New York City Ballet 2022-2023 season

[Kathleen O'Connell]

49 minutes ago, abatt said:

Hyltin was glorious.

Oh, she was! 

[nycvillager]

I thought the debuts in Episodes were all strong with the standouts being Chan and Gerrity. Sara Mearns looked great too. With so many retirements recently, especially from dancers who hadn't really deteriorated, like Reichlen and Hyltin, I really hope we get to keep watching her for many years to come. Vienna Waltzes isn't my favorite, although it's beautiful. While not listed in the program, I noticed Roman Mejia and Sebastian Villarini-Velez among the faces in the last part. It was such a wonderful night to see Sterling and Robbie back on stage together. They were really enjoying the moment. At the very end, Robbie brought Sterling out in front of the curtain and presented her with a bouquet. Such a sweet moment. She's looked amazing all season, and I'm sad to see her go soon. Also, Claire Kretzschmar retires this weekend and danced in both Episodes and Vienna Waltzes tonight. 

[BalanchineFan]

7 hours ago, nycvillager said:

 While not listed in the program, I noticed Roman Mejia and Sebastian Villarini-Velez among the faces in the last part. It was such a wonderful night to see Sterling and Robbie back on stage together. They were really enjoying the moment. At the very end, Robbie brought Sterling out in front of the curtain and presented her with a bouquet. Such a sweet moment. She's looked amazing all season, and I'm sad to see her go soon. Also, Claire Kretzschmar retires this weekend and danced in both Episodes and Vienna Waltzes tonight. 

I'm so glad Roman Mejia is back onstage, in whatever capacity. He must be working through his injury.

So sorry to have missed Robert Fairchild and Sterling Hyltin together in VW. She has been glorious this season. I saw her last Symphony in Three Movements (she got a solo bow) and her last Everywhere We Go. I particularly like her in those ballets. In Symph in 3 she has a brilliant attack matched with a matter of fact quality. It's like you're just seeing the embodiment of the ballet, clear, crisp and playful. She's not "doing" it, she just IS IT.

[Fleurfairy]

On 10/12/2022 at 9:37 PM, cobweb said:

Unfortunately the same cannot be said of Ashley Bouder, dancing with Joseph Gordon in Voices of Spring. The young ladies behind her looked far more appealing, and really they should give this role to Emma von Enck, who would dance the heck out of it. It is painful to see a great dancer like Ashley Bouder in such diminished form. Just painful. J

Truly. I was there the other night as well. There is something to be said for retiring too early rather than too late. 

[abatt]

I'm all for giving Bouder a fair opportunity to try to get back in shape.  However, the question in my mind is whether she is working towards that goal or expects the company to accept her in her present state.  The company has been pretty liberal in allowing certain male principals to carry extra weight.  I'm not sure if that will be accepted for the ladies, though. 

Bouder was mysteriously removed from the casting of Symphony in C, and the role she created in DSCH has, correctly, been assigned to others.  Since her roles were mostly allegro soubrette type roles, I'm not sure what former roles she could continue in.  

 

Additionally, Bouder is the proverbial squeaky wheel, and there may be a concern within management of how to deal with the current issue without having it end up as an article in the NY Times.

[JuliaJ]

A handful of Bouder's past best roles are coming up in the next few months... Dewdrop, Firebird, Donizetti, Aurora. Wonder what casting will look like. 

[vipa]

11 hours ago, abatt said:

Hyltin was glorious.  She looked like she was recalling all of her past performances in a reverie during her VW solo.  And Robbie Fairchild was stellar as her partner. I miss him.

The performance made me recall when Robbie & Sterling were cast together in the debut of R&J in 2007.  They have come full circle together.   It almost made me weep recalling all their years at NYCB and all of their performances.

Maria K. was in the house.

A little too tired to write more.

Thank you for this report. Hyltin has been amazing all season. She also had some interesting things to day about VIenna Waltzes, speaking to Jared Angle on the city ballet podcast https://podcast.nycballet.com/episode-71-hear-the-dance-vienna-waltzes

[BalanchineFan]

How to handle aging dancers is a big issue in any large company. I credit Balanchine for creating roles that can be performed during the many stages of a professional career, Vienna Waltzes having several of the "aging ballerina" roles. Unfortunately (for Bouder and other shorter, soubrette types), many of these roles were created for Suzanne Farrell and her particular stature and gifts. I remember being impressed by the repertory that was chosen for Darci Kistler's farewell. I believe she danced Movements/Monumentum, and while the piece has its angular moments, there isn't a lot of jumping around on one foot, something that often becomes difficult for older bodies. Kistler looked fabulous in that program. Maria Kowrowski also danced a number of Wheeldon duets (spectacularly!) as her career progressed, Liturgy and After the Rain among others I can't recall. I'm not suggesting Bouder take over that rep, just that the rep is key.

