Category: Ballet

Noseda|Yuja Wang|London Symphony

Friday October 28th, 2016 – Gianandrea Noseda (above) conducting the London Symphony at Geffen Hall, with works by Wagner and Shostakovich book-ending a performance of the Ravel G-major piano concerto by Yuja Wang. The concert was part of the Lincoln Center Great Performers series.

The evening began with the orchestra making an “entrance”. This pretentious ritual should be abandoned, and tonight’s audience weren’t buying it: there was about 5 seconds of applause and then the majority of the players had to find their places in silence. It was all mildly embarrassing. After the intermission, they tried it again and, after a smattering of hand-claps, silence again prevailed.

I’m so accustomed to hearing the overture to DIE MEISTERSINGER played from the Metropolitan Opera House’s pit that the massed sound of The London players onstage at Geffen tonight came as a jolt. To me, Gianandrea Noseda’s choice of pacing in the opening theme seemed too slow. The sound was very dense and I missed the layering of voices that can make this music so fascinating. The playing was marvelous, and the impression grandiose, but much of the time it seemed like sonic over-kill: exciting in its own way, but not finding an emotional center.

Above: Yuja Wang

I love a well-contrasted program, but following the Wagner overture with Ravel’s charmingly jazzy and often delicate G-major piano concerto – an idea that seemed ideal on paper – didn’t quite come off. The Ravel, dazzlingly played by Yuja Wang, seemed oddly inconsequential – for all its delights.

Commencing in the ‘toy piano’ register, the opening Allegramente proceeds thru varying moods – from magically mystery to bluesy languor – with the piano line woven among gentle coloristic passages from the winds and harp. In the Adagio, introspective yet subtly passionate, we’re reminded of the beautiful ‘beach’ pas de deux that Jerome Robbins created for his ballet “In G Major“. Boisterous interjections from wind instruments attempt to jar the pianist from her mission in the concluding Allegro assai, but the music rushes onward to a final exclamation point.

Yuja Wang performed the concerto superbly, making a particularly lovely impression with the extraordinary delicacy of her playing in the Adagio. In the animation of the finale, she blazed away with marvelous energy, causing the audience to explode in cheers and tumultuous applause at her final jubilant gesture. Ms. Wang is a musician who brings a rock-star’s pizazz to classical music; but far from being just a stage-crafty icon, she has the technique and artistry to stand with the best of today’s pianists.

This evening, Yuja Wang played three encores. This delighted the crowd, but in the midst of a symphonic concert, one encore suffices…or two, at a stretch; in a solo recital, you can keep encoring til the wee hours, as Marilyn Horne did at Salzburg in 1984. Ms. Wang’s third recall brought her most intriguing playing of the evening an: arrangement of Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade which was hypnotic in its restlessness and its melodious mood of quiet desperation.

Is Shostakovich’s fifth symphony the greatest symphony ever written? It certainly seemed that way tonight, and though one wonders what the composer might have written had he not been in need of paying penance to Stalin following the dictator’s displeasure with LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK, the result of Shostakovich’s desire to please under threatening circumstances resulted in this titanic masterpiece.

Maestro Noseda and The London players served up this astounding music in a performance that was thrilling from first note to last. Commencing with solo clarinet and moving on to a passage with piano and deep brass, the opening Moderato becomes extremely noisy..and then subsides. The pairing of flute and horn is a stroke of genius, with the clarinet and high violin picking up the melodic thread. The misterioso flute casts a spell.

In the Allegretto, solo winds pop up before Shostakovich commences a waltz. Irony and wit hover overall, with featured passages for a procession of instruments: violin, flute, trumpet, a bassoon duo. Plucking strings bring a fresh texture.

The dolorous opening of the Largo dispels any thoughts of lightness that the Allegretto might have stirred up. In this third movement, the brass do not play at all. Weeping strings, and the mingling of harp and flute lead to a rising sense of passion coloured by desolation. This evolves into a theme for oboe and violins. A lonely clarinet and a forlorn flute speak to us before a grand build-up commences with the strings in unison really digging into it. The music wafts into a high haze of despair, the harp trying to console. Just as the whispering final phrase was vanishing into thin air, someone’s device made an annoying intrusion: another great musical moment smudged by thoughtlessness.

The fourth movement, with its driven sense of propulsive grandeur, is thought to have marked Shostakovich’s triumph over the woes besetting him; but it has also been described as “forced rejoicing”. Whichever may be the case, the glorious horn theme, the aching strings, and the slow build-up to the epic finish certainly raised the spirits tonight. The cymbalist’s exuberant clashes at the end took on a celebratory feel.

It was reported that, at this symphony’s 1937 premiere, members of the audience began to weep openly during the Largo. Today, some 80 years on, there is still much to weep over in the world: religious and political forces continue to divide mankind; our planet is slowly being ravaged; racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, and casual violence pervade the headlines daily. As we seem to slip deeper and deeper into some terrible abyss, it is in music, art, poetry, dance, and great literature that we may seek consolation. Tonight, the Shostakovich felt like an affirmation of faith in humanity, and we must cling to that against all odds.

October 28, 2016
Batiashvili|Tchaikovsky|NY Philharmonic

Saturday September 24th, 2016 – Lisa Batiashvili‘s appearances with The New York Philharmonic are always red-letter events; the mutual admiration society that the luminous violinist has formed with Maestro Alan Gilbert invariably results in something very special, and tonight their entente cordiale produced a magnificent rendering of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto.

