New York City Ballet 2021-2022 season

[volcanohunter]

7 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

Robbins' 33 minutes of choreography somehow doesn't live up to the two minute clip of Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire dancing that's projected on to the giant screen at the back of the stage when the ballet begins, and thus seems doubly disappointing by comparison.

Every attempt to replicate the magic of Astaire falls flat. It is folly to try.

Balanchine knew it: "He is terribly rare. He is like Bach, who in his time had a great concentration of ability, essence, knowledge, a spread of music. Astaire has that same concentration of genius; there is so much of the dance in him that it has been distilled."

Edited May 20, 2022 by volcanohunter

[abatt]

In addition to a terrific debut by Takahashi last night as the Fall faun, I was also blown away by Mejia in Fall. In the section of Fall where he rotates quickly on one leg with the other leg  raised parallel to the floor, he added in hops while he rotated.  I haven't seen anyone at NYCB attempt that since Damian Woetzel left.  (Corella used to do the same thing in Tschai Pas over at ABT.)  Mejia had incredible elevation in his jumps and has high wattage presence.   Unlike Phelan, Peck can perform all the spins in Fall with brio and speed.  The only thing Peck now has difficulty with is the moment where she has to kick her leg up in the back.  She no longer has the flexibility to raise that leg very high. 

Huxley was in very fine form, performing in both ballets.

La Freniere was a standout in Piano Pieces.

During the prior evenings, Tiler Peck (in blue) did the June section of Piano Pieces. However, last night Phelan (in green) performed that section.

The program had all of the correct casting, but it looks like they have abandoned the arduous task of updating the online casting sheet.  (Yes, that's sarcasm.)  If anyone finds out who will dance Titania in place of Mearns this weekend please post.

Edited May 20, 2022 by abatt

[bellawood]

Wow Chun-Wei Chan was promoted today -- On Jovani Furlan's Insta stories.

[California]

2 hours ago, abatt said:

I was also blown away by Mejia in Fall. In the section of Fall where he rotates quickly on one leg with the other leg  raised parallel to the floor, he added in hops while he rotated.  I haven't seen anyone at NYCB attempt that since Damian Woetzel left.  (Corella used to do the same thing in Tschai Pas over at ABT.) 

Your description of this reminded me of a move by Baryshnikov in the Dance in America recording of Tchaikovsky Pas de deux. In the liner notes for the DVD, Balanchine reportedly asked Baryshnikov if he could add those.

He does four of those turns with a hop at 6:34. Is this what Mejia did?

 

[cobweb]

Furlan's insta story also says he is having a surprise debut in the divertissement Saturday night.. meaning Amar Ramasar is out?? What will this mean for his retirement performance the following weekend?

[California]

52 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Furlan's insta story also says he is having a surprise debut in the divertissement Saturday night... meaning Amar Ramasar is out?? What will this mean for his retirement performance the following weekend?

So sorry I won't see his retirement performance, which I was unable to schedule for myself.

[Helene]

Furlan's Insta story from today notes that it is a surprise debut in the Divertissement from A Midsummer Night's Dream, but nothing else.  His Instagram post is a little longer and confirms Hyltin as his partner:

 

Quote

 

jovani.furlan

thought I was done with spring season 🧡 turns out I’m having a surprise debut on Saturday night in #Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with @shyltin 🩰

sending healing energy to those who need ❤️‍🩹

#Ballet #MaleDancer #Shakespeare #AMidsummerNightsDream

 

 

Marina Harss replied "cool I'll be there," which I assume means she'll write about it.  

[abatt]

53 minutes ago, California said:

 

He does four of those turns with a hop at 6:34. Is this what Mejia did?

 

Yes, that is exactly what Mejia did.  Breathtaking. 

Forgot to add that Tiler Peck threw in double fouettes with ease in Fall last night.

Congrats to Chan on his promotion.  Well deserved, but how about the ladies?  I think Gerrity has paid her dues at the soloist level for enough time, and has proven herself in lead roles. 

[California]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

Yes, that is exactly what Mejia did.  Breathtaking.  

There is another astonishing move that Baryshnikov did in the final movement of Push Comes to Shove: fouette, then multiple pirouettes with turning leg lifted up. It's at 6:17 in this clip.

It's been a very long time (44 years!), but I thought Baryshnikov did this in his variation in the original Robbins' Four Seasons. No tape available that I can find on YouTube. In the first performances, Baryshnikov and Martins had different variations, but apparently Robbins modified that in later productions so they were more similar. Anybody else old enough to have seen this?

