Above: Blake Hennessy-York and Sarah Pon of Lydia Johnson Dance rehearsing WHAT COUNTS
A hit at its New York City premiere performances in June, 2015, choreographer Lydia Johnson’s WHAT COUNTS is now available for watching on Vimeo. Tune in here.
The jazzy score comes to us from The Bad Plus, and the ballet is performed by a quintet of Lydia Johnson Dance’s distinctive dancers: Sarah Pon, Blake Hennessy-York, Laura DiOrio, Katie Martin-Lohiya, and Chazz Fenner-McBride.
Above: violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky and pianist Wu Qian, featured performers at tonight’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center concert
Wednesday July 22nd, 2015 – Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center‘s inaugural Summer Series wrapped up this evening with a most impressive and enjoyable programme. The formula for these Summer concerts (as for all of the Society’s concerts, really) was a simple one: great music played in a wonderful space by first-rate musicians. That the series was a genuine success came as no surprise to me; and the best news is, planning for a Summer Series 2016 at CMS seems already to be in the works as I write this.
The Society draws from an A-list roster of musical artists, sometimes featuring established ensembles – such as the Amphion String Quartet who headlined the second concert in the Summer Series – and sometimes gathering together players from diverse musical backgrounds to illuminate a particular convergence of works. For tonight’s programme, pianist Wu Qian and violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky were the central figures; this husband-and-wife team (who make up two-thirds of The Sitkovetsky Trio) played in all three works. Joining them were the delightful young violinist Danbi Um, viola paragon Richard O’Neill, and the distinguished veteran cellist Laurence Lesser.
Antonín Dvořák’s Bagatelles for Two Violins, Cello, and Keyboard, Op. 47, opened the evening; this series of miniatures alternates spirited dance rhythms with soulful slower movements, all drawing upon the folk music which so often inspired the composer. Plucking cello, rhapsodic violins, and flowing piano motifs are among the attractions of these five small wonders. Wu Qian was at the keyboard, with the two violinists and Mr. Lesser’s amiable cello assuring a most appealing exploration of the unfolding thematic material which abounds in these charming, deftly scored bagatelles.
Robert Schumann’s Sonata in D minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 121 was given a remarkable performance by Mr. Sitkovetsky and Wu Qian. Although stationed in a way that seemed to preclude eye contact, the two developed an extraordinary telepathic rapport. Mr. Sitkovetsky had removed his white dinner jacket and, all in black, he proved as fascinating to watch as to hear, with expressive body English and moving in an almost choreographic response to the music.
Following a passionate, slashing start, Mr. Sitkovetsky intoned a heartfelt solo passage before the eruption of energy that propels the sonata’s first movement. The violinist’s playing is wonderfully rich, plumbing the depths of feeling with his resonant tone. For the energetic opening of the second movement, the violin/piano collaboration was rhythmically driven, though lapsing at one point into a melodious interlude.
A mandolin-like plucking motif opens the third movement, which evolves into a haunting theme: here Mr. Sitkovetsky’s Olde World sound and his ability to transform melody into poetry was at its most moving. In the final movement’s expansive variety of themes and energies, violinist and pianist were simply thrilling, causing the audience to celebrate their joint artistry with prolonged applause and calling the duo out for a second bow.
Danbi Um, in a glamorous deep emerald gown with a diamond clasp, looks as elegant as she plays. She took the first chair for the evening’s concluding Brahms (the Quintet in F minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 34) and, with her ravishing ascents to the upper range, graced the music at every moment. The big singing themes of this work were delivered with striking lushness by the players – Mr. Sitkovetsky and Wu Qian, violist Richard O’Neill, and cellist Laurence Lesser joining Ms. Um; they sometimes created the sonic illusion of a much larger ensemble with their plush tone.
The performance was brimming with marvelous moments, including (in the first movement) a lovely violin/viola ‘conversation’ and a luminous moment when Ms. Um, with her refined tone, passed the melody to Mr. Lesser who took it up with achingly beautiful expressiveness.
