(Farewells at New York City Ballet are always special, and Sterling’s was one of the most memorable. I’ve saved this article from Oberon’s Grove…the performance took place in 2022.)
Above: Sterling Hyltin as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine’s NUTCRACKER
Author: Oberon
Sunday December December 4th, 2022 – Today we bade farewell to one of New York City Ballet‘s loveliest stars: Sterling Hyltin. A native of Texas, Sterling joined the Company in 2003, and four years later she attained the rank of Principal: such a rapid ascent!
Among the many ballets in which Sterling has moved and delighted me over the years are Balanchine’s APOLLO, BRAHMS-SCHOENBERG QUARTET, COPPELIA, DUO CONCERTANT, NUTCRACKER (she excelled both as Sugar Plum and Dewdrop), LIEBESLIEDER WATZES, MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (she was a perfect Hermia, and I wish she had done Titania!), RUBIES in JEWELS (where she scintillated, but could we not have had her in EMERALDS as well?), SCOTCH SYMPHONY, LA VALSE, and the Stravinsky “leotard” ballets.
In the Robbins repertoire, she was particularly luminous in AFTERNOON OF A FAUN, DANCES AT A GATHERING, OPUS 19/THE DREAMER, and IN THE NIGHT; and she displayed a gift for comedy in THE CONCERT. She danced the lead in the Peter Martins productions of SWAN LAKE and SLEEPING BEAUTY, and created the role of Juliet in the premiere of the Martins ROMEO & JULIET. Sterling has also danced in ballets by Wheeldon, Ratmansky, Millepied, and Justin Peck.
Here is a collection of images of Sterling in some of her most-admired roles; click on each photo to enlarge:
SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS, with Amar Ramasar; photo by Pau Kolnik
As Aurora in SLEEPING BEAUTY
RUBIES, with Gonzalo Garcia; photo by Paul Kolnik
As Odette in SWAN LAKE; photo by Paul Kolnik
In SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS, with Taylor Stanley; photo by Paul Kolnik
DUO CONCERTANT with Robbie Fairchild
In Robbins’ DANCES AT A GATHERING with Tyler Angle; photo by Erin Baiano
With Robbie Fairchild in STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO
With Gonzalo Garcia in Robbins’ OPUS 19/THE DREAMER
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It was as the Sugar Plum Fairy that Sterling made her farewell appearance today. Rarely does a dancer at NYC Ballet make her farewell dancing a complete role in a full-length ballet. But Sterling’s Sugar Plum is a role closely identified with her, and it made for a perfect way for her to take leave of the Company.
The performance got off to an exhilarating start with Andrew Litton’s fresh take on the overture; the layers of orchestral ‘voices’ were clearer than ever, and notably, the violas had a chance to shine. The curtain then rose on a performance in which only a very few of the dancers were familiar to me; this in contrast to the days when I was going to NYC Ballet often and knew every single person on the stage.
In the party scene, Mary Elizabeth Sell as a lovely Frau Stahlbaum and Sean Suozzi’s mercurial Drosselmeyer were the only people I recognized. When the guests had departed, from the pit came the ravishing sound of Kurt Nikkanen’s violin, playing the entr’acte as sweetly as he has done so many times for me thru the years. Bravo!
As the Battle of the Mice was won (and lost), a long stretch of my favorite music in the score commenced, the orchestra playing sumptuously as the Stahlbaum’s drawing room became a snowy landscape. Not a single Snowflake did I recognize, but I must here mention Titus Landegger’s elegant performance as the Nutcracker Prince: the noblest interpretation of the role since Austin Bachman’s.
During the intermission, I re-connected with some of my longtime ballet buddies, and then we returned to our seats to await Sterling Hyltin’s entrance. A thrilling roar of applause greeted the blonde beauty as she wafted onto the stage, the very epitome of grace. The Sugar Plum Fairy’s solo could be considered Sterling’s signature piece: her musicality and nuanced delivery of every step seem to define the word “ballerina”.
In the various dances that follow, I was again reminded of how out of touch I am with the current roster of dancers: only Gil Bolden III (Mother Ginger), Harrison Coll – a fantastic Candy Cane – and Indiana Woodward as a scintillating Dewdrop were was familiar to me.
Leading off with Hot Chocolate were the lively pairing of Jacqueline Bologna and Victor Abreu; Mr. Abreu was stepping into role this evening, and he made a handsome cavalier. Alexa Maxwell was a lithe and sultry Arabian seductress, Sebastian Villarini-Velez a spirited Tea, and Olivia MacKinnon a charming Marzipan. Mr. Bolden’s Mother Ginger was a hit, followed by a Waltz of the Flowers in which not a single flower was known to me.
Now Sterling and her cavalier, Andrew Veyette, took the stage for the pas de deux; the entire audience seemed to be holding its collective breath as we watched Sterling in this iconic adagio for the last time. Her two dazzling flights to Andrew’s shoulder drew delighted screams from the packed house, and she polished off her triumph with a perfect balance. The couple then swept on to the allegro, brilliantly executed, finishing to a torrent of applause and bravos.
After the normal curtain calls, Sterling appeared onstage alone. The crowd went wild, of course, and then she rushed to the side of the stage and slipped off to greet Peter Martins, who was seated near the front of the orchestra section.. Clambering back onto the stage, Sterling greeted colleagues and friends, one by one or in small groups, as the applause rolled on. She seemed to take her time with each person; among the parade were the much-loved Maria Kowroski and Robbie Fairchild, and the recently-retired Gonzalo Garcia. At last, Sterling’s husband and tiny, adorable daughter came on.
Sterling then took her final bows – we did not want to let her go! – and then made a lovely farewell manège, finishing off with her trademark grand jeté. The house exploded in another round of cheers.
A few years ago, the morning after Sterling had danced one of her many Sugar Plums, she posted a charming story on Facebook. She has just made her entrance and was about to move downstage when one of the petite angels looked up at her and said, “You are so beautiful!”
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 