New York City Ballet 2022-2023 season

[bellawood]

1 hour ago, carllovesballet said:

along the topic of promotions, it's interesting to see how many debuts have been made this season alone. Nadon has like 7 debuts and it's only winter season!

I think it's a very good sign for her future promotion that she is dancing only debuts this winter (I think). Cobweb, did you mean that you think they will promote at the end of the winter season or wait until the end of the year? I have kind of assumed we wouldn't get any promotions until spring (or maybe even Fall 2023). 

[vipa]

4 hours ago, cobweb said:

Just based on my impression, I’d say the tallest woman in the company is Christina Clark, and the second is Miller. Kikta is close behind. I know they are tall, but since they promoted a batch of tall ladies to soloist, I assume/hope that means they can envision at least one of them as principal. 

I'm sure you're right cobweb, I forgot about Christina Clark, which is terrible of me because I just saw her in Haieff! It does seem that a lot of tall ladies are in the running for a promotion. 

[vipa]

3 hours ago, carllovesballet said:

I also saw Emily and Megan LeCrone in Episodes last night and they were giving fierce balanchine technique!!! I was also very impressed by Unity in Episodes - I haven't been a big fan of hers, obv she's talented but she hasn't stuck out to me and I thought she's overused, but her performance really convinced me. I was hoping Episodes would do the same for Miller but it wasn't the case...

Agree about Kikta, LeCrone and Phelan last night in Episodes. All musical, and technically fine performances. Miller didn't quite there in the Musical Offering section. In recent history I've loved Mearns in this role.

I very much enjoyed Rondo, with Nadon and LaFrineiere. It's not the kind of work that blows me away, but watching the full, clear, musical dancing of those two dancers was a delight, as was the manner in which they interacted with each other. 

On a side note: As I've watched shows this season I find myself awed by the amazing, young talent rising up at the NYCB. Many of these dancers are having a lot of roles tossed at them, in a relatively short amount of time and have been rising to the occasion. I may quibble with this or that performance, or view the rendering of a role as a work in progress, but the level of dancing, commitment, and developing artistry is thrilling.

Back to the show!  I hadn't seen Fancy Free in quite a while, and it was a reminder of what a theatrical genius Robbins was. Ulbricht, Gordon and Furlan were terrific, although Gordon may have gotten a bit too balletic here and there.  Lauren Collett did the "red purse" woman quite well. I'd love to hear other opinions on this. A light tone was maintained, although the section always feels like it can cross a line. 

[cobweb]

6 hours ago, bellawood said:

Cobweb, did you mean that you think they will promote at the end of the winter season or wait until the end of the year? I have kind of assumed we wouldn't get any promotions until spring (or maybe even Fall 2023). 

bellawood, I have zero insight into the company's plans of course. But what I think they should do is promote about 3-4 women to principal, asap, like at the end of the SB run. There is a shocking shortage in the ranks of female principals, and while the new batch of soloists have only been soloists for a year, several of them are palpably ready and carrying principal loads. They should move several of them on up now, move up a couple of corps to soloist, and keep vigorously developing the younger dancers. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, however!

[cobweb]

5 hours ago, vipa said:

Miller didn't quite there in the Musical Offering section. In recent history I've loved Mearns in this role

Thanks for the report, vipa! I saw Miller in the Ricercata in the fall, and found her pretty bland. I'm looking forward to seeing Nadon in this role, she should fire it up! ... inner fire, of course, not a distortion of the steps.  

[BalanchineFan]

I find it fascinating to ponder promotions. The dancers are all dancing remarkably well, such energy and joy onstage. I am never, however,  in a rush for actual promotions. When a dancer is a soloist, to my mind, you compare them to other dancers currently in the company. Once they are dancing principal roles, my mind jumps and starts comparing the performances to the best people EVER to dance that role. I don't think I'm being fair or kind in doing this; comparing youngsters to Suzanne Farrell, Merrill Ashley, Kyra Nichols and Lourdes Lopez (a few of my personal favorites) and all, in memory, at the top of their game. It's just how my mind works. It takes time to develop that kind of technique and artistry. There's no reason to expect a dancer to do that in a debut, or in the middle of a long season... except that I do. From reading this site, I don't think those expectations are unusual, though I still think them somewhat unfair to today's dancers. Maybe that's the teacher in me.