The somewhat hesitant opening of the second movement – with Mr. Lesser’s subtle plucking motif – took a few moments to bloom into melody. Mr. O’Neill, a player we can admire as much for his artistry as for his humanitarian and charitable work, had a deeply moving theme with which to entice; then Mr. Lesser’s cello took a series of ever-deepening plunges. At the piano Wu Qian’s gently lilting playing underscored the ensuing rise of the string voices. In a moment of sheer perfection, Ms. Um and Mr. O’Neill jointly tapered the movement’s final note til it vanished into the air.
After some treading in a minor key, the third movement bursts forth; the pianist continually sounds a heraldry of march-like calls to action. Later, Wu Qian’s piano segues into a more lyrical passage where she is met by the Mr. Lesser’s genial cello…but their encounter is fleeting before another onrush of almost military vigor. Things calm down again momentarily, only to surge forward again with a triumphant feeling.
A pensive – almost eerie – feeling pervades the opening of the quintet’s finale. In music that is passionate and harmonically rich, we experience a mixture of vivid dance themes and passages of almost tragic-sounding lyricism.
As our estimable ensemble of players drew the evening to its close, the audience hailed them with sincere appreciation and affection. The evening was perhaps best summarized by a remark the man seated behind me made to his wife just as the house lights went down for the Brahms: “This is the place to be!”
The Repertory:
The Participating Artists:
Above: the musicians of the Amphion String Quartet; left to right: David Southorn, Mihai Marcia, Katie Hyun, and Wei-Yang Andy Lin
Sunday July 19th, 2015 – The second in Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center‘s 3-concert summer series took place on a sweltering day. Outdoors, people were wilting from the intense heat and humidity, but in the cool, classical cavern of Alice Tully Hall, another capacity audience drew both physical comfort and spiritual sustenance from a well-devised and admirably played programme.
Putting Haydn and Mozart on the same bill of fare can sometimes result in Papa Haydn’s music being somewhat overshadowed by the younger composer’s. But that was not the case today, thanks to the Amphion String Quartet’s lovingly crafted rendering of Haydn’s penultimate completed string quartet: in G major, Op. 77, No. 1.
In the opening Allegro moderato, the Amphions brought both crisp clarity of articulation and a silky blend of timbres. The Adagio – which to me draws upon a depth of feeling that Haydn’s music does not always attain – produced some striking modulations and resonant pauses as the players, so sure of one another, seemed to breathe and phrase as one. Special mention must be made of the enticing sheen of cellist Mihai Marica’s playing. In the scurrying third movement of the Haydn, and also in its propulsive finale, the Amphion’s virtuosity and sense of fun were amply evident.
Above: pianist Gilles Vonsattel
Felix Mendelssohn is sometimes referred to as “the romantic classicist,” and this concert’s back-to-back programming of the Haydn (dating from 1799) and Mendelssohn’s Piano Quartet No. 3 in B minor, Opus 3, written a quarter-century later, showed most vividly the leap from Classicism to Romanticism that marked the arrival of the 19th century.
Mendelssohn’s music is really unlike anyone else’s; it has a wonderful freshness and vitality, and the composer’s enchanting trademark sound, affectionately referred to as ‘faerie music,’ has a charm all its own. It was a chance hearing of a Mendelssohn piano trio on the radio many, many years ago that opened my mind to the pleasures of chamber music; it was only after decades of devoting myself to opera that I got to the point where I had both the time and the energy to explore the chamber music repertoire, a genre of mind-boggling variety and endless reward.
Curiously, I’m finding these days that it’s instrumental soloists and chamber artists who have taken the place of great singers in my affection and admiration. I’ve always had a strong streak of unabashed ‘fanhood’; if I like a singer/dancer/musician, I really become an admirer and they become an idol. That happened for me today as Gilles Vonsattel played his way into my echelon of favorites in the Mendelssohn. In 2014, the Swiss-born American pianist participated in a memorable CMS performance of Messiaen’s ‘Quartet for the End of Time’. Playing my beloved Mendelssohn this evening, Mr. Vonsattel’s quicksilver technique and masterful turns of phrase kept me constantly drawn to the keyboard.