When I arrived at Geffen Hall, the atmosphere was already abuzz: “Sold Out” signs were just being posted, and a long line of music-lovers hoping for returns was forming. A packed house always creates its own sense of excitement, and when the ever-elegant Ms. Batiashvili strode onto the stage in a stunning black gown with a bejeweled bodice, the welcome was wonderfully warm. Forty minutes later, the violinist was basking in an epic full-house ovation.

It was another female violinist, Maud Powell, who helped popularize the Tchaikovsky concerto – a concerto at first thought by some to be unplayable. Ms. Powell played the New York premiere of the piece in 1889 with the New York Symphony (which merged with the Philharmonic in 1928); tonight, Lisa Batiashvili carried the banner to new heights.

In the concerto’s opening movement, Ms. Batiashvili combined passionate lyricism with subtle turns of phrase; her coloratura was fleet and fluent, her shaping of phrases so innately appealing. When Alan Gilbert’s full orchestra entered for the big tutti passage, visions of the grandeur of the Romanov court were evoked. Ms. Batiashvili’s cadenza sounded a bit modern (“…to old-fashioned ears…”, as Mrs. Manson Mingott would say) and her playing of it most impressive: superb control of dynamics and a stunningly sustained double trill which led to a poignant restoration of melody. After treating us to some sizzling fireworks, the violinist sailed graciously into an affecting theme before ascending to some very delicate high-register passages and thence to the movement’s final flourishes.

Playing with a melancholy pianissimo, Ms. Batiashvili created a very poetic atmosphere of sadness as the Canzonetta/Andante began. Her tone became incredibly soft, with a lovely sheen to it, while the audience held their collective breath to savour every moment of it.

There’s a direct path into the concerto’s finale, which commences with an intense invitation to the dance, followed by a playful second theme. Relishing these shifts of mood, Ms. Batiashvili sounded gorgeous in a deep-lyric interlude and brilliant in some decorative filigree that followed. On to the final sprint, where the fiery glow of the violinist’s passionate playing swept all before her, igniting an ovation and delighted cries of “Brava!” as the entire audience rose to acknowledge Ms. Batiashvili’s truly thrilling performance.

Lisa was called out for a solo bow – huge din of cheers and thunderous applause – then returned again with Maestro Gilbert, who signaled the wind soloists (who had made such distinctive impressions in the final movement) to rise. The mutual affection of violinist and conductor was movingly evidenced as they embraced and walked off together. But still the ovation would not subside, and the radiant soloist re-appeared for another solo bow, with her onstage colleagues joining the tribute and the audience getting gleefully boisterous.

During the course of the concerto, the marvelous rapport between Ms. Batiashvili and Maestro Gilbert was as endearing to the eye as their playing to the ear: as the music wove its spell, they seemed engaged in a pas de deux which swayed on the ebb and flow of Tchaikovsky’s balletic score. Bravi!!

Enjoy a bit of Lisa’s playing here.

September 24, 2016
American Classical Orchestra @ Alice Tully Hall

Above: Thomas Crawford leading the American Classical Orchestra; image from William Neumann Photography

Thursday September 22nd, 2016 – The opportunity to hear two favorite works on a single evening drew me to this concert by the American Classical Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall: Mendelssohn’s “Scotch” Symphony, which every ballet-lover knows by heart, and the marvelous song cycle Les Nuits d’été of Hector Berlioz. The pleasure of hearing a ‘new’ voice in the Berlioz, and a natural curiosity about the evening’s third work – Cipriani Potter’s tenth symphony – made the program sound very inviting.

Thomas Crawford, the ACO’s founder and artistic director, greeted us with charming and genuinely humorous remarks: the orchestra’s celebrating their 32nd season. There are some very fine musicians in the ensemble, among them Myron Lutzke, who did some especially lovely playing in the solo passages for cello.

I must confess that I am not really a ‘period instruments’ person, and that one or two concerts per season in that genre are more than sufficient for me. The flip side of the coin is that so much of the repertory is really appealing; however, I invariably find myself put off by what so frequently sounds to me like out-of-tune playing that my enjoyment is compromised. Tonight this problem was not as annoying as is sometimes the case, though there were some jarring moments along the way.

The mystery of Cipriani Potter was cleared up tonight. An Englishman who lived a long life (1792-1871), Potter spent 16 months in Vienna (1817-1818) where he met Beethoven. Back in London, Potter enjoyed a notable career as a pianist, giving the British premieres of three of the Beethoven concertos. He composed ten symphonies, nine of which survive. Tonight we heard the tenth, which may actually have been the sixth one to be written.

Cipriani Potter’s 10th symphony is perfectly pleasant but – in the end – not very distinctive music. Attractively played by the ACO tonight under Maestro Crawford’s baton, the symphony provided no revelations and simply flowed along on its well-crafted trajectory. Overall, it put me in mind of such ‘pleasant’ works as the Beethoven ‘Pastoral‘, which I try to avoid. Tonight’s performance was not helped by a late seating after the first movement, which broke my concentration.

The slender and very attractive young mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau then appeared for the Berlioz. In his opening remarks, Maestro Crawford had spoken of his impression that this singer should be considered a contralto rather than a mezzo; how right he is! It’s a distinctive voice with a warm and very cordial lower range, and her singing of the Berlioz clearly impressed her existing admirers and won her many new ones.

