Choreographer Luca Veggetti and composer Paolo Aralla have developed a new website dedicated to their collaborative work. Visit the site here. Above: Kokyat’s image of Gabrielle Lamb in the Veggetti/Aralla BACCHAE, created for MORPHOSES in 2011.
I’m particularly grateful for the souvenirs of MEMORY/MEASURE, a mesmerizing piece created for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in 2009; I would very much like to see this dancework again.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 – Thie past weekend, dancer Jessica Sand (above, photographed by Kokyat) performed a solo in Lydia Johnson’s newest work, an untitled piece set to music by Osvaldo Golijov. Today, Jessica was teaching this solo to a roomful of young dancers as part of a week-long Lydia Johnson Dance workshop at Peridance.
Jessica is a thoughtful and patient teacher; she, along with her LJD colleagues Kaitlin Accetta, Laura DiOrio and Lisa Iannacito McBride, demonstrated and coached the participating students in the phrasing on an individual basis. Lydia’s silky fluidity of style suits Jessica so well; imparting this feeling goes beyond just the execution of the steps. The dancers were soon settling into the flow and responding to the spirituality of the Golijov score.
Above: Kaitlin Accetta of Lydia Johnson Dance.
The studio was so crowded that it quickly became necessary to break the dancers into three groups so they had sufficient room to dance full-out. There were a lot of very appealing movers in the studio, including three dancers I’ve had my eye on over the recent months:
Bethany Lange…
Lauren Jaeger…
…and Yuki Ishiguro.
Kaitlin, Jessica and Lisa observing the dancers; moving on from the solo passage, the students tried a partnered trio motif which produced considerable mirth as they worked on being in the right place and the right time to catch a swooning fellow dancer. As the clock ticked down to the final minutes of studio time, it seemed that the dancers really wanted to continue.
I’ll never know how dancers manage to look like a million bucks (Kaitlin Accetta, above) before noon!
The workshop follows on Lydia’s highly successful presentation of the Golijov work along with her 2006 piece FALLING OUT, set to music of Philip Glass. Mary Cargill writes about the February 26th matinee performance here.
Sunday February 26, 2012 matinee – Lydia Johnson Dance presented two works at Peridance this afternoon. The performance marked the first full presentation of Lydia’s new, as-yet-untitled work to music of Osvaldo Golijov as well as a revival of her 2006 piece to music of Philip Glass: FALLING OUT.
Kokyat and I have been following the creation of the Golijov work from its earliest days, visiting the studio periodically to view the work’s progress. Lydia is so generous in sharing her creative process, giving us an extraordinary insight into how ideas become danceworks.
Click on each image to enlarge:
In the Golijov, a trio of women first appear in soft golden gowns; their black-lace bodices provide a Spanish feel. Remaining in place, they perform a gestural ritual implying both spirituality and cleansing.
Quietly they move in a circular pattern…
…which is expanded by the entry of two more women.
With an unexpected juxtaposition of calm and urgency, the women continue their mysterious rites as the music takes on a soulful expression.
Images of silent despair and of consolation are evoked…
…blended with uplifting gestures of unity and hope.
The final movement of the Golijov is marked by themes of rocking as each girl in turn swoons into the arms of her sisters to be gently lulled.
In this work, choreographer Lydia Johnson seems to be telling a story yet the mystique of the five women – who they are and what their rituals mean to them – is left to the imagination of each viewer. One of the things about Lydia’s work that I most appreciate is her unerring taste in music: she always seeks out the best, whatever genre she might decide to work in. Here, the religious themes of the Golijov pieces she uses offer a wide range of interpretative images, from the earthy to the sublime. Darkly handsome in atmosphere, this dancework resonates with the bonds of sisterly unity and affection; it steers clear of sentimentality, thus striking a deeper chord.
Always a choreographer’s greatest good fortune: to have dancers who understand and communicate the imagined nuances of a given work. The lyricism and grace of the five women dancing in the Golijov maintained the spirit of the music and movement from first note to last. They are (above): Sarah Pon, Lisa Iannacito McBride, Kaitlin Accetta, Laura DiOrio, and Jessica Sand.
