NYCB at SPAC July 9-13, 2024

[FPF]

It looks like they are just doing those divertissements, not even all of Act III.

[KikiRVA]

1 minute ago, matilda said:

It looks like they're only showing the four Coppélia wedding soloists, so no Swanilda and Franz. Doesn't the Waltz include a corps of children though? 

I get it now.  Yes, they did local auditions for the kids a few months ago.

[NinaFan]

1 hour ago, Fernie M said:

I have a question, I have not seen “Gustave Le Grey no 1” in person. I did watch a live stream of this piece, danced by the SPAC cast a week and a half ago in honor of Pam Tanowitz at Jacobs Pillow. She was receiving an award. I am wondering if there’s some thing lost in translation by not seeing it live? No doubt Tanowitz is a talented choreographer, I just don’t “feel” this piece. Anyone else have similar thoughts? Do I need to see it live in order to understand and appreciate it?

 

No, I don't think you missed anything by not seeing it in person. To me it was 12 minutes of tedium. And how did they even manage to dance in those awful costumes?

[matilda]

Gustave Le Grey is my second least favorite NYCB work of recent memory after Playtime, if that means anything. 

[Kathleen O'Connell]

3 hours ago, Fernie M said:

Do I need to see it live in order to understand and appreciate it?

 There's a direct through line from Merce Cunningham to Pam Tanowitz. If you like Cunningham, chances are you'll find much in her work to like as well. Cunningham is among my favorite choreographers, and I do enjoy watching how Tanowitz mines that tradition in her own choreography. I happen to like Gustave Le Gray, but I'm not sure seeing it live will change your appreciation of it if that flavor of dance isn't something that appeals to you generally

ETA: Gustave Le Gray the person was one of the premiere French photographers of the 1850's. You can see examples of his work and read more about him here.

Edited July 2 by Kathleen O'Connell

[FPF]

Promo code STARS is good through July 5 for 20% off of the July 12 evening performance.

[FPF]

Photos of NYCB unpacking at SPAC (gift article): 

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/photos-nyc-ballet-readies-spac-residency-19561058.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGltZXN1bmlvbi5jb20vbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlL3Bob3Rvcy1ueWMtYmFsbGV0LXJlYWRpZXMtc3BhYy1yZXNpZGVuY3ktMTk1NjEwNTgucGhw&time=MTcyMDQ3Njc2Mjg3Mg%3D%3D&rid=ZDQ1MGMyNjAtYTFiZi00ZGYzLWJmMzItOTAwODIwNGFhYTI1&sharecount=MA%3D%3D

[FPF]

I was at the Jewels matinee this afternoon. It was a lovely performance. The person sitting next to me introduced herself as Emilie Gerrity's mother, and we had very nice conversations before the performance and during the intermissions--she gave me the inside scoop on some of the dancers and pointed out Takahashi, who sat down in empty seats right in front of us..

Emilie was one of the dancers in the Emeralds (the one with the walking pas de deux--with Peter Walker), and she was especially lovely--it was as good a performance of that role as I've seen. Emeralds also featured Indiana Woodward with Tyler Angle, and David Gabriel with Sara Adams and Alexa Maxwell.

Rubies was fantastic today, in addition to Emma von Enck and Anthony Huxley, we saw Mira Nadon in place of Emily Kikta. I hope Emily is okay, but I haven't seen much of Mira before, so I was very happy with this substitution. She definitely lived up to expectations--riveting, charismatic. I also really enjoyed Emma and Anthony--I think she loosens him up a bit. He's usually very serious but looked like he was having fun this afternoon.

Last was Diamonds with Unity Phelan and Joseph Gordon in a beautiful performance. Great work from the corps, too.

I was also happy to see that Jay Rogoff, a local reviewer, called out one of my major peeves (and I do have others) with recent SPAC programming https://www.wamc.org/arts-culture/2024-07-10/nycb-opens-with-tasty-hors-doeuvres-the-feast-must-wait:

"The evening’s one sour note had nothing to do with the glory of NYCB. The On and Off Stage program began in 2021 as a clever way of returning NYCB to SPAC during the pandemic by enlisting a skeleton crew of dancers and musicians for a selection of short works and excerpts. That strategy worked wonderfully when the alternative was no ballet at all.

But now that On and Off Stage has continued for four years, it has run its course and is in danger of becoming a first-night tradition. The company’s SPAC residency in the twenty-first century has shrunk from three weeks, to two, to one, with only seven performances. It seems unfair to dance audiences to turn one of those performances essentially into a lecture-demo, no matter how entertaining, when instead we could be treated to a third evening of Jewels or mixed repertory. Excerpts can educate, but only complete ballets can communicate what this wonderful art is all about, and SPAC needs to trust that audiences, as Yogi Berra once said, “can observe a lot by looking.” New York City Ballet’s opening night at SPAC should return to bringing complete ballets from its superlative repertory—then SPAC will have a better chance of filling the house on opening night."

