Author: Philip Gardner

Saturday July 31, 2010 – Kokyat and I went to MoMA for the Matisse exhibit entitled Radical Invention 1913 – 1917. Above photo, Matisse in 1913. The exhibit runs thru October 11th.

The exhibition may be viewed with time-specific tickets but since Kokyat’s a MoMA member we simply breezed in. One can photograph in most galleries of the museum but not in special exhibits – but no matter: most of these Matisse works can be found in books and on-line. Of course it is wonderful to see them up close, full-scale and beautifully displayed.

LA DANSE (1909), probably Matisse’s best-known work, is part of MoMA‘s permanent collection..

…as is his LARGE SEATED NUDE (1925-1929).

I was delighted to find Fernand Leger’s BIG JULIE (1945). Leger was a friend of the Murphys and developed a special rapport with their son Patrick when the youth was fighting his losing battle against tuberculosis.

Among other works that caught my eye today were Ellsworth Kelly’s 1959 RUNNING WHITE (above)…

…Roger de la Fresnaye’s colour-rich CONQUEST OF THE AIR (1913)…

…and I SEE AGAIN IN MEMORY MY DEAR UDNIE by Francis Picabia (1914).

Wilhelm Lembruck’s STANDING YOUTH dates from 1913 (above and immediately below).

While I was snapping away with my little Lumix, Kokyat was creating beautiful images with his Leica. I hope he will post some of them on Red Dot.

And…he did.

New York City Ballet’s Robert Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz rompin’ and stompin’ in the streets of Vail, Colorado as the Vail International Dance Festival opens. Caitlin Kakigi’s photos from Facebook.

Choreographer Larry Keigwin kicks it…

…along with the Festival’s director, Damian Woetzel. 

Tiler Peck of NYCB leads a group of local kids.

Convergence: some of my favorite dancers will all be at Vail at the same time when the NYCBers, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Paul Taylor Dance Company perform on successive nights. Amy, Aileen and Francisco, meet Tiler and Rob…and Carla, Sarah, Seth and William. I hope everyone has their cameras with them.

BeijingDance give the Festival an Asian touch.

Sydney Skybetter’s THE PERSONAL is a set of four solos danced to lieder of Schubert and Schumann using recordings of the late, lamented tenor Fritz Wunderlich. Rather than having them danced in succession, Sydney has interpolated the solos between ensemble works. Similar in style, each solo derives its unique character from the beauty and expressiveness of the individual dancer. The first solo is danced by Sydney himself (above and below).

Kristen Arnold (above)

Kristen

Kokyat’s different take on Kristen’s solo.

The newest solo of THE PERSONAL was created for Gary Schaufeld.

Gary dancing as the light began to stream into the studio.

Gary’s solo utilizes more space than the other solos in THE PERSONAL where the dancers basically remain on their mark throughout their dance.

Bergen Wheeler’s solo will be the closing work on Skybetter’s programme at Jacob’s Pillow.

At the rehearsal we attended, the reflected evening sun cast a direct beam on Bergen as she moved thru her solo. Kokyat produced a series of illuminated portraits of the dancer:

Bergen Wheeler in THE PERSONAL.

Throughout the rehearsal I was so moved and impressed by Skybetter’s dancers – even though by now I should be accustomed to what they can do – and by the poetic quality of Sky’s choreography.

skybetter & associates will be at the DanceNOW festival on September 8th.

All photos by Kokyat.

Sean Stewart of ABT is performing with John-Mark Owen’s troupe at Jacob’s Pillow on July 30th. Kokyat photographed Sean at John-Mark’s rehearsal a week before the performance. Click on the above image to enlarge.

More photos from this rehearsal here.

Monday July 26, 2010 – Sydney Skybetter and his dancers will be performing at Jacob’s Pillow on July 28th; this evening Kokyat and I went down to the studio at Tisch to watch them run their programme. You can read about their Pillow repertoire here. The dancers are Kristen Arnold, Bergen Wheeler, Jennifer Jones, Gary Schaufeld and Sidney Skybetter; Bergen and Kristen in the top photo.

Here is a gallery of Kokyat’s images from this rehearsal:

Sydney Skybetter and Kristen Arnold

Sky and Kristen

Sky and Kristen

Gary and Jennifer

Bergen, Jennifer and Gary

Bergen and Jennifer

Sky and Bergen.