This Mendelssohn quartet is a veritable font of melody and shows a sophistication of musical imagination that seems extraordinary in a composer still in his teens. The second movement (Andante) is vastly pleasing to hear, opening with a lovely piano statement which gives way to lulling rhythms, with gently developing themes of longing from the violin (Ms. Hyun) and of pensive soulfulness from the cello (Mr. Marica). The third movement (Allegro molto) opens with an injection of Midsummer Night’s magic, proceeds to swelling melodies and becomes a big dance. In the finale, Mr. Vonsattel’s mercurial playing was simply irresistible.
Above: clarinetist Jörg Widmann
For the evening’s concluding Mozart, the ‘Clarinet Quartet’, Jörg Widmann (who also took part – splendidly – in that ‘Quartet for the End of Time‘ mentioned above) displayed an engagingly natural feel for legato, his tone having a mellow glow. In both featured clarinet passages and in his sharing of ensemble moments, Mr. Widmann’s clarity and his impressive affinity for dynamic colourings drew the audience’s deep and concentrated attention.
David Southorn took up the violin 1 position in the Mozart, especially appealing in the first movement’s solo theme set against Mr. Marica’s plucked cello pacing. In the Quintet’s heart-filling Adagio, Messrs. Southorn and Widmann traded melodic phrases to beautiful effect, whilst in the variations that are part of the work’s finale, Wei-Yang Andy Lin drew forth a weeping quality from his viola.
Throughout the Quintet, Mr. Widmann and his colleagues conveyed the enormous richness of Mozart’s writing, providing a musical experience in which virtuosity and emotion seemed ideally blended.
The Repertory:
The Participating Artists:
Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Jörg Widmann, clarinet; Amphion String Quartet, ensemble
Above: Alexandra Jacob, a guest soloist in tonight’s performance by BalaSole Dance Company.
Friday July 17th, 2015 – The word “salmagundi” refers to a type of salad, but also to any kind of assortment, medley, or montage. Celebrating their fifth anniversary season tonight at Ailey Citigroup, Roberto Villanueva’s Balasole Dance Company offered a smorgasbord of dance, with a tasty array of solos – everything from tap to toe shoes – in a skillfully arranged and nicely lit production.
As is the custom at BalaSole performances, the evening opened and closed with ensemble works which are prepared and danced by all the participating soloists and emerging artists in the week leading up to the show. Roberto often uses baroque music for these group dances, but this time around he chose contemporary music with a seductive throb; the dancers seemed very much at home in this milieu.
LAURA ASSANTE was the first soloist; her piece entitled “Cancelled Stamp” was danced to the voice of the inimitable Nina Simone singing her classic “Love me or leave me”. Ms. Assante, a lively blonde with a great range of facial expressions, filled the song – which has a long piano riff midway thru – with energy and charm.
ANNA CUFFARI performed a pensive, searching solo entitled “Maktub“. She awakens in a pool of light to the sound of a harp. As the music expands into a passionate romantic theme, the dancer made excellent use of the space with her questing movement and expressive face and hands.
FREDRICK DAVIS (from Dance Theatre of Harlem, making a guest appearance tonight) displayed his striking classic technique in an excerpt from “Undisputed Love“. Set to the celestial sounds of Arvo Part’s “Fratres”, the danseur, in tights and a white shirt, seemed like a contemporary Albrecht lamenting his lost Giselle. Fredrick’s dancing had a fine sense of nobility and quiet ecstasy.
The comely ANDREA SAMONILOVA appeared next, reciting poetry for her solo entitled “Možná Jednou” (translation: ‘Maybe One Day’). Meshed with the spoken words is the sound of water flowing. The sad poetess seems like a lost soul as she stares into the audience, in search of someone. A winsome melody evokes memories of another time and place to which she cannot return. This solo, and Ms. Samonilova’s dancing of it, was both moving and mysterious.
XAVIER TOWNSEND made remarkable moves in his solo “Return”, including some risky B-boy passages that had the audience gasping. Running in place and enmeshed in a struggle for self-expression, the lithe and handsome dancer was able to combine his explosive energy with more lyrical moments to make his solo a big hit with the crowd.
CAMILLE SCHMOEKER performed a tap solo “Gilgal“, to an arrangement of the old gospel song “Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho”. Using subtle shifts in the speed and volume of her tapping, the dancer, in a simple country frock, sometimes evoked line dancing in this solo which had a taste of Americana as well as a feeling of personal narrative.