The press often does the same thing. The NY Times will write about a dancer being fantastic one season, and the next season say "so and so, doing their usual tricks..." as if they should have perfected a completely new style of dancing in their 4 weeks off! Etonne-moi! I saw it with Darci Kistler. I hear occasionally about Unity Phelan. I think Gia Kourlas does it with Justin Peck's choreography. I would imagine a young artist would need a lot of composure and maturity to handle that. I don't wish it on anyone.

I love thinking of dancers that will EVENTUALLY be principals. Mira Nadon and Roman Mejia are my two shoo-ins in this category. I think Miriam Miller and Isabelle LaFreniere are likely next in line. I think Alexa Maxwell should be a soloist. All of this at some point. NYCB has never promoted dancers on a schedule and I don't think they should start now. Promote dancers when the dancers are ready. Not everyone can deal with the pressure. 

[nanushka]

I don't think of them as expectations; I think of them more as standards of excellence and personal taste. I think they're an important part of what makes some dancers become excellent and makes certain rare dancers become exceptional.

Edited February 2, 2023 by nanushka

[mille-feuille]

NYCB's instagram stories have some clips of the new work premiering tonight, "Fortuitous Ash." To sum up my reaction as best I can: UUUUUUUGH 😑

Why does so much new work look like this? Dark lighting, depressing music, reptilian movements. These works never stick around past one season. Why does NYCB keep commissioning these????

[BalanchineFan]

19 minutes ago, mille-feuille said:

NYCB's instagram stories have some clips of the new work premiering tonight, "Fortuitous Ash." To sum up my reaction as best I can: UUUUUUUGH 😑

Why does so much new work look like this? Dark lighting, depressing music, reptilian movements. These works never stick around past one season. Why does NYCB keep commissioning these????

Maybe you should write up the kind of commission you're looking for. Tutus or leotards? Classical music? Toe shoes? Narrative or not? Beauty and Joy, obviously.

[vipa]

27 minutes ago, mille-feuille said:

NYCB's instagram stories have some clips of the new work premiering tonight, "Fortuitous Ash." To sum up my reaction as best I can: UUUUUUUGH 😑

Why does so much new work look like this? Dark lighting, depressing music, reptilian movements. These works never stick around past one season. Why does NYCB keep commissioning these????

This may be wishful thinking on my part, but I'm hoping there will be few of these commissions now that Ratmansky is on board. I always thought he did some of his best work at NYCB.

[vipa]

1 hour ago, BalanchineFan said:

Maybe you should write up the kind of commission you're looking for. Tutus or leotards? Classical music? Toe shoes? Narrative or not? Beauty and Joy, obviously.

If I was interviewing a choreographer for a commission at NYCB my main questions would be - Why do you want to work with these dancers? What's special about them? What do you think you could achieve with these dancers that you couldn't achieve elsewhere. 

[Sal]

3 hours ago, cobweb said:

But what I think they should do is promote about 3-4 women to principal, asap, like at the end of the SB run. There is a shocking shortage in the ranks of female principals, and while the new batch of soloists have only been soloists for a year, several of them are palpably ready and carrying principal loads.

I agree, cobweb! I vote for Nadon and Lafreniere, immediately to principal, with Gerrity a question mark for me. Although she's not a favorite of mine, she certainly has been dancing a principal load for over a year now and I think she's earned it. I believe Miller and Kikta need a bit more time. Miller needs to develop her artistry further and I think Kikta needs to be given more shots at big principal roles before she gets promoted. (Am I correct in thinking she hasn't yet danced  Sugar Plum??) And I would LOVE to see Alexa Maxwell promoted to soloist. She has always caught my eye, even when dancing corps roles, and I want to see her get a chance to take on more challenging roles.

[canbelto]

16 minutes ago, Sal said:

Miller needs to develop her artistry further and I think Kikta needs to be given more shots at big principal roles before she gets promoted. (Am I correct in thinking she hasn't yet danced  Sugar Plum??) 

