Baand Together Dance Festival

[vipa]

Saw Baand Together last night at Lincoln Center, my first time. It was a lot of fun with a super enthusiastic audience. The couple of speeches at the start of the program were mercifully short!

NYCB was represented by Megan Fairchild & Huxley in Duo Concertant (they are alternating with Woodward/Stanley). Fairchild and Huxley have a connection/comfort level with each other on stage that is palpable and enjoyable. They looked great, and Fairchild seems ageless.

Alvin Ailey was next with Solo, by Hans van Manen. It was actually 3 dancers: Chalvar Monteiro, Vannick Lebrun, Patrick Coker. I really enjoyed this piece (music by Bach). All three dancers ate up space using their super secure technique, and danced with a wit that never turned cutesy. 

Ballet Hispanico performed Sombrerismo by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. The piece was enoyable and had a punchline! Lopez Ochoa is a name I hear a lot, but this was my first time seeing her work. I like the way she moves groups around, uses music and she seems to have an excellent dramatic sense. This was not a great work, but I'd like to seem more of her choreography. They dancers looked good and are very appealing.

ABT - Missledine/Forster (alternating with Park/Markey) did Night Falls, a pas de deux by Brady Farrar to Chopin, done for the ABT Studio Company. The choreography seemed random - this, that and the other - with an underlying dramatic tone. This is my second viewing of Missledine. She is totally beautiful technically and physically, but she's not an artist I find compelling. She deserves to be a principal, IMO, and will be useful to ABT in that capacity, but she has a ways to go artistically.

The evening closed with DTH in Forsythe's: Blake Works  IV (The Barre Project).The piece requires tremendous articulation, precision, musicality, and focus. Without those elements the music grows tedious (at least for me). In this case I found the performances uneven.

It was a fun night, and a joyful event. 

Edited August 1 by vipa

[stuben]

8 hours ago, vipa said:

ABT - Missledine/Forster (alternating with Park/Markey) did Night Falls, a pas de deux by Brady Farrar to Chopin, done for the ABT Studio Company. The choreography seemed random - this, that and the other - with an underlying dramatic tone. This is my second viewing of Missledine. She is totally beautiful technically and physically, but she's not an artist I find compelling. She deserves to be a principal, IMO, and will be useful to ABT in that capacity, but she has a ways to go artistically.

Saw her in Swan Lake and felt likewise, she definitely is technically solid and due to her long limbs her lines are nice, however for me, technique isn’t a whole ballerina, artistry is equally important. I thought every move was a photo opportunity, especially at one point during her white swan pas when it felt as if she was looking at the audience for acknowledgment, a pose if you will, that itself troubles me since I saw a stop motion performance vs a story. Her on stage promotion although great excitement for the company, in a lack luster season, was IMHO a bit premature. I just think she would benefit a bit more if she was given more time as a soloist, to gain her artistry experience vs giving us a mechanical doll.

[abatt]

She dances every role like she is at a YAGP gala.  Gorgeous body and strong technique, but lacking artistic insight and expression. Agree with the above.  Hopefully her work with Nina A.'s company in London will help her artistry.

[stuben]

2 hours ago, abatt said:

She dances every role like she is at a YAGP gala.  Gorgeous body and strong technique, but lacking artistic insight and expression. Agree with the above.  Hopefully her work with Nina A.'s company in London will help her artistry.

Which leads me to my point about promotions before they are ready, in this case IMHO she would have done will as a soloist with more training in this area, then be considered to be promoted as many we have seen in the past. I didn't know the principal rank can become a training ground.

I am sure many on BA may not agree but so many who have come and gone before had to "pay their dues", so this new opportunity seems questionable, then again that was another era under a different person. 

[matilda]

I've followed this forum for years and a frequent theme has come up again and again with regard to both ABT and NYCB: promotions taking too long, how long should dancers have to "pay their dues," why isn't X-dancer a principal by now, why isn't Y-dancer getting major roles, why isn't management nurturing younger dancers, why should the same old principals keep getting the same roles, etc. 

Now McKenzie and his epically slow promotion strategy are gone, and we have Susan Jaffe spicing things up by investing in young talents like Misseldine and Roxander. I think that's wonderful and a welcome change. And I respectfully disagree with the criticisms of Misseldine. Does she have room to grow? Of course. Was her Swan Lake last month worthy of principal status and arguably better than most (all?) other O/Os at ABT right now? 100%. 

[ABT Fan]

3 hours ago, matilda said:

I've followed this forum for years and a frequent theme has come up again and again with regard to both ABT and NYCB: promotions taking too long, how long should dancers have to "pay their dues," why isn't X-dancer a principal by now, why isn't Y-dancer getting major roles, why isn't management nurturing younger dancers, why should the same old principals keep getting the same roles, etc. 

Now McKenzie and his epically slow promotion strategy are gone, and we have Susan Jaffe spicing things up by investing in young talents like Misseldine and Roxander. I think that's wonderful and a welcome change. And I respectfully disagree with the criticisms of Misseldine. Does she have room to grow? Of course. Was her Swan Lake last month worthy of principal status and arguably better than most (all?) other O/Os at ABT right now? 100%. 

I agree with this completely. I found Misseldine’s O/O to be rich with nuance and expression, injecting certain elements I’ve not seen other dancers do. Her work in Onegin and last fall’s Ballet Imperial also demonstrated artistic strength. Room for lots of growth, absolutely. 

