New York City Ballet 2022-2023 season

[volcanohunter]

On 6/8/2023 at 1:52 PM, lacdescygnes said:

I found some parts a bit trite and repetitive - a gargouillade or a saut de chat set to pop music? how cute and innovative - repeated six times, less so.

Today NYCB is trying to market precisely that. The clip looks awfully derivative of Forsythe's Blake Works ballets.

As for programming, the pop music ballets should always go last, so I can leave early and not have to sit through them. #sorrynotsorry 

Edited June 9, 2023 by volcanohunter

[Balletwannabe]

I can't listen to that something about the beat/bass?  Hurts my ears.  

[canbelto]

Disheartened by the negative comments about Love Letter (On Shuffle). I found it to be a very moving ballet, much better than The Runaway. The final duet was beautiful.

[jessa_sissonne]

I just received the 75th Anniversary subscription packet in the mail and for those of us trying to put faces to the new (and not so new) corps dancers, this brochure has several great photos with groups of dancers and lists their names.

Also many of the new dancers have public facing IGs so you can get familiar with their faces that way. Still hoping for new headshots but in the meantime I hope this helps!!

[California]

12 hours ago, jessa_sissonne said:

I just received the 75th Anniversary subscription packet in the mail

Although I usually get a flex subscription, I didn't get the 75th anniversary packet you cite. Any info on how to get tickets for October 11? I saw a hint that preference will go to subscribers, and I wonder if they'll prioritize somehow or also give some preference to donors (perhaps above a certain level). They don't seem to have designated that performance as a gala, but it will be in such demand that I'm guessing prices will be higher than usual. 

Edited June 11, 2023 by California

[matilda]

In the past, subscribers and donors/members have been able to start buying single tickets a week before the general public. That should be when the October 11 event goes on sale. 

[Belka]

I saw the opening night (Tues 6 Jun) Balanchine/Robbins show at Kennedy Center and returned on Friday (9 June) new works mixed bill. There are my Balanchine/Robbins comments, if it’s too long, basically everything was brilliant. I'll post comments on the 9 June performance a bit later.

I went to opening night to see Megan and the surprise Joseph Gordon debut in Square Dance, Mira Nadon and Isabella LaFreniere in Concerto Barocco, and Tiler and Roman in Donizetti Variations. I was also pleased to get to see Unity Phelan for the first time, in Afternoon of a Faun. It was a wonderful mix of my long time favorites (Megan and Tiler) plus the fantastic new talent. This was my first time getting a look at some of the newly-promoted principal dancers and they did not disappoint! I was disappointed that Anthony Huxley was not dancing, as I so loved seeing him in Sleeping Beauty earlier this year and was especially looking forward to him in Solo.

First time seeing Square Fast as well – what a tremendous ballet, I would love to see it many more times to pick apart its intricacies and wickedly fast footwork! Megan and Joe Gordon—who apparently learned the ballet only four days prior, according to his Instagram story—did a fantastic job, as I expected from watching Megan for years at KC now. What a pleasure to watch! I am much less familiar with the corps members, but they performed marvelously as well. I do wish there were photos on the City Ballet website so I could attempt to put some names to faces. The corps choreography was so interesting and fast—my friend who attended with me remarked that it must be more interesting to be a corps dancer at City Ballet than a soloist in other companies.

I was happy to finally see Afternoon of a Faun, I have been curious to see it since watching the Tanaquil Le Clerq documentary. I feel it is a ballet that needs more than one viewing to appreciate, more time to digest its components. Joseph and Unity are exceedingly beautiful people and lovely dancers, and it was a pleasure to watch something contemplative after the speed of Square Dance.

Concerto Barocco offered my first glimpse at both Mira and Isabelle and WOW what an exciting performance that was! The corps was ON POINT and really had it together. As a reader of this message board, I expected to be blown away by Mira, and her effortless, grand, fast dancing did indeed blow me away, but I was perhaps even taken more aback by Isabelle’s attack in all of her moves and her extremely precise, yet somehow silent footwork. I will seek out her performances in the future! Mira had the more challenging role, dancing the pas de deux in the second movement, and it was sublime. Having seen Maria Kowroski perform this role, I don’t think Mira was quite to that level of…gooeyness (is that a word I can use to describe balletic movement?) in the pas de deux—I felt she could have luxuriated in some of the steps even more, as I remember Maria doing—but she is so new to this piece that I am certain it will come, and sooner rather than later. Absolutely fantastic!

Finally, what more can be said about Tiler in Donizetti? I assumed when I saw her Instagram stories about being injured that we would not be seeing her in DC, at least not on opening night, but she surprised us all by not only being healed enough to dance, but also to come rip-roaring onto the stage like nothing had even happened. Classic Tiler performance – subtle, nuanced musicality and technique paired with larger than life dancing. She was superbly paired by Roman Mejia, who said on Instagram “loved making my debut in this ballet” – but it was not noted in the playbill as a debut. Debut or no, I (and the audience) couldn’t get enough of him. Audience members were besides themselves with his bravura pirouettes and sautes. I think I almost laughed because I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. He is just overflowing with Angel Corella-esque abilities. We couldn’t have asked for a more thrilling finish to the evening.