It took a moment or two for things to settle in: the opening ‘Villanelle‘ found the singer’s her upper notes not entirely steady; this, combined with some vague tuning among the players, made me wonder if I was going to derive full pleasure from these beloved songs tonight. But a few measures into the gorgeous ‘Spectre de la Rose‘, everything came together for the singer and her voice positively blossomed, covering the wide range with confident beauty of tone and expression. I was a bit surprised when Ms. Amereau didn’t sink down to the lowest note of ‘Sur les lagunes‘ (to which Regine Crespin so deliciously descends in her magical recording of the work) but that’s a minor detail in the face of all that we could savour in Ms. Amereau’s genuinely fascinating performance. I look forward to hearing her again.

At this point in the evening, I was ready to strangle the two girls sitting in front of us who could not sit still to save their souls, whispering and texting and flipping their hair; one of them had smuggled in a can of soda or beer. They seemed to be fans or friends of Ms. Amereau, and tried to film or photograph her performance. Adding to their distractions was the expected constant flipping of Playbill pages as people tried to figure out which song of the Berlioz was being sung at the moment; naturally, a few Playbills slipped and hit the floor, seemingly always at the worst possible moments.

These disruptions made me seriously consider leaving at the interval, but my friend Dmitry wanted to hear the Mendelssohn (so did I!), so we stayed on, and it turned out to be the highlight of the evening. The “Scotch” Symphony, so melodically rich and so atmospheric, was inspired by the composer’s 1829 visit to Holyrood Castle, where Mary Stuart was crowned Queen of Scots in 1542. Stories of the adventurous, romantic, and ultimately tragic Queen have inspired musicians, poets, playwrights, and painters over the centuries, and Mendelssohn’s symphony has to be one of the very best of these numerous homages.

Tonight’s performance was lovingly played, wonderfully satisfying, and almost compensated up for the distractions of the evening, even though the texting lass in front of us clearly had other things on her mind.

September 22, 2016
Duo Gagnant: French Music for Two Pianos

Wednesday September 21st, 2016 – Dan K Kurland invited me to this concert of French music – from the familiar to the relatively obscure – for two pianos at Juilliard’s Paul Hall. The program looked very inviting, and since dance themes prevailed throughout the hour-long presentation, it was especially agreeable to have choreographer Claudia Schreier sitting next to me.

We arrived just moments before the house lights dimmed; Paul Hall was nearly full, and we found seats in the front row, in the aisle. The balance of sound may have been slightly off, but it was a very interesting perspective visually.

~ POULENC L’embarquement pour Cynthère
Pianists: Dan K Kurland and Jonathan Feldman

Opening with this 1951 Poulenc gem – music that is so quintessentially French – the tone for the entire evening was set. Described as a Valse-Musette, this piece delights from its vivacious start to its ironic finish. Though Dan Kurland was not originally schedule to play tonight, he did…and wore red socks into the bargain, a subtle nod to a beloved French pianist. Joining Dan was Jonathan Feldman, chairman of Juilliard’s Collaborative Piano Department, making for a brilliant performance.

~ DEBUSSY Prélude à l’après-midi d’une faune
Pianists: Michał Biel and Brian Zeger

Shifting moods, we are plunged into the erotic mystery of Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’une faune in a splendid performance by Michal Biel and Brian Zeger. The composer completed his symphonic poem Afternoon of a Faun in 1894, and published a version for two pianos the following year. In a rapture-inducing performance of perfumed sonorities, the two pianists beautifully summoned up the music’s alternating currents of delicacy and turbulent passion. I so enjoyed seeing Brian Zeger again, here in the hall where I first heard him play many moons ago.

~ FRANÇAIX Huit Dances Exotiques
Pianists: Cherie Roe and Arthur Williford

Dating from 1957, these eight miniatures represent the “newest” music on the program. Pianists Cherie Roe and Arthur Williford jumped right into the music hall swing-and-sway of the opening Pambiche. Sprightly syncopation and etched-in miniature glissandi delighted us in Baiao, and more syncopation followed in Nube gris; both here and in the lively Merengue that follows, sudden endings took us by surprise. The rolling rhythm of the Mambo was further enhanced by a mid-song change of key. Both the urbane, casually shrugging Samba and the bouncy swirl of the Malambeano caught us off-guard by ending in mid air. The final Rock ‘n’ Roll, wryly jazzy, would have caused my old friend Franky to exclaim, “This is so jive!” The two pianists seemed to be having a blast with this music.

~ CHAMINADE Duo Symphonique
Pianists: Dror Baitel and Nathan Raskin

Cécile Chaminade, the sole female composer to be included on this evening’s program, wrote her Duo Symphonique in 1905. Of all the music heard this evening, this was the most traditionally “classical” in feeling. It opens operatically, runs on to swirls of notes and later to fanfare-like motifs. The highest and lowest registers of the piano are explored, the vast range adding to the truly symphonic quality of the piece: “…lyrical grandeur…” was one of my descriptive scrawls. A more delicate theme heralds a song-like interlude, followed by a build-up and an a grandiose finale. I loved every minute of it, and was very impressed by the expert playing of Dror Baitel and Nathan Raskin.

~ SAINT-SAËNS Danse Macabre
Pianists: Jinhee Park and Ho Jae Lee

Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre is a musical setting of a poem by the French poet Henri Cazalis, based on the allegory of the ‘dance of death’. Pianists Ho Jae Lee and Jinhee Park maintained communication across the pianos, which in their sleek blackness took on a coffin-like aspect. The music rises from the depths to jangling heights, descending passages seem to point to the grave (or to hell), and at one point the very lowest notes of the keyboard resound. Becoming wildly dramatic, the music speeds up before turning more pensive and ending in sudden death. The audience took special delight in this piece, and in the two players.