The powerful physique of ELIJAH LAURANT made a commanding impression in “Delimited Connection“; music from Kangding Ray underscored the dancing with a pounding beat, but the dancer steered clear of literalism and held our interest with his unfolding, expressive moves and the strength of his technique.
ALEXANDRA JACOB, a guest soloist, was for a decade a star of Dance Theatre of Harlem. Tonight, she performed “Anástasis” (translation: ‘Resurrection’), choreographed on her by Roberto Villanueva. Clad in midnight blue and with her hair flowing free, Ms. Jacob’s on-pointe dancing showed a luminous quality as she moved among pools of light. Music by Olafur Arnalds, rather ominous of mood, set the dancer on her path: a restless feeling imbued with lyricism, and a gorgeous ability to communicate directly with the audience thru the poetry of movement.
BRIANA BUTLER enters in silence; on the ground, she pulls herself into a circle of light. Her solo, “Unstoppable“, is danced to music that is alternately mystical and thunderous. Ms. Butler’s strength and control developed the solo with propulsive energy, and she added some impressive gymnastic elements along the way before things settled again into silence.
ROBERTO VILLANUEVA always dances the closing solo at all BalaSole performances, and invariably his solos are highlights of the show. Today, his ‘awakening’ solo, “Air”, was danced to music by Max Richter. Roberto’s solos have an improvisational air but they are always carried off with the polished artistry and committed musicality of a born mover.
Prior to the show I watched the dress rehearsal, hoping to get some useful photos of all the participants; but that did not go so well for me and my camera today. I include a few here, but it’s totally random and I’m sorry to say not all the dancers are represented in their solos.
Above: the soloists, lined up in performance order – Assante, Cuffari, Davis, Samonilova, Townsend, Schmoeker, Laurent, Jacob, Butler, Villanueva
Above: the emerging/re-emerging artists – these dancers appeared in the ensemble works at the start and end of the performance. They are (left to right) Gabriella Perez, Sasha Smith, Laurel Higa, and Ezra Goh.
Above: Laura Assante
Above: Anna Cuffari
Above: Camille Schmoeker
Above: Elijah Laurant
Above: Briana Butler
Above: Roberto Villanueva
Above: the guest artists, Alexandra Jacob and Fredrick Davis, taking a bow
Above: studio showing of (SAD BOYS), the newest work from MADBOOTS; photo by Travis Magee
Thursday July 9th, 2015 – MADBOOTS, the daring and unique all-male dance company founded by Austin Diaz and Jonathan Campbell, will be presenting their newest work (SAD BOYS) from August 26th – 30th, 2015, at the Doris Duke Theatre at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Tickets and more performance information here. Support this production by donating here.
Today MADBOOTS hosted a studio showing of (SAD BOYS) for friends of the Company; my photographer/friend Travis Magee met me there to document the event. Joining Austin and Jonathan for (SAD BOYS) are dancers Robbie Moore, Dan Walczak, and Chuck Wilt.
Performed to a deftly assembled musical suite, (SAD BOYS) runs nearly an hour and unfolds in sequences of madly passionate movement laced with interludes of reflective stillness. It explores so many facets of the transition from youth to manhood: the desire for companionship, the hesitant awakening of sexual awareness, and the harsh lessons of mistaken affection. Tenderness, amiable horseplay fraught with desire, betrayal, brutality, and soul-rending despair are all elements of this journey which so many of us have made over the years. (SAD BOYS) resonates with both the wary pleasures and the terror of self-discovery.
The choreography is space-filling, alternating raw physicality with unexpected passages of lyricism. The five dancers are unabashed in the athleticism of their dancing and in the intimacy of their interaction. As the dance progresses, the boys gradually shed their clothing, leaving themselves in a state of touching vulnerability by the end.
