(Bringing this from the Grove to the Glade: a luminous ballerina’s farewell. Kyra Nichols – above – photographed by Paul Kolnik.)
Friday June 22, 2007 – When it was announced several months ago that Kyra Nichols would be making her farewell appearance at New York City Ballet on June 22, 2007 it seemed like we had ample time. June 22? That’s weeks away. She’ll be dancing quite often during the season. The days flew by, ans suddenly it seemed we were literally rushing thru June. The 22nd? That’s next week. No, it’s this week. It’s tomorrow. It’s tonight. And then time caught up with us and we were sitting there waiting for SERENADE to begin.
Cry? No, I’m not going to cry. What’s there to cry about? She had a great and long career and she actually knew Mr. B; she’s retiring by choice rather than necessity. She has her children and she’ll be teaching. I’ve seen her dance hundreds of times and I have all the images stored neatly away, like flowers pressed in a beloved book. There’s a large and luminous roster of beautiful young women who will inherit Kyra’s roles and make them their own. The ballets will endure and we won’t forget her. Nothing to cry over – except knowing you will never again turn your opera glasses on Kyra and find that she is looking back at you with those radiant eyes…looking right thru you actually and into some distant source of inspiration, some little bit of heaven where Mr. B is calmly watching over her. That’s something to make you weep.
I found the cast page from the very first time I saw Kyra onstage. I would love to be able to say that I picked her out of the corps, singled her out as a future star. But of course she was just a name, another dancer at the start of her career. That’s always one of the intriguing aspects of watching NYC Ballet: you never know. You are sitting there now watching Briana Shepherd or Brittany Pollack and you just never know if one day you might be sitting in the same theatre watching them bid farewell as a beloved ballerina. It happens.
Wei and I were waiting for Tonya by the stage door and had the opportunity to meet the dancer we love to love, Faye Arthurs. She was so nice, stopping to talk to us before going in to put on her creamy gown for VIENNA WALTZES. Earlier Kristin Sloan came by; she was setting up to film the evening backstage…I can’t wait to see what she comes up with! We also greeted Yvonne Borree, Dena Abergel and Pauline Golbin as well as the much-missed Sarah Ricard. After they all went in I was kicking myself for not taking pictures of them.
Above, a beloved partnership: Kyra Nichols and Philip Neal
Kyra’s choice of repertoire for her farewell programme was inspired: SERENADE has always been one of her most moving ballets and she danced tonight with the trademark Nichols lyricism at full sail. I remember many seasons ago when a kind of skinny but very elegant young dancer named Philip Neal was tapped to become Kyra’s partner. They have always looked ideal together and had a wonderful rapport. Philip’s upper body developed while maintaining the graceful line and his partnering skills blossomed as they were frequently cast together; the Robbins IN G MAJOR was always one of my favorite Nichols/Neal ballets. Their partnership was beautifully showcased tonight in SERENADE and VIENNA WALTZES. Sara Mearns was heavenly and Ashley Bouder – her one tiny slip reminding us that the dancers are human – gave a remarkable performance on all counts. Ask La Cour’s tall and princely bearing was another asset; Megan LeCrone’s pirouettes so beautifully articulated. The four demi-solistes were a nice mixture of blondes and dark-haired beauties: Alina Dronova, Ashley Laracey, Georgina Pazcoguin and Rachel Piskin. Laracey really makes such a lovely impression onstage. I feel like writing a paragraph about each of the corps girls and believe me, I could do it.
DAVIDSBUNDLERTANZE reaches its apex with the solos for Kyra and Charles Askegard and their heart-breaking parting. Kyra’s tenderness and grace strove to fend off the inevitable; Charles is a potent dramatic dancer, so moving as he departed in a dream-like state. The excellent cast further included Ringer, Somogyi, Jared Angle, Nilas Martins and Philip Neal. Maria Kowroski was on thrilling form, her flashing turns and incandescent extension a constant source of amazement. Kyra’s final gesture of despair was so moving.
Kyra’s long solo that opens the ROSENKAVALIER waltz allowed us to savor this treasure of an interpretation one last time. Her last dance with Philip must have brought a flood of memories for both of them. Scanning the whirling couples I quickly found several favorite dancers: Dena with Craig Hall, Pauline with Rob Fairchild, Vincent Paradiso with Lauren King, Faye with Giovanni Villalobos and Kaitlyn with Will.
In the end it was a happy farewell; I did cry during the first two ballets but VIENNA WALTZES makes it almost impossible to feel blue. Kyra was tumultuously hailed in numerous bows and she was showered with flowers. She received bouquets and embraces from her frequent partners and basked in the enthusiastic and genuine applause of her colleagues. Her husband and two sons were on hand to share the flood of affection for the beloved ballerina.
Rather than feeling depressed I felt euphoric, and extremely grateful to have seen her dance so often over the years. She seemed happy; clearly the audience did not want to let her go.
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 