~ DEBUSSY Petite Suite
Pianists: Katelan Terrell and Michał Biel

Debussy’s Petite Suite was published in its original four-hands version in 1889; transcriptions for solo piano and for violin and piano followed in 1906. The work found great popularity in a 1907 adaptation for chamber orchestra by Henri Büsser. Tonight the four-hands version was played by Katelan Terrell and Michal Biel, seated together at a single keyboard. Commencing in dreamy softness, the suite continues with evocations of Spring, very slight tinges of gypsy allure, contrasts of rhythm and lull, and bursts of joyous rippling in the higher range which maintain brightness. The final movement seems very ‘Parisian’, and, after an interlude, we are carried back to the boulevards by our two sophisticated pianists.

~ RAVEL La Valse
Pianists: Sora Jung and Adam Rothenberg

Best known (especially to Balanchine admirers) in its orchestral version, Ravel’s La Valse was transcribed by the composer twice, once for solo piano and again for two pianos. The first performance of the piano duo version was given at the home of Misia Sert, with Ravel himself one of the pianists. Misia, one of my favorite characters in the history of music and dance, was the work’s dedicatee. Among those present at Misia’s salon for the premiere performance were Serge Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky, Francis Poulenc, and Léonide Massine: how I wish I could have been there!

The mystery of the opening of La Valse loomed up from the depths as pianists Sora Jung and Adam Rothenberg launched their intense and remarkable performance. At last the waltz struggles to the surface, and the two pianists delight in flinging myriad colours onto the sonic canvas. Thunderous intrusions alternate with madly ironic swirls of dance. This is music on the verge of madness.

Throughout the Ravel, images of two beloved dancers – Janie Taylor and Sébastien Marcovici – overtook my imagination: they danced this Balanchine masterwork at their New York City Ballet farewell performance in 2014.

Tonight, as all the pianists appeared for a bow on the stage of Paul Hall at the end of the concert, an exuberant standing ovation greeted them. A really wonderful evening!

September 21, 2016
…And All That Djazz @ NCB

Friday September 16th, 2016 – A sold-out house this evening as Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet presented their season-opening program. At a time when I am covering far less dance than in the past, Miro’s work – his choreography, his musical choices, and the dancers and musicians who bring the ballets to life – continues to draw me to his performances and rehearsals. Tonight’s program was one of the finest I have experienced at New Chamber Ballet: wonderfully diverse in the music presented, expertly danced by a quintet of distinctive ballerinas, and played by a violinist and pianist who seem to thrive on the stylistic range and technical challenges of the music Miro selects.

Variety is the spice of life, and it is also – from a musical point of view – an essential element in putting together an evening of dance. Miro will sometimes provoke New Chamber Ballet‘s faithful followers with the thorniness of a score he has decided on; inevitably, his rightness of judgment wins out. These contemporary pieces are counter-balanced by more ‘accessible’ music – tonight, Tartini and Ravel – thus turning the evening into a audio roller coaster. We are along for the ride, which can be quite exhilarating, and the NCB musicians make it all so rewarding.

Opening the evening was a trio, Silk, which premiered in 2006. Doori Na’s playing of the Sonata VII for solo violin by Giuseppe Tartini was stunningly virtuosic. The violinist had a long evening ahead of him, playing in all four works; in the Tartini, he poised himself at a very high level of technique and artistry, and then incredibly soared upward from there. The Ravel that ended the evening was – to use a 60s phrase – mind-blowing.

In Silk, the three dancers – Elizabeth Brown,Traci Finch, and Cassidy Hall – appear in Candice Thompson’s ice-blue, skirted leotards. They commence with slow ‘plastique’ port de bras and poses that might have been inspired by a Grecian urn. A sense of calm pervades their unison trio. There’s a silence as things are re-set for a charming, light-filled allegro.

Striking poses in unison, the girls commence an andante which features a simply gorgeous Tartini melody, superbly intoned by Doori. Cassidy Hall has a long solo, danced beautifully, while Traci and Elizabeth stand back-to-back, swaying gently, and curling their hands in a subtly expressive motif.

Elizabeth and Cassidy sit in a stylized pose as Traci dances an impressive solo with lots of intricate pointe work and a sense of urgency. In a striking passage, Traci balances on both pointes as her upper body sways and angles itself off-kilter. Doori hones his tone down to a thread before it goes deep: this music is so demanding!

Elizabeth Brown, a dancer of unique qualities, has solo passages laced into a spacious trio; as the pace of the music slows and then revs up again, Elizabeth executes lyrical turns and unusual, quirky footwork. The three girls dance in unison, with fast moves to slow music. Silk goes on to a sprightly conclusion.

Above: Cassidy Hall and Sarah Atkins in Upon My Wings; photo by Amber Neff

In the first of the evening’s two premieres, Upon My Wings, Doori Na again made a vivid impression in the music of Reiko Fueting: tanz.tanz was composed for solo violin as an homage to Bach’s famous Chaconne. This ballet, originally entitled Tanz Tanz, was commissioned by the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, where it premiered in 2014. For his own company, Miro has distilled the dancing to a duet for Sarah Atkins and Cassidy Hall.

Skittering sounds from Doori’s violin find the two dancers balancing against one another’s bodies. They kneel and sway. The choreography features the intimate and physically taxing same-sex partnering that Miro has been exploring of late: for example, Sarah being rotated by Cassidy in an off-center balance.

The violin stutters and buzzes, and Doori shows his mastery with some ultra-soft playing, so subtle and shining. The girls echo one another in turns as the music goes Bachian; the ballet ends in silence.

Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue, the evening’s second premiere, marks Miro’s third collaboration with composer Michel Galante; the work is made possible by a grant from the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation.

Above: Amber Neff, Cassidy Hall, and Traci Finch in Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue; photo courtesy of New Chamber Ballet

The ballet’s title derives from the colours of Sarah Thea’s stylish and usual costumes: mock-turtle-neck designs with long, gossamer slit-skirts. These elegant frocks add to the airy feeling of the space-filling choreography. Pianist Melody Fader joins Doori Na to play Galante’s very demanding score.

As Amber Neff and Cassidy Hall engage in more of Miro’s intense partnering, the music is almost immediately fiendish: deep piano and growling violin. Things turn waltzy, and the girls pair off and circle the stage in a movement motif that is half-waltz and half-galop. The music continues to engage us: somehow, Doori is able to produce a deep, gritty sound as if he was drawing his bow across sandpaper. The dancers gather in a circle, raising their arms in a reverential gesture.

Amber and Cassidy, standing back-to-back, wrap one another en attitude, and bend apart. The four dancers form a chorus line; the music grows agitated, and the girls rush off into a space-filling chase-about. Their paths cross; poses are struck while the others dance on. They re-form the celebratory circle, reaching for heaven. In an allegro rush, the dancers conjure up a galloping pace, drawing from a repeated note on Melody’s keyboard.

Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue: it’s complicated, both musically and choreographically. It will take further viewings to delve into its riches, and I feel certain we’ll be seeing it again soon. Tonight’s premiere certainly was provocative, and I look forward to this ballet’s future evolution.

Concluding the evening was Djazz. Set to Maurice Ravel’s sonata #2 for violin and piano, the ballet was commissioned by Leslie and Richard Curtis. Here designer Sarah Thea had the three dancers – Sarah Atkins, Traci Finch, and Amber Neff – in dark-coloured leotards to which long fringes have been attached. This gave the girls a “flapper” look which meshed well with Ravel’s jazz-tinted score; when doing fast turns, the fringe flared out, giving an added air of animation.

Sarah Atkins leads off the dancing, soon joined by Traci Finch and Amber Neff; their contrasting personalities are engaging. Miro’s choreography here again calls for tricky partnering, as well as jazz-inspired swaying and sauntering. At the end of the first movement, the dancers wilt; at the end of the second, they sleep. In the finale, the dancing becomes very animated, with high-kicking extensions on display and brisk steps woven into the pulsating music.

In the Ravel, the musical achievement of Doori Na and Melody Fader was extraordinary; I can honestly say I’ve never heard this piece played better. It’s such incredible music: rhythmically captivating, veering from assertive to misterioso, and rich in irony. Doori and Melody were rightly cheered by the full house as the evening drew to its close.

Dancers: Sarah Atkins, Elizabeth Brown, Traci Finch, Cassidy Hall, and Amber Neff
Musicians: Melody Fader, piano & Doori Na, violin

September 17, 2016
…And All That Djazz @ NCB

Friday September 16th, 2016 – A sold-out house this evening as Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet presented their season-opening program. At a time when I am covering far less dance than in the past, Miro’s work – his choreography, his musical choices, and the dancers and musicians who bring the ballets to life – continues to draw me to his performances and rehearsals. Tonight’s program was one of the finest I have experienced at New Chamber Ballet: wonderfully diverse in the music presented, expertly danced by a quintet of distinctive ballerinas, and played by a violinist and pianist who seem to thrive on the stylistic range and technical challenges of the music Miro selects.

Variety is the spice of life, and it is also – from a musical point of view – an essential element in putting together an evening of dance. Miro will sometimes provoke New Chamber Ballet‘s faithful followers with the thorniness of a score he has decided on; inevitably, his rightness of judgment wins out. These contemporary pieces are counter-balanced by more ‘accessible’ music – tonight, Tartini and Ravel – thus turning the evening into a audio roller coaster. We are along for the ride, which can be quite exhilarating, and the NCB musicians make it all so rewarding.

Opening the evening was a trio, Silk, which premiered in 2006. Doori Na’s playing of the Sonata VII for solo violin by Giuseppe Tartini was stunningly virtuosic. The violinist had a long evening ahead of him, playing in all four works; in the Tartini, he poised himself at a very high level of technique and artistry, and then incredibly soared upward from there. The Ravel that ended the evening was – to use a 60s phrase – mind-blowing.

In Silk, the three dancers – Elizabeth Brown,Traci Finch, and Cassidy Hall – appear in Candice Thompson’s ice-blue, skirted leotards. They commence with slow ‘plastique’ port de bras and poses that might have been inspired by a Grecian urn. A sense of calm pervades their unison trio. There’s a silence as things are re-set for a charming, light-filled allegro.

Striking poses in unison, the girls commence an andante which features a simply gorgeous Tartini melody, superbly intoned by Doori. Cassidy Hall has a long solo, danced beautifully, while Traci and Elizabeth stand back-to-back, swaying gently, and curling their hands in a subtly expressive motif.

Elizabeth and Cassidy sit in a stylized pose as Traci dances an impressive solo with lots of intricate pointe work and a sense of urgency. In a striking passage, Traci balances on both pointes as her upper body sways and angles itself off-kilter. Doori hones his tone down to a thread before it goes deep: this music is so demanding!