Without giving away anything more about (SAD BOYS), here are some of Travis Magee’s images from the studio showing:
Jonathan Campbell and Austin Diaz
Austin Diaz and Dan Walczak
Dan Walczak
Chuck Wilt
Robbie Moore, Jonathan Campbell, Austin Diaz
Dan Walczak, Austin Diaz
Dan Walczak, Jonathan Campbell
Dan Walczak
Jonathan, Chuck, Dan, and Robbie
Jonathan Campbell, Chuck Wilt
Above: Lloyd Knight rehearsing a new Joshua Beamish solo, ‘Adoration‘, for the upcoming gala benefit DANCE FOR NEPAL; photo by Nir Arieli
Saturday June 27th, 2015 – On Tuesday June 30th, 2015, DANCE FOR NEPAL will be presented at the Union Square Theatre. The program, conceived by Simona Ferrera, is under the artistic direction of Lloyd Knight, principal dancer of The Martha Graham Dance Company. All proceeds from this gala performance will benefit the survivors of the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25th, 2015. A stellar group of dancers will perform; tickets and more information here.
On an overcast afternoon, photographer Nir Arieli and I dropped in at the Martha Graham studios for a rehearsal/preview of the new Beamish solo work. The choreographer has chosen the adagio from Haydn’s concerto in C-Major for cello and orchestra: a perfect setting for his fluent and expressive choreography and for Lloyd Knight’s powerful, emotive dancing. Demanding in its physicality, the solo has a deeply spiritual quality which gives Lloyd a perfect impetus for his interpretation: a striking mixture of muscularity and grace.
Joshua Beamish (above, with Lloyd), the Canadian dancer/choreographer and founder of MOVE: the company, was recently seen here in New York City as one of Wendy Whelan’s choreographer-cavaliers in her RESTLESS CREATURE presentation at The Joyce. In August 2015, Josh will be presenting MOVE: the company for two performances at The Joyce. Details here.
The studio atmosphere today was paradoxically calm and intense; I could have gone on watching endlessly since the combination of the music, Josh’s mapping of the movement, and Lloyd’s inspiring dancing were a welcome balm to the spirit.
Here’s a gallery of Nir Arieli’s images from this rehearsal; I have chosen quite a few since they really capture the atmosphere:
Click on each image to enlarge.
Friday June 26th, 2015 – This evening my 2014-2015 officially ended with a bang when Maria Kochetkova and Herman Cornejo gave the ABT audience a SWAN LAKE to cheer about. The two dancers were recently paired in a very fine performance of BAYADERE and now, having established a lovely rapport, they must be seen in GISELLE, COPPELIA, and ROMEO & JULIET.
ABT really needs a new SWAN LAKE, and their audiences deserve it. Though at fifteen years of age the production is not old by ballet standards (think of Balanchine’s NUTCRACKER or MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM), so much of it looks merely random and dutiful rather than dramatic and intriguing. Its main redeeming value is that any incoming pair of principals can step into the classic elements of the white/black/white scenes and feel perfectly at home; it’s the court scenes that really need freshening.
Tonight in the opening scene we had a superbly-danced pas de trois from Sarah Lane, Skylar Brandt, and Joseph Gorak; all three had ample technique and charm, and Mr. Gorak’s beautifully pointed feet were an added delight. The national dancers in the Black Swan scene are burdened with over-costuming and funny fake moustaches; tonight, only Nicole Graniero (in Hungarian) managed to seize my opera glasses with her vivid performance. Later, as Herman Cornejo was anguishing over which unwanted princess to choose, I wanted to text him and suggest that he grab Nicole and elope to Morocco.
James Whiteside was wonderfully alluring in the solo where he glamors every woman in the hall (and probably some of the men); yet however well this solo is performed, I always feel Rothbart doesn’t need to be humanized and that the less the character does, the more potent his force seems.
But all these quibbles vanished in the face of the wonderful telling of the central love story from Ms. Kochetkova and Mr. Cornejo. Having sailed thru some high-flying combinations in the opening scene, it was at the lakeside that Herman’s Siegfried took on the poetic expressiveness that made his performance so compelling. Such a handsome young prince with the cheekbones, the silken mop of hair, the dark eyes filled with wonder – and later with despair. Slowly overcoming her fear of this ardent youth, Ms. Kochetkova surrendered to his tenderness in an adagio filled with haunting romantic nuance. The ballerina’s pin-pointe turns and poised balances wove a spell thru Odette’s music.