I did notice Dominika Afanasenkov as a stand out corps member in Donizetti variations, and the three male dancers—David Gabriel, Charlie Kiesa and Davida Riccardo—danced with incredible precision and were totally in sync. It was also thrilling!

Edited June 11, 2023 by Belka
corrected the date

[cobweb]

On 6/9/2023 at 2:21 AM, Drew said:

(Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but as much as I'm looking forward to the Fall, I'm afraid I even squinted over some of the choices and configurations for the all Balanchine programing.)

Drew, I have the same feeling about the Fall programming. An all-Balanchine season ought to be an occasion for joy. But when I take a look at the actual programs, my heart doesn't sing like it should. Instead I feel let down. I know we've hashed this out on this board, but I don't understand how they could program a 75th anniversary season without several of Balanchine's most beautiful, joyous pure-dance pieces, such as: Chaconne, Divertimento No 15, Mozartiana, or Square Dance. A program combining a couple of these pieces would leave me delirious. Also i asked up-thread and no one answered, what about Glinka pas de trois? Does NYCB never do this? I saw Miami City Ballet do it at City Center a few years ago and am baffled why it's not in the NYCB rep. 

Edited June 17, 2023 by cobweb

[KikiRVA]

I saw the Saturday matinee performance at the KC.  I have never seen the company look better - totally committed and engaged with the music.  The attack of Megan's footwork in Square Dance and her seeming joy/ease with the blazing steps gave me chills.  And the corps were all in.  The DC audience was probably less ballet-experienced than in NY, but they LOVED it.  Unfortunately the front curtain wasn't used at that performance (though I saw it in some clips online at earlier performances), so there were no front-of-curtain calls.  Instead the hauled up the black drop for one last bow by the whole company after each ballet.  It is hard to believe that Robbins choreographed Faun in 1953 given its radical sensuality no longer set as mythological.  La Freniere and Nadon were brilliant in Barocco.  The first tier got the giggles during the extended daisy chain - minds blown and Balanchine's ingenuity.  What a rich dessert of Donezetti - Roman and TIler.  Oh my.  

[Belka]

On 6/8/2023 at 11:45 PM, YouOverThere said:

I have mixed feelings about Pictures at an Exhibition. I didn't always feel like the mood of the choreography matched the mood of the music (I think this would have been more apparent if he had used an orchestrated version).

I thought that Naomi Corti deserved a standing ovation.

 

100% agree with you on both these points

[Belka]

I returned to KC to catch the other program on Friday night. It was, of course, much less of a slam dunk than the Balanchine/Robbins program, but I went in with an open mind. I saw Pictures at an Exhibition the last time City Ballet brought it to KC and liked it fairly well then and now. I agree with YouOverThere that the choreography would seem to fit better with an orchestra version of the music, rather than just the piano. Indiana and Roman were the biggest standouts for me, as was Ashley Laracey. I wish I had gotten to see more of her in this KC run, she is stunning. 

After the first intermission, the elderly lady next to me opened a container of...peanuts? Some kind of food item which she continued to eat/suck on for the entire second act. I’m usually not one to tolerate this, but she was so elderly that I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I think this put in me in irritated mood just in time for Standard Deviation, and wow I did NOT like it at all. I thought the music was cacophonous and the choreography uninteresting and not fitted at all to the (awful) music. Emma von Enck tore it up with the frenetic, meaningless choreography she was given, and she was impressive. The Miriam Miller/Gilbert Bolden pas de deux parts also featured beautiful dancers with boring choreography. Not the dancers’ fault. The dark costumes made it difficult to see what the corps was doing, but I found that I didn’t much care at that point.

I had hopes that the eating of the nuts would be finished by the time Naomi Corti took the stage for Solo, but I was to be disappointed again. She was breathtaking, however, and made gorgeous geometrical shapes and drew invisible lines with her body. She deserved a standing ovation.

After the second intermission, and my neighbor thankfully done eating, I settled in for Love Letter (on Shuffle). Despite the truly awful costumes, which also obscured the audience from seeing the dancers’ movements, and despite the at times dissonant music, I really enjoyed this piece. The choreography was intriguing and I actually liked much (but not all) of the music.

Is there a more exquisite dancer than Taylor Stanley? I don’t think I have ever gotten to see him dance before, and I was spellbound. I did not take my eyes off him the entire time he was on stage. No one else could come close. I loved the ending. I will be on a train to NYC to see more of Taylor S.

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by Belka
spelling

[abatt]

Belka, you should try to see Taylor Stanley in Apollo.  I suspect he will be cast in the fall (barring injury or illness).

[angelica]

4 hours ago, Belka said:

 

Is there a more exquisite dancer than Taylor Stanley? I don’t think I have ever gotten to see him dance before, and I was spellbound. I did not take my eyes off him the entire time he was on stage. No one else could come close. I loved the ending. I will be on a train to NYC to see more of Taylor S.

 

I totally agree about Taylor Stanley. He is one of a kind. Unique. He moves like no one else. 