Elizabeth Brown, a dancer of unique qualities, has solo passages laced into a spacious trio; as the pace of the music slows and then revs up again, Elizabeth executes lyrical turns and unusual, quirky footwork. The three girls dance in unison, with fast moves to slow music. Silk goes on to a sprightly conclusion.

Above: Cassidy Hall and Sarah Atkins in Upon My Wings; photo by Amber Neff

In the first of the evening’s two premieres, Upon My Wings, Doori Na again made a vivid impression in the music of Reiko Fueting: tanz.tanz was composed for solo violin as an homage to Bach’s famous Chaconne. This ballet, originally entitled Tanz Tanz, was commissioned by the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, where it premiered in 2014. For his own company, Miro has distilled the dancing to a duet for Sarah Atkins and Cassidy Hall.

Skittering sounds from Doori’s violin find the two dancers balancing against one another’s bodies. They kneel and sway. The choreography features the intimate and physically taxing same-sex partnering that Miro has been exploring of late: for example, Sarah being rotated by Cassidy in an off-center balance.

The violin stutters and buzzes, and Doori shows his mastery with some ultra-soft playing, so subtle and shining. The girls echo one another in turns as the music goes Bachian; the ballet ends in silence.

Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue, the evening’s second premiere, marks Miro’s third collaboration with composer Michel Galante; the work is made possible by a grant from the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation.

Above: Amber Neff, Cassidy Hall, and Traci Finch in Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue; photo courtesy of New Chamber Ballet

The ballet’s title derives from the colours of Sarah Thea’s stylish and usual costumes: mock-turtle-neck designs with long, gossamer slit-skirts. These elegant frocks add to the airy feeling of the space-filling choreography. Pianist Melody Fader joins Doori Na to play Galante’s very demanding score.

As Amber Neff and Cassidy Hall engage in more of Miro’s intense partnering, the music is almost immediately fiendish: deep piano and growling violin. Things turn waltzy, and the girls pair off and circle the stage in a movement motif that is half-waltz and half-galop. The music continues to engage us: somehow, Doori is able to produce a deep, gritty sound as if he was drawing his bow across sandpaper. The dancers gather in a circle, raising their arms in a reverential gesture.

Amber and Cassidy, standing back-to-back, wrap one another en attitude, and bend apart. The four dancers form a chorus line; the music grows agitated, and the girls rush off into a space-filling chase-about. Their paths cross; poses are struck while the others dance on. They re-form the celebratory circle, reaching for heaven. In an allegro rush, the dancers conjure up a galloping pace, drawing from a repeated note on Melody’s keyboard.

Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue: it’s complicated, both musically and choreographically. It will take further viewings to delve into its riches, and I feel certain we’ll be seeing it again soon. Tonight’s premiere certainly was provocative, and I look forward to this ballet’s future evolution.

Concluding the evening was Djazz. Set to Maurice Ravel’s sonata #2 for violin and piano, the ballet was commissioned by Leslie and Richard Curtis. Here designer Sarah Thea had the three dancers – Sarah Atkins, Traci Finch, and Amber Neff – in dark-coloured leotards to which long fringes have been attached. This gave the girls a “flapper” look which meshed well with Ravel’s jazz-tinted score; when doing fast turns, the fringe flared out, giving an added air of animation.

Sarah Atkins leads off the dancing, soon joined by Traci Finch and Amber Neff; their contrasting personalities are engaging. Miro’s choreography here again calls for tricky partnering, as well as jazz-inspired swaying and sauntering. At the end of the first movement, the dancers wilt; at the end of the second, they sleep. In the finale, the dancing becomes very animated, with high-kicking extensions on display and brisk steps woven into the pulsating music.

In the Ravel, the musical achievement of Doori Na and Melody Fader was extraordinary; I can honestly say I’ve never heard this piece played better. It’s such incredible music: rhythmically captivating, veering from assertive to misterioso, and rich in irony. Doori and Melody were rightly cheered by the full house as the evening drew to its close.

Dancers: Sarah Atkins, Elizabeth Brown, Traci Finch, Cassidy Hall, and Amber Neff
Musicians: Melody Fader, piano & Doori Na, violin

September 16, 2016
Claudia Schreier’s SOLITAIRE @ Vail

Above: New York City Ballet’s Unity Phelan and Zachary Catazaro in the pas de deux from Claudia Schreier’s SOLITAIRE; photo by Erin Baiano for the Vail International Dance Festival

SOLITAIRE, the newest ballet from choreographer Claudia Schreier, premiered at the Vail International Dance Festival on August 8th, 2016. The ballet was danced by Unity Phelan, Zachary Catazaro, Joseph Gordon (all of New York City Ballet) and Da’Von Doane (of Dance Theater of Harlem). The music, by Dmitri Shostakovich and Alfred Schnittke, was performed live by New York City Ballet‘s pianist deluxe Cameron Grant, and the Catalyst Quartet.

I’m so pleased to share this video recording by Nel Shelby Productions of this new ballet’s world premiere performance: LINK

Erin Baiano photographed the premiere of SOLITAIRE, and here are some of her wonderful images:

Above: Unity Phelan, with Joseph Gordon and Da’Von Doane

Above: a pose from SOLITAIRE‘s first section

Above: Unity Phelan and Zachary Catazaro in the pas de deux

Above: ballerina Unity Phelan and choreographer Claudia Schreier take a bow following the premiere of SOLITAIRE, which drew a standing ovation from the Vail audience.

All production photos by Erin Baiano.