Kikta did dance SPF this last Nutcracker season. She went on when Sara Mearns canceled.

[MarzipanShepherdess]

Saw the 21st Century Choreography program tonight.

Starting off with the premiere: I found 'Fortuitous Ash' to be a real disappointment. It felt VERY repetitive, and what is being repeated isn't particularly engaging. It's such a shame because Jinakunwiphat chose some great dancers to work with, but even really exciting, vibrant dancers like Mira Nadon and Chun Wai Chan felt flat here. They just don't have much to do. I'm in favor of City Ballet bringing in choreographers who don't usually work with ballet dancers, obviously the result can be invigorating as it's been in the two collaborations with Kyle Abraham. But here it felt like Jinakunwiphat's lack of familiarity working with ballet dancers might be part of the problem with the piece. She did not seem to have many ideas for what they could do, so we got a lot of the same handful of movements over and over again. I think her work with A.I.M. is much more successful. I will be shocked if this stays in the repertoire.

However, I really enjoyed Voices (which I didn't get to see in 2020) and it makes me very excited to see more of Ratmansky's work with City Ballet dancers. The score, which mixes recordings of 5 different women speaking about art over live piano, is unexpected and for me kind of strange, but I found the choreography really engaging and meaty. I'd love to see it again because there was so much to take in, especially in the ensemble dances at the end. Georgina Pazcoguin, who as others have noted has not had much to do this season, was a standout. For me, she outshone Unity, who is technically a stronger dancer but felt a under-powered here in contrast to Georgina who really brought some fire and attack and definition to her solo. Alex Maxwell continued, as she has for the last year, to make a strong case for being ready to move up to soloist. And I enjoyed seeing Megan Fairchild deliver a great performance in a role that relied on none of her charm and sparkle. 

Everywhere We Go: I'm glad they keep this in the repertoire and I was glad to see it again. Seeing it on the heels of Copeland Dance Episodes, though, I had the same feeling that the ending didn't feel satisfyingly timed. It was nice to see Chun again after seeing him in Fortuitous Ash and be reminded of how wonderful he can be when he has something to work with. 

[carllovesballet]

11 hours ago, Sal said:

I agree, cobweb! I vote for Nadon and Lafreniere, immediately to principal, with Gerrity a question mark for me. Although she's not a favorite of mine, she certainly has been dancing a principal load for over a year now and I think she's earned it. I believe Miller and Kikta need a bit more time. Miller needs to develop her artistry further and I think Kikta needs to be given more shots at big principal roles before she gets promoted. (Am I correct in thinking she hasn't yet danced  Sugar Plum??) And I would LOVE to see Alexa Maxwell promoted to soloist. She has always caught my eye, even when dancing corps roles, and I want to see her get a chance to take on more challenging roles.

Nadon and Kikta (and Emma Von Enck) all debute sugar plum in 2022 - Miller nor LaFreniere have!

13 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

I find it fascinating to ponder promotions. The dancers are all dancing remarkably well, such energy and joy onstage. I am never, however,  in a rush for actual promotions. When a dancer is a soloist, to my mind, you compare them to other dancers currently in the company. Once they are dancing principal roles, my mind jumps and starts comparing the performances to the best people EVER to dance that role. I don't think I'm being fair or kind in doing this; comparing youngsters to Suzanne Farrell, Merrill Ashley, Kyra Nichols and Lourdes Lopez (a few of my personal favorites) and all, in memory, at the top of their game. It's just how my mind works. It takes time to develop that kind of technique and artistry. There's no reason to expect a dancer to do that in a debut, or in the middle of a long season... except that I do. From reading this site, I don't think those expectations are unusual, though I still think them somewhat unfair to today's dancers. Maybe that's the teacher in me.

The press often does the same thing. The NY Times will write about a dancer being fantastic one season, and the next season say "so and so, doing their usual tricks..." as if they should have perfected a completely new style of dancing in their 4 weeks off! Etonne-moi! I saw it with Darci Kistler. I hear occasionally about Unity Phelan. I think Gia Kourlas does it with Justin Peck's choreography. I would imagine a young artist would need a lot of composure and maturity to handle that. I don't wish it on anyone.