In the Black Swan, the Kochetkova/Cornejo duo simply soared; the detailed courtship and Kochetkova/Odile’s brazen mimicking of the Odette motifs made for a vivid narrative in the adagio. Herman’s solo was a virtuoso show-stopper – igniting a volley of cheers and applause – and in her solo turn, the ballerina displayed her agility and technical command to impressive effect. Then the couple whipped the crowd into fits of rapture in the coda, where Kochetkova’s dazzling speed-of-light fouettés had real sparkle, with Herman taking up the challenge with his own barrage of pirouettes. A roar went up as they struck the final pose.
In the last scene by the lake, the hapless lovers take final leave of one another; their joint suicide leads to the breaking of the curse and Rothbart’s destruction by the swans. The pink sunrise, with the lovers shown embracing in some afterlife, is a final miscalculation in this production. But as Kochetkova and Cornejo came forward for their bows, nothing else mattered: the audience, pleased as punch, were still screaming as I headed up the aisle.
Above: Edward Watson in the Royal Ballet’s production of SONG OF THE EARTH; photo by Johan Persson
Thursday June 25th, 2015 – The Royal Ballet are presently at Lincoln Center, and this evening’s double-bill of Sir Frederick Ashton’s THE DREAM and Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s SONG OF THE EARTH seemed particularly appealing to me, not least for the music of two of my favorite composers: Felix Mendelssohn and Gustav Mahler. The fact that Edward Watson would be appearing in the MacMillan made an appealing prospect irresistible.
Ashton’s THE DREAM was the first ballet I ever saw live, performed by The Joffrey at New York’s City Center on October 16th, 1974; Rebecca Wright, Burton Taylor, and Russell Sultzbach had the principal roles that evening. I’ve not seen the ballet again since that performance.
The Royal Ballet’s production of the Ashton boasts a particularly evocative and gorgeous set, and lovely costumes – notably those for the corps of ‘adult’ fairies (unlike in Balanchine’s version, there are no children to be seen in the Ashton, aside from the Changling Boy). Ashton tells the story in a more abbreviated rendering than Mr B – Ashton’s mortal couples are less-fully-fleshed-out as characters than Balanchine’s; Ashton’s Titania has a more sensuous quality and his Puck is more annoying (in a good way) than their Balanchine counterparts. Ashton sometimes has Oberon and Puck doing virtuoso passages at the same time, and they oddly seem to cancel one another out.
The Mendelssohn score (played by the New York City Ballet orchestra – though in a different arrangement than that used for the Balanchine), sounded as charm-filled as ever, with some lovely singing from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.
Above: Matthew Golding as Oberon in THE DREAM; photo by Bill Cooper
Matthew Golding’s tall, long-limbed Oberon, with beautifully up-right pirouettes, was handsomely characterized with a mixture of nobility and sexiness. Natalia Osipova was a lushly sensuous Titania, with an interesting touch of earthiness. Dancing in oddly-battered toe shoes, she had just polished off a lovely solo passage when suddenly she slipped and fell to the floor; she re-bounded at once and went on to a winning performance, beautifully meshed with Mr. Golding in their pas de deux.
Valentino Zucchetti was a sprightly Puck; his performance was a big hit with the audience and though I prefer the Balanchine portrait of this character, Zucchetti’s dancing had plenty of verve. Jonathan Howells met the challenge of dancing Bottom on pointe. The mortal couples were finely danced, making the most of their fleeting vignettes: a special bravo to Ryoichi Hirano for his excellent Lysander. A pretty quartet of principal fairies, given their Shakespearean names, added yet another delectable element to the performance.
Above: Edward Watson, Laura Morera, and Nehemiah Kish in SONG OF THE EARTH; photo from The Royal Ballet‘s website
I had no idea what to expect from Kenneth MacMillan’s SONG OF THE EARTH. In pondering what it might be like, my first thought was that Mahler’s score is singularly unsuited to dance. But how wrong I was! I ended up being thoroughly mesmerized by the unexpected ‘rightness’ of MacMillan’s setting of the music, and by the superb dancing of the three principals.