August 25, 2016
L.A. Dance Project @ The Joyce

Above: Stephanie Amurao and Aaron Carr of L.A. Dance Project in Justin Peck’s HELIX; photo by Rose Eichenbaum

Wednesday July 27th, 2016 – First off, I must heap praise on the dancers of L.A. Dance Project: throughout this long, uneven program at The Joyce, their energy, commitment, sexiness, and spirit kept us engaged, even when the choreography lapsed. Some of these dancers are familiar to me: Stephanie Amurao (she danced briefly with TAKE Dance), Morgan Lugo (he danced in Luca Veggetti’s BACCHAE for Morphoses in 2011); and Aaron Carr (formerly of Keigwin & Co); then there’s Anthony Bryant, a lovely guy I’ve known via Facebook and who I have now met as both a dancer and friend.

The Joyce was packed – so nice to run into Denise Vale of the Martha Graham Dance Company! – as works by Sidi Labri Cherkaoui, Martha Graham, Justin Peck, and The Project’s director Benjamin Millepied were offered up.

Mr. Cherkaoui – whose ORBO NOVO for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in 2009, and SUTRA, seen at the White Lights Festival in 2010, linger in the memory – gives us HARBOR ME, a darkish piece set to music by Park Woojae. This work may be danced by three men or three women: tonight, it was the female trio: Stephanie Amurao, Julia Eichten, and Lilja Rúriksdóttir. The music features poignant cello passages; each of the three women has a solo, then trios develop in which they form languid structures. The music pulses up, with a mid-Eastern feel. The women dance a trio in a pool of light, conversing in gestures. The ballet starts to feel overly drawn-out: the alternation of solos and trios becomes repetitive, and there’s a bit too much floorwork. In the end, it’s the compelling dancing that saves it.

After the first interval, MARTHA GRAHAM DUETS proved a welcome change of pace. The three pas de deux were culled from a 1957 Graham documentary, A Dancer’s World, and are performed to piano music by Cameron McCosh from the film’s soundtrack. White Duet is now familiar to Graham devotees in its incarnation as part of Diversion of Angels; Star Duet and Moon Duet have not been seen since the 1960s.

Developing the Graham style takes years for a dancer, and so one could not expect tonight’s sextet of dancers to look like the members of the current Graham company – people who are deeply invested in the Graham technique. Instead, a beautiful fusion has been achieved, and it’s simply wonderful to be seeing these duets performed with such lustre: Rachelle Rafailedes and Nathan Makolandra looked divine in the stylized White Duet, here danced in Janie Taylor’s sleek costumes, recalling the Balanchine black-and-whites.

The delights of Star Duet were served up by Stephanie Amurao and Anthony Bryant. There are kick-lifts and arabesque balances, and then things get playful: Stephanie stands on Anthony’s thighs as he revolves in a gentle plié. In Moon Duet, Morgan Lugo looks like a young god. He and Julia Eichten gorgeously conveyed a sense of wonderment and quiet ecstasy as their duet unfolds.

Justin Peck’s HELIX was far and away the most impressive of the program’s three new works. In her costume designs for this ballet, Janie Taylor puts the dancers in grey but playfully adds powder-blue socks. Esa-Pekka Salonen’s score is eminently dance-worthy and Justin’s choreography evolves naturally from the music. But for the lack of toe shoes, this piece is brilliantly balletic…with a contemporary twinge.

At curtain-rise, three couples stand back-to-back. Then movement bursts forth: tricky footwork and complex partnering mark the three duets that Justin has created, and the dancers dive right in, vibrant and assured. When the music gets big, the dancers go still and then strike poses. A series of exuberant solos follows. Urgent comings and goings engage the eye, and then: everyone collapses. The crowd went wild, showering the dancers with applause. Kudos to all: Laura Bachman, Anthony Bryant, Nathan Makolandra, Robbie Moore, Rachelle Rafailedes, and Lilja Rúriksdóttir.

Following a second intermission, Benjamin Millepied’s ON THE OTHER SIDE brought the full Company on in a colour-filled dancework set to piano music by Philip Glass. The ballet was premiered about a month ago at Sadler’s Wells, and perhaps it was scheduled for its Joyce performances without sufficient thought as to how it would fit in the program. Basically, it’s fatally over-extended.

ON THE OTHER SIDE starts more than promisingly – and it’s danced superbly from start to finish – but it simply goes on and on. Each segment, and the music that supports it, is more than pleasing to watch and hear, but after a while one could sense the audience’s impatience and desire for an ending. The dancers labored valiantly and never for a moment let the choreographer down; eventually my companion and I were feeling numb.

When the curtain finally fell, the dancers were warmly applauded but the rabble-rousing ovation they so deserved was dampened by the fatigue that had set in watching this last ballet. With judicious cutting, ON THE OTHER SIDE could still be a viable work; as it stands now, it’s as exhausting to watch as some of Twyla Tharp’s over-extended creations.

July 27, 2016
Young Dancers from Syria

UPDATE: The fund-raising was successful!

My dancer/friend Joanna Priwieziencew has created a GoFundMe campaign to help nine youngsters who have been re-settled in Chicago from their native Syria. Over the past couple months, these lovely kids have had dance workshops generously donated by Shawn Lent and other volunteers at Performing Arts Limited; now Joanna’s mission is to enroll them for regular classes in the coming school year.

Choreographer Brian Carey Chung shared these words in greeting these students: “Good luck, young ones! All of life is within the dance. If you practice, pay attention, and take to heart the music inside you, all of life’s lessons (how to be courageous, generous, disciplined, creative, graceful, a leader who also knows how to follow, etc.) can be learned.”