Details of the afternoon’s second work, set to music of Philip Glass, will appear here shortly.
All photographs by Kokyat.
The second work on the program at Lydia Johnson Dance‘s February 26th, 2012 matinee at Peridance was FALLING OUT, a 2006 dancework set to the 3rd Symphony of Philip Glass. Above: dancer Jessica Sand photographed by Kokyat.
FALLING OUT is a dramatic dancework revolving around the tempestuous relationship of a man and a woman (Max van der Sterre and Kerry Shea); their moody encounters range from tender to combative over the course of the piece.
A second woman (Jessica Sand, seated right above) creates the third corner of a romantic triangle. She remains an alluring object of desire for the man, though they never touch.
Meanwhile, a chorus of women remain on the sidelines; their synchronized movements rarely infringe oin the central drama yet they appear as additional enticements for the man…or possibly as lovers from his past.
The tension rises as the women observe each other warily; at last the central couple actually come to blows.
Things seem to resolve, and harmony is restored.
Yet in the work’s final moment, Max’s gaze is again captured by an elusive vision.
Read about the other work on this program here.
All photography by Kokyat.
A gallery of Kokyat’s images from the two works presented by Lydia Johnson Dance at Peridance on the afternoon of February 26th, 2012. Above: Lisa Iannacito McBride in the untitled Golijov.
Laura DiOrio
Jessica Sand
Jessica Sand, Lisa Iannacito McBride, Kaitlin Accetta
Laura DiOrio
Ensemble
From Lydia Johnson’s untitled Golijov.
The second work on the program was FALLING OUT, set to the third symphony pf Philip Glass. Above, Kerry Shea.
Ensemble
Kerry Shea & Max van der Sterre
Max and Kerry
Kerry Shea
Max van der Sterre & Kerry Shea in Lydia Johnson’s FALLING OUT.
All photos by Kokyat.
Tuesday February 21, 2012 – Swedish dancer/choreographer/film-maker Pontus Lidberg (above) created his half-hour film LABYRINTH WITHIN over a four year period; as he revealed at tonight’s showing at Baryshnikov Arts Center, Wendy Whelan was his muse from the start – even before she got involved in the project.
The movie is a fascinating experience on many levels: as a captivating visual work of art; as a choreographic melding of two contrasting pas de deux; as a poignant musical expression; and in its exploration of relationships where ideas about trust, jealousy, and passions real or imagined provide restless, suspenseful undercurrents right from the opening frame. The film also serves as a spine-tingling introduction of a great ballerina to a new medium: Wendy Whelan on-screen is as thoroughly riveting as Wendy Whelan onstage.
The dreamlike atmosphere of the film leaves us to ponder whether the romantic triangle we are watching is real or imagined. LABYRINTH WITHIN wraps themes of infidelity, the allure of sexual enticement, and of escape from the everyday into a passionate dreamworld in a veil of mystery. The realms of reality and fantasy overlap; the viewer can only savour the elements of the film and draw his own conclusions.
The three protagonists draw us into their respective worlds: Giovanni Bucchieri is the darkly handsome husband, Wendy Whelan the evasive and enigmatic wife, and Pontus Lidberg the blonde and beautiful lover. Giovanni seems like a pre-occupied workaholic who has neglected his marriage, yet his sensuous mouth indicates a voluptuous nature under the businessman facade. Wendy, the most intriguing person I have ever encountered, doesn’t need to act; by simply being on-screen her character lives and draws us deeply into the mysterious story and into the secret room where her fantasy becomes flesh. Pontus is the idealized lover, the embodiment of masculine grace and tenderness, his torso a landscape of muscle and fair skin.