If there’s a more distinctive danseur on the planet than Edward Watson (above), I’ve yet to find him. The lithe muscularity, the pale skin, the ginger hair, and the hypnotic eyes – clearly gleaming thru a half-masque tonight as MacMillan’s Messenger of Death – combined with a lyrically powerful technique make his performances (far too rare here in Gotham) something to cherish. The moment I saw his name listed for this evening’s performance I knew I had to be there.
A great pleasure to see Nehemiah Kish (above) again; he danced with MORPHOSES in their premiere New York season. Tall and with an easy command of space, his role in the MacMillan serves as both a compliment and a counter-poise to Edward Watson’s character: at the very end of the ballet, Mr. Kish appears masked, clearly ‘marked’ by Mr. Watson’s influence.
New to me and making a magnificent impression was Laura Morera, a Spanish-born ballerina whose clarity of steps and of gesture as well as a radiant, far-searching gaze, marked her as a unique presence: despite the overwhelming allure of Mssers. Watson and Kish, I found it hard to take my eyes off Ms. Morera. She showed a deep connection to the music, and a blessed freedom from theatricality. (The rehearsal photo of Laura Morera above is from The Royal Ballet website…I simply love it…and her!)
The Mahler score of Das Lied von der Erde calls for two vocal soloists: they alternate in singing the songs. For his ballet, MacMillan has them unobtrusively step out from the opposite sides of the proscenium to sing; thus the focus remains on the dancers throughout. Tenor Thomas Randle seemed a bit stressed by the vocal demands cruelly placed on him by Mahler, but he managed well enough. Katherine Goeldner, who a few seasons back was an excellent Carmen on this very stage, summoned up some very expressive vocalism, making an especially haunting effect in the final passages of the work as she repeats the word “Ewig…” (‘Forever’) in gradations from piano to lingering pianissimo.
To attempt to describe for New York dance-goers the overall look of the choreography MacMillan devised for this musically epic piece one might say it combines the stripped-down immediacy of Balanchine’s black-and-white ballets with the ritualistic aspects of Martha Graham’s mythic masterworks.
In the abstract yet curiously meaningful passages for the corps, MacMillan has created a stylized world thru which the principals and soloists come and go with alternating sensations of urgency and angular introspection. Irony manifests itself at times, but overall the work takes itself very seriously and that in itself makes it all the more compelling.
There were times when I wished for a bit more sense of unity of movement from the ensemble; of course Mahler’s endless thematic ebbs and flows don’t provide a real rhythmic blueprint for synchronization of steps and gestures. Nevertheless, everyone looked wonderfully handsome and attractive, individual personalities emerging even in the regimented sequences.
To the splendid performances from Ms. Morera, Mr. Watson, and Mr. Kish were added some radiant dancing from Yuhui Choe and Lara Turk. There were others, too, who caught the questing gaze of my opera glasses but I’m not familiar enough with the Company to single them out.
In a week that brought the news of Albert Evans’ untimely death, it was moving to be back in the theatre where I saw him dance hundreds of times. So lovely, too, to run into Wendy Whelan, who shared that stage with Albert on countless evenings. My feeling is that Albert would not want us to stop dancing…not even for a moment.
Above: Albert Evans with Wendy Whelan in Ratmansky’s RUSSIAN SEASONS, photo by John Ross
Tuesday June 23rd, 2015 – I don’t want to be writing this.
It seems impossible that Albert Evans has passed away. News of his death came this morning in an e-mail from a fellow balletomane; my initial reaction was that it must be some other Albert Evans because our Albert’s life force was too vibrant to have been extinguished.
The news is still sinking in. These days, I am constantly hearing of the passing of dancers, singers, and musicians whose artistry made an impression on my life; but these are people in their 80s and 90s who have lived out their lives to the fullest. One would certainly have expected Albert to be with us for many, many more years. That’s why his passing is so tragic. It reminds us that we must never take for granted the presence of the people in our lives.
It’s true that Albert’s passing brings back a flood of dance memories, and yet – as with all my favorite dancers – recollections of his performances have frequently sprung to mind in the days since his retirement.