I love thinking of dancers that will EVENTUALLY be principals. Mira Nadon and Roman Mejia are my two shoo-ins in this category. I think Miriam Miller and Isabelle LaFreniere are likely next in line. I think Alexa Maxwell should be a soloist. All of this at some point. NYCB has never promoted dancers on a schedule and I don't think they should start now. Promote dancers when the dancers are ready. Not everyone can deal with the pressure. 

I understand what you're saying but I think all in all it does a disservice to the dancers - especially from a financial perspective - to not promote them especially when they're carrying principal or soloist rep. It's the same in any job, if you're doing the work of a higher rank you deserve to be paid at that rate of which you're delivering.

[Sal]

44 minutes ago, carllovesballet said:

Nadon and Kikta (and Emma Von Enck) all debute sugar plum in 2022 - Miller nor LaFreniere have!

Ah, yes, I remember now. thanks for the correction. I'm not sure it changes how I feel about LaFreniere and Kikta being promoted now.  I guess, if I'm honest, I just really love LaFreniere -- for me she has the combination of  strong technique and emotional maturity/artistry that really moves me. I also really enjoy Kikta, but I think I need to see her in a greater range of roles to form a complete opinion.

50 minutes ago, carllovesballet said:

I understand what you're saying but I think all in all it does a disservice to the dancers - especially from a financial perspective - to not promote them especially when they're carrying principal or soloist rep. It's the same in any job, if you're doing the work of a higher rank you deserve to be paid at that rate of which you're delivering.

And this is one of the main reasons I think Gerrity should be promoted. She has been carrying a principal load for over a year, similar to that of Phelan. 

[bellawood]

Oh my goodness Harrison Ball is leaving city ballet!

https://www.balletherald.com/harrison-ball-bids-farewell-haieff-divertimento/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-balletherald&utm_content=later-32774417&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio

[abatt]

I can't say I'm surprised by this info.  At his age, how could he expect to continue as a principal given his inability to take on most of the rep. due to injuries.  I recall a profile on SAB from a few years ago in which Ball, still a student, said that his dream was to make it to principal.  At least he had his dream fulfilled, albeit for a short duration.

[FauxPas]

I would also hope that Ball is young enough that his injuries will heal and abate over time and he will be able to return to dancing.

Sometimes a long break is necessary after a serious injury.  Best of luck to him in the future.  

Edited February 2, 2023 by FauxPas

[matilda]

That is DEVASTATING. He's been one of my absolute favorite dancers. What a talent. His Puck in Midsummer is extraordinary, and he showed such, such promise in Mozartiana just a year ago. I've been patiently waiting for his return and this is just so sad. I wish him well in his other pursuits though. He's such a handsome guy and could potentially do well as an actor. 

[FauxPas]

Ball really has that danseur noble prince quality onstage.  It was interesting to compare the two casts of Haieff Concerto.  

Peter Walker was more an ordinary guy and Christina Clark was very relatable - kind of like two dancers in a dance studio going through their moves.

With Indiana Woodward and Harrison Ball it sort of took on a "La Sylphide" tone - Woodward was the inaccessible female ideal and Ball seemed to be a romantic idealist searching for his dream woman.

It was like two different ballets.

BTW: I was at 2/3 of the 21st Century Choreography Program last night.

Totally agree with the reviews of the first two ballets posted above.

My first big thing is that I generally don't enjoy a ballet if I don't like the music, even if the choreography is good.

"Voices" I didn't like the abstract music at all but I found Ratmansky was very creative in his choreography with hints of humor and drama.  He really knows the classical vocabulary and uses it quite creatively.

"Fortuitous Ash" has minimalist movie soundtrack music that is kind of meandering and doesn't really lend itself to choreographic patterns.  Just generalized angst and undertones of menace.

There was a tree like design projected on the floor that was striking and I liked the leotards very much.

No one really stood out because the choreography seemed interchangeable - the opposite of the solos in "Voices".  