In the film’s opening moments, the two men appear to be wrestling with one another in fragmented dream sequences. But once the tale is underway, they meet only fleetingly on a staircase. Wendy dances with both of the men in sharply contrasted styles: with her husband the movement is angluar, cool and detached. Her beautifully-filmed scenes with her beloved are sensuous without being sexual; their passion is urgent yet somehow languid at the same time. Pontus strips down to his black briefs but Wendy keeps her black dress on; the glimpses of thigh, neck, streaming hair and entwined limbs are more evocative than any more blatant sexual scene that might have been crafted.
At the end, Giovanni breaks into the forbidden room. What does he find there? Ah, you must see the film to find out!
Pontus spoke of creating the entire work with composer David Lang’s music in mind but without having the actual pieces from the composer (some already written, some specially created for the film) to work with. Amazing how organic the final fusion of film, dance and music turned out. Maya Beiser’s ravishing cello playing gives an added texture of romance, longing and suspicion to the film.
LABYRINTH WITHIN – both the film and the staged dancework inspired by it – may be seen this Summer at Jacob’s Pillow (details here), followed by a two-week, five-city tour of Sweden as part of Dancenet in October, and then at here in New York City in Autumn 2012.
Tonight’s showing at BAC drew a packed house and many luminaries: NYCB‘s Janie Taylor and Sebastien Marcovici, the radiant Pauline Golbin, ballerina de luxe Alessandra Ferri, photographer/film-maker David Michalek (husband of Ms. Whelan), MORPHOSES‘s lovely Frances Chaverini, choreographer Laura Ward, and my dear friend writer/artist Monica Wellington. NYC Ballet soloist Adrain Danchig-Waring makes a brief appearance in the film.
In 2010 as the film was being completed, both Pontus and Wendy generously contibuted to an article about the project for my blog, and Wendy loaned me her evocative images. You will find the story here.
Monday February 20, 2012 – Herman Cornejo, one of the most dazzling dancers on the face of the Earth, gave a Master Class at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center today. The studio was packed with young dancers and Herman generously extended the normal 90-minute class time by adding an extra half-hour for the boys. And then he stayed on beyond that, working on specifics with the guys who were – of course – thrilled with this unexpected bonus. After about five minutes of impromptu coaching, Herman asked if the studio was needed for another class; since it wasn’t, he seemed to be settling in for some intensive work with the dancers. When I left, they were still at it – with Herman demonstrating some phenomenal combinations and sharing the secrets of the phenomenal technique.
Herman has a melodious speaking voice, sometimes slipping charmingly into Spanish. The Argentine premier danseur clearly loves his craft and is anxious to share his knowledge; he encourages the dancers to find the balance between lyricism and the dynamics of the movement. His own impeccable style is so fluid, graceful and yet thoroughly masculine, and he worked patiently with the boys to explore the mechanics of the basic steps on which they can build the expressive qualities of their dancing.
Watching Herman toss off his combinations was both a revelation and an inspiration. Seeing him perform with ABT at The Met is always thrilling – a GISELLE he danced with Xiomara Reyes remains in my mind as a highlight of the last three decades of ballet-going – and watching him at close range in the studio was an inspiring experience. I’d been having kind of a down day but observing this class really gave me a rush; imagine if I’d actually been able to take the class! I found myself envying the young dancers and again wishing to be 50 years younger and knowing that this was what I was meant to have done. Illusions are by their nature sweet, as the Marquise de Merteuil would say.
As I passed by the huge studio window while heading home, I saw that the boys were still dancing away, with Herman right in the thick of things. What a generous artist and person. I came home and grabbed my ABT schedule; I have to see Herman Cornejo onstage again at the earliest opportunity.
My gratitude to Herman, MMAC’s Erin Fogarty and publicist Michelle Brandon Tabnick for allowing me to watch this uplifting class. Erin and I had a great time comparing our (lack of) photographic skills. A few of my pictures are here.
Above: Maria Kowroski photographed by Matt Furman. Maria danced AGON this evening at New York City Ballet, winning a spectacular ovation after her pas de deux with Amar Ramasar.