Among his most felicitous roles was Puck in Balanchine’s MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (with Arch Higgins and Alexandra Ansanelli, above, in a Paul Kolnik photo). In a role often undertaken by dancers of smaller physical stature, Albert made his own indelible mark with his brilliant characterization and marvelous, cat-like landings. The ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ in WESTERN SYMPHONY was another Evans gem, as were his performances in AGON, THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS, STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO, and EPISODES. Albert frequently appeared in new repertory too, with Dove’s RED ANGELS, Ratmansky’s RUSSIAN SEASONS and Wheeldon’s LITURGY and KLAVIER among the most memorable. And who could forget his epic Rothbart in Peter Martins’ SWAN LAKE?
Above: Albert in Ratmansky’s RUSSIAN SEASONS with NYCB colleagues Jonathan Stafford, Antonio Carmena, Sean Suozzi, and Adam Hendrickson. Photo: John Ross
After his 2010 farewell to dancing at New York City Ballet, Albert continued working there as a ballet master. I would still run into him sometimes in the Lincoln Center area and there was always a smile and a friendly greeting.
Albert was always such a thoughtful person, always illuminating other people’s lives in a special way. After Yvonne Borree’s NYC Ballet farewell, Albert amazed a young dance student outside the stage door by sweeping her up into a pas de deux pose. It was such a happy moment, and that’s how I want to remember him.
Above: curtain call at Albert’s NYCB farewell
Above: dancers of The Polish National Ballet in MOVING ROOMS; Photo: Ewa Krasucka
Sunday June 21st, 2015 matinee – The Polish National Ballet in their New York debut performances at The Joyce with three contemporary works, bringing to New York City some two dozen dancers from their 90-member Company. While the inclusion of something more classical from their vast repertory might have given us a fuller picture of what The Polish National Ballet are about, it was nonetheless an exhilarating afternoon, thanks in no small part to the sleek energy of the dancers who brought ballet-based vitality to these modern works.
Krysztof Pastor’s ADAGIO & SCHERZO, a setting of two movements from Schubert’s C-major string quartet, introduced us to the dancers; they are first seen in a sculpted cluster, evocatively lit. To the achingly poignant themes of the adagio, we meet them as individuals, as couples, and in small units as they come and go from the space. There’s some very poised and polished pointe work from the girls, and some impressive partnering motifs from the couples as the choreographer wraps an au courant feeling around the classical ballet vocabulary.
The dancers re-form the opening cluster at the end of the adagio, then move on to fast-paced allegro dancing for the scherzo. In passages of stylized bravura, the ballet sweeps forward; we may wish to linger our gaze on certain dancers but as they sail across the stage it’s clear there isn’t a weak link anywhere: they are all exciting to watch.
A thorough change of mood as Emanuel Gat’s RITE OF SPRING unfolds before us. Performed by three women and two men in a space defined by an illuminated red carpet, this Rite is improbably set in a South American dance club. After a few initial moments of sizing one another up, the dancers go into ballroom/tango-based moves; partnerings come and go, and there’s always a woman left on her own. The work, nearly 40-minutes in length, maintained its pull on the viewer thanks to the charisma of the five dancers. It ends as one of the women slowly lets her hair down, lays down on the carpet, and falls asleep. Throughout this piece, I kept thinking of the riot caused by Stravinsky’s music when the ballet was premiered in the Nijinsky setting in Paris in 1913. The score is still provocative, but…to have caused a riot…?
Above: from MOVING ROOMS; photo: Ewa Krasucka
Krysztof Pastor’s MOVING ROOMS gave the afternoon its powerful finale. Set to music of Alfred Schnittke and Henryk Górecki (his fascinating harpsichord concerto), this ballet opens with a solo male dancer, superbly illuminated, and soon expands to a giant light-defined chessboard on which the full complement of dancers move in mixed combinations, a dynamic structure of comings and goings that continually lures the eye in one direction, then another. In-sync ensemble passages are especially impressive to watch, filling the stage with unified movement.
Eventually the ballet goes ‘nude’ – or, more precisely, the dancers appear nude in dance belts and sheer body tights. Their taut physiques seem both vulnerable and savourable; the dancing is sexy and ecstatic.
A large audience watched the performance in attentive silence and cheered the dancers roundly during the bows. I hope The Polish National Ballet will be back in Gotham in the near future; they certainly made a vivid impression today.
Oberon's Glade 