[BalanchineFan]

I really enjoyed BAAND last night. I saw Indiana Woodward and Taylor Stanley in Duo Concertante. They were great, well matched in terms of precision and delicacy. They made a lot of the couple moments without over doing it.

I liked Solo, but a man kept speaking behind me ( I think he may have been on the spectrum), I dropped my glasses, and I couldn't concentrate on the dancing as much as I would have liked.

The dancers from Ballet HIspanico looked great in Sombreroismo, but the piece itself is quite thin. It was a crowd pleaser, with the dancers displaying their technical bravura tricks amidst throwing the hats around. IS there a reason why there are hats? The hats don't even go with the rest of the costumes. And why was it so dark? Couldn't there have been a lit scrim upstage rather than a black curtain? I've seen other Lopez-Ochoa ballets and I'm glad she's developing as a choreographer, but I have yet to see something with depth and interest to it.

I thought those qualities, depth and interest, were very much present in the last two pieces on the program. Last night was Sunmi Park and Joseph Markey in Nightfalls to Chopin. Beautiful dancing and nuanced choreography. It explores a relationship and different kinds of partnering. There are a lot of swoony moments and you see the artistry, rather than people pulling out all their tricks and trying to outdo each other. My only complaint was that the piece is brief.

Blake Works by William Forsythe was the cherry on top for me! What a beautiful ballet, and such superlative dancing. Forsythe is head and shoulders above the other choreographers on this program, save Balanchine. Interesting musicality, interesting to see the way the barre upstage (once it is introduced in the second section) extends the movement but doesn't contain it. So many movement ideas developed in different ways! I particularly enjoyed the first woman (Lindsay Donnell? in a duet) and also Alexandra Hutchinson (who may be going by Alexandra Rene Jones according to the program. edit: No, Hutchinson just wasn't listed, but she did perform) and Ingrid Silva. I don't know all the DTH dancers well, those were just the people who stood out to me. Sharp, elegant, beautifully phrased, time stopping musicality, all present in the choreography and the performances. What a great night at the ballet!

Edit: My guess regarding live music is that either 1. both ABT and NYCB have musicians on staff who can easily (cheaply) step in for these short, smaller performances OR 2. they have rep that easily lends itself to live, solo or duet musical accompaniment. I think more companies could plan for that. Live music gives everything such a boost.

Edited August 6 by BalanchineFan

[deanofdance]

A few thoughts on last night’s performance:

1) Thank god for Duo Concertant!  I had brought a friend who is unfamiliar with dance and so glad he got to see a Balanchine ballet.  And how lovely and delightful and nuanced was Indiana — and the violinist Sean Lee played the piece more lyrically and smoothly than is typical (which has its pluses and minuses) —  and an observation about Taylor— who is such an incredible dancer — but I don’t find him a great partner — he comes across as asexual and lacking romantic ardor — so the ending of this perfect ballet is muted.

2) Alvin Ailey - can’t say much about the choreography — which did not seem to be connected to the music emotionally — and I was disappointed that there was not a violinist there to perform the music — the canned music lent a static quality to the performance — even though most of moves were very kinetic — but the dancers were committed and energetic.

3) Ballet Hispanico — wasn’t a fan of the bowler hat gimmick — so this dance was a bit of a yawn — though the dancers were engaging.  (By this time in the evening I was wondering why the evening was so heavy with testosterone — 9 male dancers vs 2 female dancers).

4) ABT — A five minute piece — by any measure, not a generous offering by ABT.   At least they had a pianist performing the music.  To me — a rather forgettable piece — and it appeared that Sunmi Park and Joseph Markey had an off-night or were under practiced — they didn’t quite seem comfortable with each other — which is a shame — as at 5 minutes, one hoped that they would have sparkled.

5) DTH — For me, the most disappointing and misguided piece of the evening — if only because of all the effort and energy that seemed to be invested into this piece that sort of goes nowhere and at times seems to regress.  I could go on and on — but the use of the barre and taking the women out of their toe shoes are (to me) mistakes and lessens the piece.  And I will end by saying — why is DTH showcasing new pieces choreographed by white men with music by white men (James Blake — how and why this musician’s music is being choreographed to is a head scratcher) — this piece premiered last year, 2023 — but it already seems dated and looks like it was made in 1983.  

As I said in the beginning — thank god for Duo Concertant!

Edited August 3 by deanofdance

[abatt]

  I saw the progam on Sat afternoon.  Duo is one of the least interesting Balanchine ballets in the rep.  Parts of it are mawkish.   I understand that they did it at BAAND because it has only two dancers and two musicians.  This got weak applause and I doubt anyone new to ballet in the audience would be motivated to see NYCB based on this work.   Also, I recall some great work in this by Hyltin and R. Fairchild.  I did not think that either Megan F. or Huxley gave a particularly memorable performance.

The ABT pas was very, very brief. It was fine, but  not memorable in any way.

The star of the show was Blake Work, in my opinion.  I've seen it before and was happy to see it again on Sat.

I haven't seen Solo in many years, but it was an enjoyable trifle. 

I did not particularly like piece from Ballet Hispanico.

Very happy that they moved this festival indoors for the sake of the audience and the dancers.  

Is there a union rule that prevents ABT and NYCB from using recorded music at this Festival?  Every other company used recorded music except for ABT and NYCB.

 

 

Edited August 5 by abatt