Saturday February 18, 2012 evening – I’ve been going to New York City Ballet less and less these days. The dancers and the ballets still excite and entice me but the way things are being run there is a real turn-off. I’ve had to pick and choose my programmes carefully, and I have missed some debuts that I’d love to have seen but simply couldn’t afford to attend. Meanwhile the presence of two recent disasters on the programming meant there were whole weeks when there was no cause to go.
Tonight was my only chance to see AGON and Tchaikovsky SUITE #3 this season; it was unfortunate that the other work on the programme was INTERPLAY, one of my least-favorite ballets. Compounding the tedium of the Robbins work, we had to sit thru an ‘introduction’ to Morton Gould’s third-rate music before the ballet started. To say that it was well-danced is an under-statement but in a way the better it’s danced the sorrier I feel for the dancers strapped with this juvenile, gee-whiz drivel.
INTERPLAY put me in a pissy mood. But the moment the curtain rose on the four men – Adrian Danchig-Waring, Amar Ramasar, Craig Hall and Sean Suozzi – at the start of AGON, the stars fell into perfect alignment and all seemed right with the world. This euphoric feeling continued through the evening’s concluding Tchaikovsky SUITE #3 as well. On the podium Clotilde Otranto (Stravinsky) and guest conductor Daniel Capps (Tchaikovsky) illuminated the music of these two geniuses, properly eradicating the insipidity of the opening Gould.
In AGON Maria Kowroski had one of those nights that great ballerinas sometimes have when their technique and artistry transcend the music and the steps and transport the audience to an exalted state. Magnificently partnered by Amar Ramasar, Maria was on fire from her first entrance. Moving through the sculptural poses of the pas de deux, her sensational legs and line were molded by the magnetic Amar into improbable designs that only a genius like Balanchine could have conceived. As the duet progressed the two dancers went beyond the physical into some cosmic otherworld. They slumped into their final pose and were engulfed in a tidal wave of applause and cheers; they had to step forward and bow three times and even then the audience were reluctant to let the ballet proceed. At the end of AGON, Maria and Amar were called out for an extra bow as the crowd went wild. So wonderful to hear this kind of enthusiasm. And they deserved every bit of it.
But it was that kind of AGON…right from the start, actually. Sean Suozzi’s dynamic solo set the ballet on its marvelous trajectory; my hat is ever off to Sean for the edgy brilliance and unstinting personal commitment of his dancing. He was spectacular tonight. Amanda Hankes and Ashley Laracey remind us of how rich in ballerina treasures our corps de ballet is.
In a striking tour de force role debut, Megan LeCrone yet again served notice that she is one of New York City Ballet‘s most fascinating dancers. Her strength and clarity of movement underscore her distinctive look, giving her performances a compelling quality; I always feel an extra twinge of anticipation when I see her name on the casting list. Tonight she was especially impressive. Her two charismatic cavaliers were Adrian Danchig-Waring and Craig Hall; they danced their duet vividly, like young gods cavorting on Olympus. We are so lucky to have them.
AGON always seems like a big ballet but really there are only a dozen dancers involved; tonight’s quartet of supporting ballerinas was particularly attractive: Marika Anderson, Dana Jacobson, Gretchen Smith, and Lydia Wellington. These girls appeared again in various capacities in the concluding Tchaikovsky SUITE #3 where – in fact – the entire corps shone with individual and collective dazzle.
In the haunted ballroom, the pale dreamer (Ask LaCour) conjures up a luminous vision of feminine perfection (Sara Mearns). Backed by a sextette of long-haired beauties, the couple dance a hypnotic, dreamlike duet of pursuit and evasion. Sara Mearns was radiantly voluptuous and Ask LaCour questingly poetic as they moved to the heart-stopping theme of the Elegie; Ask can only fleetingly hold onto his ideal as she eludes him time and again. At the end, Sara sweeps into an iconically deep backbend as a farewell gesture before vanishing altogether from this vision of romantic rapture, leaving Ask alone in his reverie. The moment stabs me in the heart every time.