I like to see older dancers treated with respect, the respect due their artistry, their contribution to the company and their humanity. They are often beloved by audiences, and showing older dancers off to advantage is a skill any choreographer should take to heart. The repertory of a large company should have roles appropriate for late stage careers. Perhaps more roles than NYCB has currently. Though, looking at it from the company's point of view, rep gets planned years in advance and you never know which principal will be coming back from injury at which time.

Edited October 14, 2022 by BalanchineFan

[cobweb]

1 hour ago, BalanchineFan said:

I like to see older dancers treated with respect, the respect due their artistry, their contribution to the company and their humanity. They are often beloved by audiences, and showing older dancers off to advantage is a skill any choreographer should take to heart. The repertory of a large company should have roles appropriate for late stage careers. Perhaps more roles than NYCB has currently.

Thanks for these very kind and sensible comments, @BalanchineFan. I hope they can find the right rep to show Bouder to her advantage at this stage of her career. 

[vipa]

18 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Thanks for these very kind and sensible comments, @BalanchineFan. I hope they can find the right rep to show Bouder to her advantage at this stage of her career. 

I too wish to see Bouder treated respectfully, and think she will be. An issue with Bouder is that she is known for speed, jumps and the overall technical aspect of her dancing, and had only begun (IMO) to explore a different aspect of artistry, when the pandemic hit. Then came an injury that she described as potentially career ending. So it seems that a lot of her regular rep is out of her range right now, and perhaps permanently, and she hasn't transitioned to or proven herself in different rep. Not an enviable position for her or TPTB that do casting. Whether Bouder chooses to retire soon, or press on, it's a tricky situation. I wish everyone involved the best, and I do believe that a good faith effort will be made to show Bouder respect while seeing to the needs of the other dancers, company and ballets. Not an easy balancing act.

[abatt]

What Is the Power of Unity Phelan’s Dancing? ‘I’m Clay.’ - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

Article about Unity.

[bellawood]

Hi all!

I am having a crazier-than-usual September and October and have not been able to join in the discussion as much as I would like. I've seen several programs, however, and find the company full of energy with some really sparkling standout moments. It makes me excited for the winter rep and what debuts will come.

I saw Unity's 2nd movement in C this Tuesday with a sold-out crowd -- Tuesday is one of my subscription nights so I paid no attention to what was on the bill and showed up to a packed house. Unity really brought me Allegra Kent vibes (this is just from watching the German television recording). She felt smaller on stage than I am used to -- but we've been seeing only Maria, Tess and Sara for so long in this role. I had a sense of melancholy from her. I was less impressed by Alec Knight I am afraid to say. He lacked finesse in his partnering. I guess I never realized how tall he is (taller than Peter Walker, as was apparent when I saw Concertino last Sunday). The tall ones will/should always get lots of looks, also considering the potential for Nadon/LaFreniere/Kikta as principals in the near future. 

As for the new pieces, I liked the Abraham even though it felt "Forsythe" in some moments, like KA had watched a lot of Forsythe and perhaps was more inspired than he realized. And . . . don't hate me but I LOVED the costumes for Play Time. They looked incredible on stage! 

[Jacqueline]

Per an Instagram post by Wendy Whelan, apprentices Sarah Harmon, Shelby Mann, Anna Snelgrove, and Dominika Afanasenkov have been promoted to the corps.  Congratulations to them all!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjtUVIrJjAx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

[Royal Blue]

Coming serendipitously at a time of heightened appreciation for Balanchine's Vienna Waltzes, Sterling Hyltin's performance with Robbie Fairchild in the "Rosenkavalier" section last evening was for this viewer one of the most moving of this or any other New York City Ballet season.

Following a career filled with highlights, Hyltin's magnificent dancing during the Spring and Fall seasons of 2022 in a variety of works amounts to an ideal demonstration of how to retire with elegance and poise from ballet.

And, personally, her performance(s) in Afternoon of a Faun will always be the gift that keeps on giving. That mirror upstage during the finale of Vienna Waltzes was never so noticeable or meaningful to me before ...

