the most energetic and Bournonvillean male soloist in NAPOLI A3 Pas de Six and Tarantella. They'll adore him in Copenhagen, if he ever dances there in these ballets.

Lauren Lovette was the crispest of the females in the Divertissements.

Sterling Hyltin beautifully conveyed the ethereality of the Sylphide.

[canbelto]

When I mean Tiler was "average" I mean by her standards. Of course she was very, very good by any standards, but in between Ashley Bouder's technical wunderkind and Sterling's very detailed embodiment of the romantic ideal, Tiler was sort of in between those two ladies. She also was by far the most serious Sylph. It's an interpretation that I think might work better in another company. But the NYCB's La Sylphide tends to be somewhat broad and many moments are played for comedy, and so the lighter/flirtatious interpretations fit the company better, IMO.

[Amour]

Saturday night the fact Tiler almost never tilted her head sideways (it was always straight) was driving crazy. But canbelto's assessment that she is kind of in between Ashley and Sterling seems about right. Also, as Canbelto noted, this probably just isn't her thing. Still, I wish she had brought more lightness, flirtatiousness and musicality to the role. We've seen her do all those things in other ballets like Who Cares. In fact, that's the Tiler magic. I was counting on her to do those things plus get the style right. Clearly, my expectation were too high. I do also suspect she might have gotten less rehearsal time but now that Sterling and Ashley are done with Sylphide, Nilas (and whoever is with him) can concentrate on Tiler/Garcie and Lovette/Huxley.

I'm glad to hear from Natalia that Lovette was good in the divertissements because next weekend she'll be the Sylph to Anthony Huxley's James. I adore Anthony and am so hoping he gets promoted either during or after the spring. How he does in this role might affect Peter's decision so my fingers are crossed. And I'm seeing him on Sunday the 24th. He's so good at quick batterie I think his technique will be fine. But can he act? That's what we will see. That will be my 5th La Sylphide. I'm kind of overdosing on it and not in a good way. I'm glad to get back to the rep this week and Midsummer the last week.

[abatt]

I've only seen two casts of Sylphide (Bouder/Veyette and Hyltin/DeLuz). Bouder's technical achievements werre breathtaking, but my main negative reaction was to her over-acting. I felt that she was too flirtatious, to the point of being cloying. I wished she would tone it down. I thought Hyltin's characterization was much better, even though her jumping abiltiy and elevation are not at Bouder's level. As between the two men, they were both very good. I've had to tune out during Madge's scenes and pretend I'm watching Freddie Franklin or Victor Barbee. They have improperly coached this role at NYCB.

I thought the Sat. afternoon cast of Bournonville overall was better than the first cast of opening night. The younger cast just seems much better at the required technique. Maybe it's because they recall it better since they didn't leave SAB that many years ago. Ashly Isaacs was outstanding in the main pdd. Carmena was too short for her, and some of the partnering looked off. That gets a pass, though, because Carmena was a fill in for Catazaro. I thought some of Carmena's landing positions were fudged.

Ushers were apparently missing in action at the Saturday afternoon matinee on the right side, second ring. There was a mom there with her two kids- a girl that was 8 or 9, and a boy who was 5 or 6. The boy was whining during the Overture of Sylphide. The mother got up during the show and dragged the kid out in the hallway and LEFT HIM THERE ALONE. She came back to her seat. During Sylphide, you could hear him crying out in the hallway by himself. The mother finally got up again and brought him back into the theater, still crying. Eventually he settled down. I have never seen anything like that in all my life. No usher anywhere to prevent disturbance to everyone seated in the vicinity or the constant up and down and in and out of this family. So much for new and improved policies at NYCB.

PS Special mention for Taylor Stanley who has been doing great work in so much of the rep, including in Bournonville Divert.

Additional PS - Just read a review of Sylphide in Danceview Times online. Turns out Catazaro had to fill in for Ask LaCour in Bornonville Divert

[Royal Blue]

It is a bit unfair to compare the performances of the Danes at the Joyce this past January with those at NYCB, for obvious reasons. They brought to New York City about a dozen or so dancers from their soloist or principal ranks --every single one of whom proved to be extremely impressive-- to appear in works requiring knowledge of a style they have learned from early on. One of their two Madges was a former star ballerina who gave a virtually inimitable performance in the scene from La Sylphide shown there. Overall, the Bournonville programs at NYCB this past week have been delightful. The single exception was Sunday afternoon's Divertissements. The repeated incoordination of the four ladies (one a principal, three soloists, no less) whenever they were dancing together during the Pas de Six was --at least retrospectively, to me-- hilarious! It brings to mind Robbins' The Concert. Perhaps it was because of this turn of events that the Tarantella, which I think is an amazing joie de vivre piece, for the first time ever failed to move me --notwithstanding the especially fine efforts in it by Ashly Isaacs (even though she is not mentioned on the program) and Lauren Lovette. All three previous performances of the Divertissements though were generally very pleasing.