PS. Note that Susan Jaffe is in this recording, in the role originated by Martine van Hamel. I always hoped that ABT might revive this with the right dancer -- Daniil Simkin? Aran Bell? I assume Tharp would have to approve. Mariinsky did this with Kimin Kim a few years ago. Oh, how I wish there were tape of that!

 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by California

[California]

Coincidentally, ABT Studio just posted a clip on Facebook of Jake Roxander doing turns in second and - wait for it - a jump off the floor with each one. I guess this is the new challenge for male dancers:

 

[abatt]

Thanks for posting these videos California.

[Jacqueline]

According to several dancers' Instagram stories, Chun Wei Chan has been promoted to Principal.  I imagine there will be a special "Spring" in his step tonight and I am excited to be there to see it!   Edited to add:  just saw that Abatt already posted about this (sorry) and I agree Emilie G. belongs in those ranks as well.

Edited May 20, 2022 by Jacqueline
added comment.

[JuliaJ]

Emilie Gerrity is debuting Titania next week so that might be a test for a possible promotion. 

[cobweb]

Much deserved for Chun Wei Chan. He is a star. But who knows if he will be dancing Spring tonight? Last night it was Huxley and Hyltin despite Chan and Woodward being listed on the casting sheet. For tonight both Mearns and Laracey are still listed, but as far as we know they're both still out. They have completely abandoned any effort to keep the casting sheet updated. 

[bellawood]

1 hour ago, JuliaJ said:

Emilie Gerrity is debuting Titania next week so that might be a test for a possible promotion. 

I am pretty surprised that Gerrity wasn't also promoted this spring; she dances only principal roles, the principal women are thin on the ground, etc. I think she is a lovely dancer (I think she has a beautiful arabesque used wonderfully as the Dark Angel) but I don't know that I find her terrifically compelling to watch on stage. Sometimes this comes with time and confidence -- for instance, I never found Megan Fairchild particularly compelling to watch (technically perfect but boring) until she came back from Broadway, ditched the husband, and allowed us to see her personality on stage. Both Unity and Indiana as baby principals have shown me new things about their dancing this year (very much true for Indiana). I just know that I am more excited by some other dancers who might be standing in line to be promoted -- Isabella LaFreniere and especially Mira Nadon whom I don't think needs a whole lot of waiting around as a soloist even if she is only 21.  

 

48 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Much deserved for Chun Wei Chan. He is a star. But who knows if he will be dancing Spring tonight? Last night it was Huxley and Hyltin despite Chan and Woodward being listed on the casting sheet. For tonight both Mearns and Laracey are still listed, but as far as we know they're both still out. They have completely abandoned any effort to keep the casting sheet updated. 

He's wonderful. Beautiful lines, beautiful jump, a great turner and clearly a thoughtful and supportive partner.

I think Mira is dancing Summer again. We know Sara won't be on stage at all! Why have they become so lazy about updating the casting? It's very frustrating. 

Edited May 20, 2022 by bellawood

[yukionna4869]

17 minutes ago, bellawood said:

We know Sara won't be on stage at all! Why have they become so lazy about updating the casting? It's very frustrating. 

Very strange. Megan Fairchild is also recovering from an injury, but she is also currently in Copenhagen, so I don't know whether she'll be dancing next week either. 

I hope Amar will still be able to dance his retirement performance. 

[cobweb]

I received an email from NYCB yesterday about the run of Midsummer Night's Dream, urging me to "Check out the principal casting," with a link to the casting sheet that still shows Sara Mearns as Titania. If she is definitely not going to perform and they know that, they should not be urging people to check out the casting and buy based on that! If they don't yet know who's going to cover her shows, put TBD. 

[On Pointe]

Does anyone know - is Amar Ramasar's retirement voluntary,  or did NYCB decline to renew his contract after losing the AGMA arbitration?  Seems to me that the company needs him.

[Helene]

It hasn't been disclosed officially yet.  Typically, companies don't comment on whether or not contracts are renewed unless cornered, ie, defensively.  It's rare that dancers make it public themselves, even if they walk away from a contract that doesn't please them, whether or not it was the company's intent.  It's happened twice that I know about via press and/or social media at PNB in the last 15 years, but it's most typically not discussed publicly.  We'll see if Ramasar says anything about it one way or the other.