[vipa]

16 minutes ago, Jacqueline said:

Per an Instagram post by Wendy Whelan, apprentices Sarah Harmon, Shelby Mann, Anna Snelgrove, and Dominika Afanasenkov have been promoted to the corps.  Congratulations to them all!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjtUVIrJjAx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

Congrats. Particularly sweet for Shelby Mann. I'm assuming it's the same Shelby Mann that's the daughter of Charlotte D'Amboise (grandaughter of Jacques).

[Helene]

Indeed it is:  she appears in a piece choreographed by Stacey Caddell (~39'50" is where the intro starts)  in an 2015 interview at City Center Studio 5, where her grandfather and uncle were interviewed by Wendy Whelan:

 

 

[BalanchineFan]

31 minutes ago, vipa said:

Congrats. Particularly sweet for Shelby Mann. I'm assuming it's the same Shelby Mann that's the daughter of Charlotte D'Amboise (grandaughter of Jacques).

Yes! Congratulations all around. I think most of those young women were in the corps of Symphony in Three movements last weekend.

[choriamb]

Did Bouder look like her usual self when I saw her earlier this season? No.

But having seen other dancers return from long absences (Kowroski, Ringer, Nichols, Peck), I think that she looks physically on the right trajectory to be dancing her more middleweight rep at full throttle by the Spring season...which is about when we'd expect to see it from a "normal" dancer who'd had the same sort of injury. (Heightened expectations are the downside of being consistently prodigious.) And likely even harder rep later.

In the meantime, as her physical power is returning, she hasn't lost her stage sense (which is what I find more bothersome when dancers return). I'd love to see her dance a lighter rep as she recovers...which was really how Ringer got some of her best roles:  I thought Bouder's Green Girl in DAAG was the most intelligent approach in recent memory.

And, frankly, giving Bouder time would seem the right thing to do regardless:  as wonderful as they are now, many of the dancers in her generation had VERY long gestation periods before being able to command the stage. Whatever you think of her style, Bouder fearlessly held up more than half of the stage (and did so opposite more junior partners) in a harder rep from day 1. She's earned a few recovery performances.

Edited October 14, 2022 by choriamb
sp

[NinaFan]

Thanks to everyone for the postings on Sterling and Robbie's VW.   The reviews are wonderful and it sounds like a very memorable performance.  I wish I had been able to make it.  At least I got to see Sterling in some other rep this season.  She was clearly appreciated by the audience.   We are all going to miss her.

Edited October 15, 2022 by NinaFan
edit

[Marta]

1 hour ago, NinaFan said:

Thanks to everyone for the postings on Sterling and Robbie's VW.   The reviews are wonderful and it sounds like a very memorable performance.  I wish I had been able to make it.  At least I got to see Sterling in some other rep this season.  She was clearly appreciated by the audience.   We are all going to miss her.

Thanks so much to everyone who posted reviews of the fall season.  I was away and unable to see anything so I really appreciated reading your thoughts.

[cobweb]

Just in from the final performance of the Episodes-Vienna Waltzes program. I enjoyed this program more after a few performances, and especially in the company of Mr. cobweb, who loved the music, the varied traditions of Vienna, and just generally the whole thing. I'll try to write more tomorrow, but for now I'll just say that Miriam Miller looks great in the Merry Widow outfit, and her grand limbs bring out more of the dancing than I've ever noticed before. (Same thing happened when I saw her as the Bride in Firebird.) And Sara Mearns brings a real pathos to the Rosenkavalier section. Just a question, did anyone see the matinee and what happened with the mysterious casting for Voices of Spring, noted as Ulbricht/Ball?

[Balanchinomane]

Ulbrecht expertly partnered Woodward in a rollicking Voices of Spring. Ball was her partner in the final waltz. The drama continued when Woodward lost one shoe downstage right. It remained for a time as the mad waltzers seemed oblivious to an impending collision. It was unceremoniously kicked to the wings as Woodward carried on, bare toes visible. It was a wonderful and memorable performance.💐🥰

[cobweb]

2 hours ago, Balanchinomane said:

Ulbrecht expertly partnered Woodward in a rollicking Voices of Spring. Ball was her partner in the final waltz.

... and did there appear to be a special reason the role was split up this way? 

[JuliaJ]

I don't think he's done any jumping-heavy ballets this season, and he usually gets cast in those. 

[nanushka]

Why not just give Ulbricht the role, I wonder. Seems a little strange, as if there was some reason they wanted Ball to be onstage for the final section.