I didn't stay for the Peck ballet.  I am sure I saw it in the Fall season.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

1 hour ago, matilda said:

His Puck in Midsummer is extraordinary

It really is! Of course he can do all the steps, but he imbues his Puck with genuinely otherworldly quality that I've never seen anyone else attempt. 

[Royal Blue]

After watching Indiana Woodward in that attire, coiffure and makeup make her splendid debut in Fancy Free a couple of nights ago, it occurred to me that in its way this impersonation of a mid-twentieth century American woman was every bit as moving as those of the long-ago women represented in Antique Epigraphs and other ballets. Mightily glad that I did not miss this! Moreover, any implication that this season's debuts in Fancy Free are unimportant from my neglect to specifically mention them in my previous post is completely misleading and false. The entire first cast, which included Daniel Ulbricht, Joseph Gordon and Jovani Furlan (in his debut) as the three sailors, made watching this popular work again a pleasure.

All three other works in the program were as captivating as I surmised they would be. Mira Nadon and Isabella LaFreniere were sensational in Rondo. Danced by Anthony Huxley, Solo was expectedly affecting. Emily Kikta and Unity Phelan were nothing short of spectacular in Episodes.

As the Princess in Firebird, Miriam Miller's warmth and liveliness demonstrated how engaging she can be, and belied her occasionally remote and cool demeanor in other works. For me, her otherworldly remoteness seems entirely appropriate in the midst of the austere, architectonic grandeur of Episodes, and she danced in the Ricercata segment beautifully. Tuesday's conclusion of the ballet, in sum, left me spellbound and found me soberly reflecting how far this remarkable opus had come in my estimation.

[BalanchineFan]

22 hours ago, vipa said:

If I was interviewing a choreographer for a commission at NYCB my main questions would be - Why do you want to work with these dancers? What's special about them? What do you think you could achieve with these dancers that you couldn't achieve elsewhere. 

Great questions! I may have heard Wendy Whelan say that they do ask something similar. I wonder if they ever give choreographers a piece of music, or other directions about what kind of piece to choreograph. I think Balanchine often did, but he was dealing with company members or ballet masters, people he knew and already worked with. I don't think that many memorable ballets came of it either. I can't tell if choreographers get free reign, or if there's any artistic guidance. Once the commissions are decided, choreographers don't have a lot of time to work with the dancers. I felt you could see that in Jamar Roberts piece last fall. Certain sections had lots of unison movement, almost like a technique class.

Edited February 3, 2023 by BalanchineFan

[matilda]

I saw the "Classic NYCB II" show last night and found the programming a little odd. I like programs where there's a mix of different styles (like seeing Donizetti Variations and Stravinsky Violin on the same bill last week) but I don't know... Fancy Free and Episodes as bookends? It didn't feel harmonious. 

Solid performances though. The highlights were definitely the whole cast of Episodes and Nadon and LaFreniere in the lovely Rondo. Nadon in particular, just wow--lines for days, lovely upper body carriage, and a rare ability to really connect with the audience. Phelan and Ball were wonderful as the acrobatic 3rd movement in Episodes. Miller was cool, elegant, and statuesque--rather than dramatic--in the 4th movement. Her approach suited the choreography. Episodes with its intricate geometry was worth the ticket alone.  

"Solo" feels very repetitive upon seeing for the third time, including the video. Anthony Huxley is a first-class dancer but I prefer Mearns' looser and more dramatic approach. And sorry but those polka dot pants juxtaposed with the solemn music made poor Huxley look like a sad circus performer from a Fellini film. 

Fancy Free was good, no real issues. Veteran Ulbricht was the star, followed by Gordon. Furlan was a little low-impact in his characterization although his rumba solo was very good. I know he has Russian-style training and there are times when I feel like he's still working on breaking out of the smooth, soft, classical mold. For me the ballet was missing... jazzy steam? Gordon and Woodward were fine in the pas de deux but both are such classical dancers (two of the company's finest!) and there was a lack of sultriness that I've seen with, say, Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle in the past. 

Also, nit-picky statement but what was with the hair (wig?) on Malorie Lundgren as the third girl? Looked like an '80s poodle perm. I looked her up on social media and that is not what her hair looks like.