Amen! 

I will be going back on Saturday afternoon for the Swan Lake/Stars and Stripes program.

[FPF]

I forgot to mention that there is also a small exhibit on Coppelia, in honor of its 50th anniversary, in the Hall of Springs. There were a number of photographs, the opening night program, and some costumes. The big surprise was seeing that the original children's and soloist's costumes for the Waltz of the Golden Hours were gold--they were apparently very quickly replaced with the pink we see today.

Edited July 12 by FPF
typo

[Helene]

It sounds like a delightful performance.

The Coppelia exhibit must bring back memories for Megan Fairchild, who did all four performance of Swanhilde in a single weekend one year at SPAC.

[FPF]

Megan is sadly not in Saratoga to see the exhibit--the whole company no longer comes up for the super-short season.  I looked back through the archives and Megan's Coppelia sweep was in 2003, just days before I moved to the area. I started coming to SPAC in 2004.

[FPF]

I had another nice afternoon at the ballet today, despite the heat. There were a lot of substitutions in the casting, not sure if I got them all correct.

First up was Swan Lake.  I used to always sit in the balcony, but the past few years, I've been sitting downstairs (Section 8), which is my favorite downstairs location. Swan Lake looks very different from the lower level, and I think I prefer the upstairs. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this performance, which featured Isabella LaFreniere and Andrew Veyette in the leads. This is my favorite Swan Lake (heresy, I know). In the twilight of his career, Veyette is dancing very well, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to see him again before his retirement. LaFreniere's performance seemed a bit calculated to me at first, but either she warmed up or I warmed up to her, and I ended up finding her performance quite moving. The pas de neuf was led by Megan LeCrone, who was lovely today. I was surprised that Emma von Enck was substituting for Ashley Hod in the Valse Bluette--I don't think in all my years of seeing NYCB performances that I've ever seen a principal in that role, but as I mentioned earlier, the whole company doesn't come up any more so there may be limited options. She was great, as usual, but it's too bad that a corp member or soloist didn't get the opportunity, which is what would have happened in earlier years.

After the intermission, we next had The Steadfast Tin Soldier, with Erica Pereira and Daniel Ulbricht. Ulbricht is, as always, wonderful--it's like time has stopped for him. This is also a good role for Pereira. 

The excerpts from Coppelia were next. There was no set or backdrop, and I missed them--seeing these dances performed against the plain blue cyclorama made me realize how the sets and changes in lighting really contribute to the overall effect. And I also would have preferred the full ballet or at least all of Act III. It seems odd to me to celebrate the ballet's 50th anniversary (it premiered at SPAC in 1974) but not perform the full ballet. The last time it was scheduled, at least one performance was cancelled due to excessive heat, so it's really been quite a while since I've seen it in its entirety. That being said, all of the dancers (including all those little girls) did well. Baily Jones led the Waltz of the Golden Hours, Mary Thomas McKinnon was Dawn, Miriam Miller was Prayer, and Olivia MacKinnon was Spinner. For me, Miller was the standout, and from her performances at SPAC, I wonder that she doesn't really seem to be progressing. I find her to be a very elegant and beautiful dancer. But I also really liked both MacKinnons.

Stars and Stripes was last. The campaigns were led by Alston MacGill, Olivia MacKinnon ( for Emily Kikta), and KJ Takahashi--he really brought the house down. Mira Nadon was Liberty Bell and Peter Walker (replacing Roman Mejia) was El Capitan. I would not have thought Walker to be a natural for the role in terms of his stage persona, but I he seemed to really respond to the audience's enthusiasm with the requisite panache. Nadon was wonderful. I don't recall seeing a tall Liberty Bell before, but no complaints here. It's great to see someone new taking on the role, especially someone with her artistry and charisma--she definitely has star quality. At this point, I would be interested in seeing her in pretty much anything. 

[Helene]

If the full length Swan Lake or nothing is my choice, the Kent Stowell out here is more than fine, but the Balanchine Act II is my favorite Swan Lake, too.

[cobweb]

Thanks for the detailed reports on SPAC, @FPF! Much appreciated. I too love Nadon as Liberty Bell, a role I never would have thought of her in but once I saw it seemed like a brilliant choice. (Of course, I might think the same about her in virtually any role...) As for Miriam Miller, I haven't always been the biggest fan, but recently she has pretty consistently seemed spectacular. Like Emily Kikta, it would seem that her height might be a barrier to being promoted. 

[FPF]

In the 2021 SPAC season, NYCB did excerpts of various ballets with just a piano because of covid restrictions, and Miller did the Diamonds pas de deux (I think with Tyler Angle). It was the highlight of that season for me and the local reviewers also particularly praised her performance. So it's been a surprise to me that after that success, she hasn't been given the opportunity to do the full role.