[YouOverThere]

10 hours ago, Belka said:

I returned to KC to catch the other program on Friday night. It was, of course, much less of a slam dunk than the Balanchine/Robbins program, but I went in with an open mind. I saw Pictures at an Exhibition the last time City Ballet brought it to KC and liked it fairly well then and now. I agree with YouOverThere that the choreography would seem to fit better with an orchestra version of the music, rather than just the piano. Indiana and Roman were the biggest standouts for me, as was Ashley Laracey. I wish I had gotten to see more of her in this KC run, she is stunning. 

After the first intermission, the elderly lady next to me opened a container of...peanuts? Some kind of food item which she continued to eat/suck on for the entire second act. I’m usually not one to tolerate this, but she was so elderly that I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

 

Actually, what I was trying to say in regards to Pictures at an Exhibition is that it would have been more apparent that the mood of the choreography didn't always match the mood of the music if they had used an orchestra version. The 2 orchestra versions that I've heard (including the Ravel version that's performed 99.9% of the time) are somewhat dark and melancholic. The piece was composed by Mussorgsky after he attended an art exhibition honoring the memory of an artist who had been a close friend, and he definitely was not in the light-hearted mood that some of the choreography came across (at least to me) as being. I think that I stated when I first watched this work that I didn't get using ballerinas for Bydlo (aka The Ox Cart); there was nothing ponderous and plodding in their dancing.

At 2 performances I had to deal with people sitting nearby who were eating (presumably) some kind of chips out of plastic bags that crinkled quite loudly.

[Belka]

10 hours ago, abatt said:

Belka, you should try to see Taylor Stanley in Apollo.  I suspect he will be cast in the fall (barring injury or illness).

 I will make that a priority!

[Balletwannabe]

Has anyone seen an announcement of new apprentices?  I saw one that had congratulations on IG.  

[Belka]

On 6/14/2023 at 9:43 PM, YouOverThere said:

Actually, what I was trying to say in regards to Pictures at an Exhibition is that it would have been more apparent that the mood of the choreography didn't always match the mood of the music if they had used an orchestra version. The 2 orchestra versions that I've heard (including the Ravel version that's performed 99.9% of the time) are somewhat dark and melancholic. The piece was composed by Mussorgsky after he attended an art exhibition honoring the memory of an artist who had been a close friend, and he definitely was not in the light-hearted mood that some of the choreography came across (at least to me) as being. I think that I stated when I first watched this work that I didn't get using ballerinas for Bydlo (aka The Ox Cart); there was nothing ponderous and plodding in their dancing.

At 2 performances I had to deal with people sitting nearby who were eating (presumably) some kind of chips out of plastic bags that crinkled quite loudly.

Thank you for clarifying your point, I was reading too quickly and misinterpreted. My apologies! I have listened to presumably the Ravel orchestrated version many times over the years, I understand what you mean about the dark and melancholic mood not necessarily matching the choreography.

On another topic - Sara Mearns seems to have had quite a triumphant experience as Juliet in Canada. Was anyone able to attend? It's a bit too far from DC for me to manage the trip. I haven't seen her perform since the 2022 Kennedy Center run, but I am so pleased to hear about her looking like her old self again.

[jessa_sissonne]

Hi Everyone! I posted this in the SAB Workshop thread and didn't receive any responses. Does anyone here know anything?

"This is kind of off-topic but still SAB related. Does anyone know if On Pointe is available to watch anymore? I can't seem to locate it on Disney+. I was wanting to watch it again now that some of the students are in the company."

[Balletwannabe]

It's not available because Disney+ took some shows off and that was one of them.

[jessa_sissonne]

2 hours ago, Balletwannabe said:

It's not available because Disney+ took some shows off and that was one of them.

Thank you for letting me know! That's too bad, I wish there was another way to watch it.

[Balletwannabe]

10 minutes ago, jessa_sissonne said:

Thank you for letting me know! That's too bad, I wish there was another way to watch it.

I miss old-school ways of buying a VHS or DVD.  

[BalanchineFan]

On 6/9/2023 at 8:25 PM, canbelto said:

Disheartened by the negative comments about Love Letter (On Shuffle). I found it to be a very moving ballet, much better than The Runaway. The final duet was beautiful.

I'm also very encouraged to see a (basically) modern dance choreographer doing so much, and so well, with classical technique and pointe work. I liked the ballet and think Kyle Abraham deserves kudos for that, too.

I found The Runaway more revolutionary, however. Love Letter on Shuffle is sweeter and more soulful.

[BalanchineFan]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:30 AM, Balletwannabe said:

Has anyone seen an announcement of new apprentices?  I saw one that had congratulations on IG.  

Charlie Klesa is the only one that comes to mind. Now I can't remember if he's a new apprentice or a new company member. Who was being congratulated on IG?

[uptowner]

Klesa was promoted to corps this spring 

[uptowner]

I could be remembering incorrectly, but I think the apprentices are usually announced when when the fall season begins (September) or later if they start for Nutcracker. Is it always “announced”? I think sometimes their names just show up on the roster. I recall that in recent years SAB usually does a little feature on Instagram congratulating them and showing now/then pics of when they started at the school.