La Sylphide is actually a very interesting ballet, whose plot is worth thinking about. Who is the Sylph and what does she represent? Who is Madge and what does she represent? NYCB's version of this work is very, very good. The scenery in Act I is somewhat plain, but that in the colorful Act II is arresting, if too modernistic. Compared to that of the 2nd Act of Giselle Bournonville's choreography in the forest scene may seem a bit simplistic, but it is nevertheless quite lovely. And the NYCB female corps de ballet performed it beautifully.

Individually, I liked Joseph Gordon as Gurn, and Faye Arthurs as Effie best; but all the others were fine too and were well paired.

Gwyneth Muller's portrayal of Madge struck me as extravagant, even by the standards of this production. Marika Anderson was a lot better; but Georgina Pazcoguin was absolutely riveting. The opening scene of Act II with the bubbling cauldron was most effective in the Sunday afternoon performance. After arranging Effie's marriage to Gurn, Pazcoquin made a dismissive gesture --as much as to say "you can all go to hell now"-- at both of them and James' mother, as all three were leaving the forest. This elicited some laughter from the audience. But this hardly amounts to this production having turned Madge into a comedic figure! After all, if this was the case that would make the this version of La Sylphide a complete travesty, no? (Is the Sylph's death supposed to be a joke?) Could this role have been done differently and more persuasively? Absolutely! Does it harm this production irreparably? I think not.

Andrew Veyette, Joaquin de Luz and Gonzalo Garcia were all fine as James. The first two are stronger dancers, but Garcia managed a decent overall effort here too, attaining nice elevation in several instances. Speaking of which, one of the most remarkable moments during this run occurred during the Saturday afternoon performance. After Bouder's exceptional grand jetes diagonally across the stage, Veyette ran after her and made a truly breathtaking leap into the wings!

Most importantly, the three Sylphs that I saw --Ashley Bouder (twice), Tiler Peck and Sterling Hyltin-- were all quite simply superb, both in terms of their dancing and acting. They all gave valid, interesting and moving interpretations. What these interpretations are depends as much on what is going on inside each spectator's head as on what is happening up on the stage. I ask again: who (or what) is the Sylph? Can viewers logically pass judgement on what Bouder, T. Peck and Hyltin are each supposedly trying to express during their respective performance without having a clear answer to this question themselves? Once more, I enjoyed very much watching all three. That said, Bouder's upper body is muscular, and she has very strong legs (that's what makes her for one thing such a great jumper). The primary characteristic she exudes in this as well as in all her other performances is that of strength. Hyltin, on the other hand, is very thin and consequently her body type is naturally best suited to convey airiness and lightness. Tiler Peck stands somewhere between them and represents the golden mean. Nobody can perform the incredibly fast turns she so often does without having great strength and endurance. And yet the leading characteristics she exudes are gracefulness and femininity. Tiler Peck has repeatedly demonstrated her extraordinary ability to perform rapid movements ever so... cleanly! But her real art and beauty are shown when she moves slowly. In particular she has a way of decelerating her motion which is truly magical to behold. Each sequence becomes like the blooming of a special flower right in front of your eyes. Or, if you will, like a line of a sonnet written in the air. Quite frankly this is especially effective because her arms, her upper body, her legs and, indeed, entire figure are so attractive. But since the goal of ballet, at least according to my understanding, is the creation of beautiful movement what exactly is wrong with that? A story ballet must somehow --by definition-- manage to convey its drama and meaning in large part through such movement. I for one witnessed plenty of that Saturday night. And Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon. And Sunday afternoon.

[cobweb]

Casting is up for the final week, all Midsummer Night's Dream. I did a double take when I saw the casting for the final performance -- M. Miller as Titania? Who? Oh, wait - isn't there an apprentice named Miriam Miller? Wow. I applaud NYCB for the bold casting moves! Love that they trust, and try, the talents of their very own dancers. I have absolutely no idea who this dancer is, but I'm glad I have a ticket to that performance!