Skybetter’s dancers have the quiet intensity that I love; his musical choices are inspired and inspiring. It is always a pleasure to be in the studio when Sidney and his associates are working.

Interspersed thru the programme are the four solos which comprise THE PERSONAL. Photos from these solos will be forthcoming.

All images by Kokyat, with my thanks to him as always.

Images by Christopher Duggan, a Festival
photographer for
Jacob’s Pillow, are on view in a  solo exhibit at Dance New
Amsterdam in New York City from June 23rd through August 11th.  Duggan has been a primary photographer of Jacob’s
Pillow Dance Festival for five seasons.  Each summer, Jacob’s Pillow presents more than 50 outstanding
dance
companies from all over the world, and 200 free talks, performances, and
exhibits. Above: Christopher’s photo of Yaa Samar Dance Theater on the Inside/Out Stage.

Christopher Duggan is the
founder and owner of New York City-based Threshold Visions and he has photographed a multitude of acclaimed dance companies,
including The Paul Taylor Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theater,
Keigwin + Co, and Lar Lubovitch Dance Company.  His dance photographs
have
appeared in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Financial
Times,
and Dance Magazine.

Kokyat and I spent some time at the sky-lighted gallery today (June 25th). Looking at the photographs brought back vivid memories of the many days I spent at the Pillow during the 22 years that I lived in Hartford. It’s a place that all people who love dance should visit at least once in their lifetime.

Mr. Duggan’s collection ranges from formal to candid, from performance to rehearsal to photos that simply catch the atmosphere of this unique venue.

Among the dancers photographed, I especially liked this picture of Miguel Anaya. I wanted to snap it (above) resulting in a reflective image. Another beautiful picture shows a ballerina in full Swan Queen regalia poised on her pointes, looking out on the expanse of the Berkshires. The photos taken inside the Jacob’s Pillow studios are especially atmospheric.

Dance New Amsterdam in located at 280 Broadway. Gallery hours are 9am-10pm, Monday–Sunday. Admission is free.  Call
212.227.9856 or go to the Dance New Amsterdam website for more information.

After our gallery visit we went up to have supper at Rice on Elizabeth Street. My friend Art introduced me to this place last week and I liked the food and the uncluttered atmosphere a lot.

Kokyat does not like to be photographed…

…but I don’t mind.

Walking back to the train, I noticed this picture at a flea market. It looks terribly familiar but I can’t place where I have seen it before.

UPDATE on the painting: Kokyat found the details for me.

Sunday April 27, 2010 – Darci Kistler, the last ballerina to be personally anointed by George Balanchine, bade farewell to the stage at New York City Ballet today dancing Balanchine and Martins. The image of Darci above is by Annie Leibovitz. 

 

Icon: the famous photo of Darci costumed as Odette in Central Park. 

 

Darci in VIENNA WALTZES, photographed by Paul Kolnik.

Wendy Whelan, Julio Bocca and Darci in Peter Martins’ TODO BUENOS AIRES. Peter created several ballets especially for Darci over the years, my favorites being BACH CONCERTO V, BURLESKE, MORGEN…

…TALA GAISMA (above with Jared Angle, photo by Kolnik)…

…and OCTET (above with Stephen Hanna, photo by Kolnik.

For her final performance with the Company, Darci danced Balanchine’s MONUMENTUM/MOVEMENTS, a duet from MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM and the final scene of the Peter Martins SWAN LAKE. I’m afraid my concentration was repeatedly broken today by the woman sitting next to me who wrote continuously in her notebook all afternoon. It’s so distracting to have this happening in your field of vision, especially when you are trying to watch and hold onto the memory of one of the great ballerinas of our time and knowing you’ll never see her dance again. People are so thoughtless.

But, Darci did dance beautifully all afternoon. She was partnered by Charles Askegard and Sebastien Marcovici in the Stravinsky, and Henry Seth made a really endearing Bottom in the DREAM duet – and he was also endearingly gallant to his ballerina during their bows. Henry also appeared as a superb Rothbart in the SWAN LAKE scene, and Jared Angle was the Prince, doomed to despair. Darci’s Odette was full of dramatic detail and especially poignant in her final leave-taking. She also left us with lovely images of herself in the poses of the many lifts. Earlier, she relished the romantic humour of the Titania scene, always one of her finest roles.