UPDATE: The goal was reached…and the kids are happy. Thanks everyone!

July 21, 2016
Gallant’s RETROGRADE UNIVERSE @ Danspace

Above: Loretta Thomas and the ensemble, photo by Melanie Futorian

Thursday June 23rd, 2016 – The high-vaulted space of St Mark’s Church can become oppressively warm on a Summer evening, but it was worth this minor discomfort tonight as the engaging dancers of Catherine Gallant/DANCE and Dances by Isadora, under the artistic direction of Ms. Gallant, presented a program offering a wide-ranging musical experience, choreography both new and venerated, and dancing that unfailingly found the heart of each piece presented. The performance affirmed both the power and the poetry of the feminine spirit, seen tonight in its many aspects.

Above: Janete Gondim and Eleanor Bunker rehearsing Catherine Gallant’s The Secret

The evening could not have a had a more propitious start than Ms. Gallant’s The Secret; like white-clad angels, the two dancers – Janete Gondim and Eleanor Bunker – continually conveyed the sense of wonder which permeates this dancework like a delicious fragrance.

With Ygor Shetsov at the piano, playing the Scriabin Poeme in F-sharp major, the two dancers moved about the space with a sort of quiet urgency, pausing to marvel at the treasure they had found, and which they were holding in the palms of their hands. The choreography flows gorgeously on the music: simple moves which take on a poetic resonance in the personalities of the two women; Janete and Eleanor were captivating to watch, and The Secret joins a short list of danceworks I’ve encountered in the past 20 years that ideally meld music, mood, and movement, leaving a lasting impression.

The premiere of Ms. Gallant’s Retrograde Universe (above, in Melanie Furotian’s photo) offered a fine contrast to The Secret. Alternating passages of silence with music of Steve Reich, this piece found excellent interpreters in Michelle Cohen, Megan Minturn, Erica Lessner, and Charlotte Henrickson. The girls periodically flung themselves to the floor, or burst into paroxysms of anxious movement, whilst at other moments they simply stand stock still, striking sculptural poses. Whimsical projections of newsprint and of an airplane whose pilot had clearly lost his sense of direction added a touch of mystery to the work, which seemed at times to be going on a bit too long, but which was kept on track by the energies of the four dancers.

Finally, a Gallant work created in 2009, features a score by Rome prize-winning composer Lisa Bielawa. Using texts from Franz Kafka, the composer creates music of haunting sonic textures as performed by violinist/vocalist Christina Courtin. Loretta Thomas danced this solo tonight, swathed in a long black veil. Her body ‘spoke’ the music, expressing an almost desperate loneliness. Ms. Courtin, in addition to being an emotive violinist, has a voice – plaintive and clear – which makes a poignant effect. At the end, Ms. Thomas, an artist to her fingertips, walked slowly upstage as the lights faded.

Above: Alvaro Gonzalez and Michelle Cohen in Meeting #12; photo by Melanie Futorian

A domestic drama, Meeting #12, opens with the dancers Michelle Cohen and Alvaro Gonzalez seated at a table. Much of this work is danced in silence, with interjections from Schubert’s E-flat major trio occasionally cropping up. The couple are enmeshed in a quarrel which becomes tempestuous, and the table and chairs eventually become part of the choreography. The beauteous Ms. Cohen and the scruffily handsome Mr. Gonzalez are ideally cast, and they make every moment of the work count. In the end, they find that actually conversing with one another may be the best solution. Projections of puffy clouds against a bright blue sky provide a visual counterpoint to the cramped kitchen in which the lovers have been arguing.

The second half of the program was given over to works of Isadora Duncan.

Above: from Valse Brillante, photo by Melanie Futorian

Loretta Thomas has staged Isadora’s Valse Brillante (created c. 1910) for the Company, and it was danced this evening with lively grace by Jessie King, Amelia Sanders, Ella Lang, and Chanda Cragnotti. At the piano, Yegor Shetsov reveled in the ebb and flow of the Chopin Grande Valse Brillante.

Three solos – each set to a Scriabin étude – were engrossing in their contrasting moods, and in the committed interpretations of the dancers.

In Crossing, Scriabin-turbulence buffeted the hesitant anxiousness of Catherine Gallant, who danced with great physical devotion, mirroring the stormy music. The pain of loss and the thought of “nevermore” were movingly evoked by Loretta Thomas in her sorrowful performance of Mother, one of the Duncan works recalling the tragic death of Isadora’s two young children. Personifying feminine strength and the courage of resistance, Kristen Foote, a guest artist from the Limón Dance Company, gave a performance of radiant authority in Revolutionary. Mr. Shetsov played the three Scriabin études which accompany these solos with virtuosity and dramatic nuance.

Catherine Gallant and Loretta Thomas have been working on the reconstruction of two movements of an untitled work – set to movements of the Beethoven 7th symphony – which Isadora performed as a solo between 1904 and 1909 on US and European tours.

Ms. Gallant (clad in white in the above rehearsal photo) danced the leading role tonight in her re-imagining of the symphony’s Allegretto, and Loretta Thomas has choreographed the Presto. Watching the Gallant dancers in this evening’s performance, we are reminded of the unique position held by Isadora Duncan in the history of dance, and of the continuing necessity of seeing her dances lovingly revived and maintained, so that new generations can both honor and enjoy her work, both for its historical value and its continuing resonance in modern times.

Here are some Melanie Futorian images from the two Beethoven movements, the Presto of which closed tonight’s performance on a joyous note.

Loretta Thomas (in white) and the ensemble

June 24, 2016