[vipa]

6 hours ago, Jacqueline said:

According to several dancers' Instagram stories, Chun Wei Chan has been promoted to Principal.  I imagine there will be a special "Spring" in his step tonight and I am excited to be there to see it!   Edited to add:  just saw that Abatt already posted about this (sorry) and I agree Emilie G. belongs in those ranks as well.

Well deserved, Chun Wei Chan is a fabulous addition to the company. I admit I'm surprised his promotion came before Roman Mejia's. 

[volcanohunter]

[Peg]

Just back from tonight’s performance. Amazingly, there were no substitutions.   Stellar performances  all around from the exuberant, hardworking cast. You’d think they would all be exhausted by now. Huxley is just so elegant; it was a treat to see him in The Four Seasons (with beautiful SterlingHyltin) as well as in Piano Pieces. But as others who attended last night have noted, the piece de resistance was Fall—Takahashi, Peck and Mejia. All were superlative, their joy in what they were doing coming across clearly—but Mejia made us all gasp. His technique is astonishing. 
The least satisfying portion of the evening for me was Alec Knight in Piano Pieces. He just didn’t seem up to the task of partnering Unity Phelan—looked awkward and a bit apprehensive. 
 

The casting sheet in the lobby to the right of the box office shows that Phelan will dance Titania in place of Mearns tomorrow afternoon.  

[cobweb]

Just in - I couldn't resist another performance of this fun program. I'm enjoying Piano Pieces, but I'm really loving Four Seasons and I wish that it, rather than Piano Pieces, was returning in the fall. Beautiful performances all around - the company is looking great and young talent is blooming everywhere. Just to name a few of many wonderful performances -- Mira Nadon was absolutely riveting in Summer - not only is she totally beautiful, but her dancing is so special - soaring high arabesque, huge huge presence, and some ineffable quality to her dancing that makes it magnetic. Just wow. Anthony Huxley - always amazed at the clarity and precision of his movement, the other guys dancing behind him looked mushed and blurry by comparison with his brilliance. Emma Von Enck - also huge presence, and somehow to me she always aims for excellence, it's as if she's shouting "Whatever you give me to do, I'm going to give it 100%, I'm going to make the company proud." Aaron Sanz seems to be gaining in confidence this season, he looked wonderful with Nadon in Piano Pieces earlier in the week, and with her again in Summer. I love Roman Mejia as much as the next person, but I have some quibbles with his performance. It was huge, but it gets sloppy. Tiler Peck, and young KJ Takahashi, are also huge but never, ever look sloppy, they don't compromise form. Oh, and also I love the tall willowy regalness of Christina Clark and Naomi Corti, as the stewards (stewardesses?) of Spring and Summer. 

[abatt]

1 hour ago, Peg said:

The casting sheet in the lobby to the right of the box office shows that Phelan will dance Titania in place of Mearns tomorrow afternoon.  

Thanks for the info.

[JuliaJ]

Wonderful performances last night, what a fun program and great way to start the weekend. Mejia was absolutely thrilling and I personally didn't notice anything glaringly sloppy. Not only is he a beast of a jumper but his turns are so controlled, especially how he slows down at the end of a long tours à la seconde series. He's still very young and can work on refinement over time. Four Seasons is a ballet where he can go full-on Basilio and it really works.

Where Peck lacks in extensions she makes up for in her signature turns and speed. Takahashi is a real stand out and I assume we'll be seeing much more of him in the "jumping" rep. 

I'm thrilled to see Anthony Huxley in literally anything so seeing him in Piano Pieces AND Spring was a double treat. He and Hyltin are well matched in size and style, it's odd they haven't danced much together (Mozartiana but that might be it?).

Last night was my first time seeing Emma von Enck in a featured role and I see why she's a big deal! She reminds me a bit of Megan Fairchild and I can see her taking on more virtuoso allegro roles (Divertimento, Raymonda, and La Source next season??)

Agree that Mira Nadon totally sizzled in summer. She can light up a whole stage in a way that only the best of ballerinas are capable of. They have been using Aaron Sanz more this season, and his long lines were a nice match with Nadon's. 

All of the featured ladies in Piano Pieces -- LaFreniere, Woodward, and Phelan -- looked beautiful. The corps could use some work before fall though. Jacqueline Bologna and (I think) Baily Jones were very good in the pas de trois with Huxley. I'm not a big fan of the opening ensemble choreography in this piece but it picks up with the pas de deux.