Also on the programme was DANSES CONCERTANTES danced with wit and polish by Megan Fairchild and Andrew Veyette. Among the dozen excellent corps dancers (they are more like soloists, really), Marika Anderson stepped into the ‘purple pas de trois‘ and looked super, as she had earlier in MOVEMENTS. We have so many lovely people in our Company…

There was an enormous tribute to Darci (Paul Kolnik photo, above) at the end with several of her recent cavaliers – and a couple former ones (Jock Soto and Robert LaFosse) – presenting flowers, followed by the other principal ballerinas. Two tiny students from Darci’s classes at SAB were among those honoring her, and the entire Company joined in the tribute as sparkling confetti fell. Darci’s mom and brothers were onstage and of course her husband and her daughter whom Darci embraced many times. Leigh Witchel writes about the afternoon here.

Among the vast crowd I was very happy to find and catch up with Melissa Barak (who will be dancing with Morphoses this Autumn) and to see Dana Hanson again, visiting from Seattle where she teaches at PNB. The whole afternoon was very much a NYCB-family affair; I felt happy to be part of it as a distant, non-dancing cousin.  

With this grand send-off for the last of the Balanchine ballerinas, we have come not just to the end of the season but truly to the end of an era. Of course there are still many direct links to Mr. B among the people working at New York City Ballet and at SAB but with the departure of the last stage-active ‘Balanchine’ dancer there is a real sense of turning the page. In addition to Darci, the recent retirements of Yvonne Borree, Philip Neal, Albert Evans and Maestro Maurice Kaplow will deprive us of the presence of these people we’ve seen (or heard from, in the Maestro’s case) so frequently over the years.

There are also reports that two other dancers – soloist Jason Fowler and corps ballerina Glenn Keenan – have completed their careers at New York City Ballet. Jason in recent seasons made an especially vivid impression in Bigonzetti’s IN VENTO and OLTREMARE; he was one of the few male dancers in the Company tall enough to partner any of the women. Glenn Keenan’s lyricism and her beautiful smile will be missed.

In the face of these departures it is reassuring to look at the dancers who will take us beyond this crossroad in the Company’s ongoing dance-journey and to see so many technically accomplished and personally intriguing individuals at every level ready to lead us into the future. It’s a sad time, but also a time that is full of promise. 

These photographs from Darci Kistler’s farewell gala at New York City Ballet are by Paul Kolnik. Above: Darci with Jared Angle in SWAN LAKE (Act IV of the Peter Martins production).

From Balanchine’s MONUMENTUM PRO GESUALDO: Darci with her partner Charles Askegard are the central couple. Click on the image to enlarge.

Darci and Charles Askegard in MONUMENTUM.

Darci and Sebastien Marcovici in MOVEMENTS.

Ovation: Darci’s family and members of the Company applaud the ballerina at her final curtain calls. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Acknowledging the applause of the packed house.

Scroll down to the next blog entry for more about this performance.

A series of Kokyat’s images from Lydia Johnson’s as-yet-untitled Bach work which premiered at Ailey Citigroup on June 24th, performed by Lydia Johnson Dance.  Above: Jesse Marks.

Click on the images to enhance.

Kerry Shea and Eric Vlach; Laura DiOrio and James Hernandez.

James Hernandez and Laura DiOrio.

Ensemble

Robert Robinson and Jesse Marks

Jesse and Robert

Robert and Jesse. Rehearsal photos of their duet here.

Lydia’s dancers bowing after the premiere: Robert Robinson, Jesse Marks, Kerry Shea, Eric Vlach, Jessica Sand, Lisa Iannacito, James Hernandez and Laura DiOrio. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Finale of Lydia Johnson Dance’s programme at Ailey Citigroup: DREAM SEQUENCE set to songs sung by Dean Martin. Photos by Kokyat. Above: Jessica Sand, Erica Schweer and Lisa Iannacito with John-Mark Owen in the background. Click on images to enhance.

Erica Schweer

Eric Vlach and Jessica Sand

Lisa Iannacito and Josh Kurtzberg.

Kerry Shea and John-Mark Owen

Jesse Marks (center)

Jesse Marks (center) with Jessica, Kerry, Erica, Laura, Lisa and Laura Barbee.

Eric Vlach, Jessica Sand, James Hernandez, Laura Barbee

Jesse Marks and Erica Schweer.

Lydia’s dancers take a bow; click on the image to enlarge.

Photography by Kokyat. Check out this Facebook group!