Janie Taylor has only to step onto the stage to make my heart race; her captivating allure and mystery enslaved me yet again in the Valse Melancolique where her sylphlike figure and glorious hair were set afloat on Balanchine’s ethereal waltz. Jared Angle, ever the ideal cavalier, treated his ballerina like the treasure she is. This brief film, which I have watched a hundred times and will watch hundreds more, captures a bit of Janie Taylor’s unique magic.
In an evening of ballerina splendors, Ana Sophia Scheller once again made me long for her Nikiya, Giselle and Aurora as she swirled thru the restless pirouettes and fouettes of the Scherzo. In a floaty, gauzy gown the Argentine beauty sailed on the music with a glamorous air: simply intoxicating. Antonio Carmena was her high-leaping cavalier; it is always a great pleasure to see Antonio onstage. Among the corps, Callie Bachman was particularly luscious.
After all this, something truly grand was needed to cap the evening and as the lights went up on Theme and Variations, the youthful royal couple Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz stood ready. They danced superbly: who needs champagne when you have Megan and Joaquin to get you high?! Megan’s elegant pirouettes and her Aurora-like charm seemed absolutely perfect this evening while Joaquin gave a performance remarkable both in its execution and in his handsome, princely appearance. Such a pleasure to watch this celebrated partnership tonight.
Outstanding THEME demi-solistes this evening: Gwyneth Muller, Amanda Hankes, Lauren King and Brittany Pollack – each a ballerina of unique qualities. Their cavaliers were Andrew Scordato, Christian Tworzyanski, Devin Alberda and Austin Laurent; Austin has been looking especially good ths season. The full bevy of corps beauties and handsome young danseurs filled the stage for the finale, moving in Mr. B’s gloriously structured patterns to bring the evening to a fantastic finish.
My special thanks to photographer Matt Furman for allowing me to use his portrait of Maria Kowroski.
Monday January 30, 2012 – The Met’s Baroque pastiche ENCHANTED ISLAND made for a dismal night at the opera. Placido Domingo as Neptune, in a Ken Howard production photo above, gave the performance one of its few perk-up moments. His voice, though aged, remains a distinctive instrument and he brought a real personality to his relatively brief appearance, something no other singer in the cast was able to do.
The Playbill featured a two-page synopsis. Drawing on two complex and brilliant Shakespeare masterpieces, THE TEMPEST and MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, the plot is a mishmash of characters and situations that do not engage us emotionally, and rarely even theatrically. The libretto is cheesy and stilted; avoiding Shakesperian style, it has a contemporary feel at odds with the setting and the music. Forced humour abounds, and the characters are made to sing uncomfortably-structured sentences. Unable to understand much of the diction, I flipped on my Met Titles and regretted it because reading the script added to a sense of deflation as the first act progressed.
The opera is much too long. The 90-minute first act seemed to have reached a pleasant climax with the Neptune scene, but then there was another prolonged slow aria for Prospero. Oddly, the house lights suddenly came on at full brightness during the postlude of this aria, then were dimmed and turned off again.
Slow arias in fact abound; but that proved as well since none of the singers had the needed vocal facility to astonish us with their coloratura. The annoying voice of Danielle DeNiese as Ariel went in one ear and out the other; she made no vocal impression at all. Anthony Roth Costanzo, replacing David Daniels as Prospero, seemed over-parted in the big house; pushing for volume, his sustained notes sometimes took on a steady beat. At other times the voice vanished behind the orchestra. Joyce Di Donato was announced as indisposed but she had “graciously consented…blah, blah, blah.” Please singers: if you are unwell enough to need an announcement, don’t sing. We don’t pay Met prices to hear sick singers. At any rate, Di Donato only had one bad low note, but her voice – even in full health – lacks a distinctive colour, the sort of personal timbre that made singers like Teresa Berganza, Dame Janet Baker and Frederica von Stade so instantly identifiable. Luca Pisaroni tended to be over-emphatic in his fiorature which verged on barking at times. Lisette Oropesa sang attractively as Miranda as did Paul Appleby as as Demetrius. The libretto did them no favors, but they – and in fact everyone onstage – went at the words gamely enough, even if they felt foolish doing so.
The idea of doing a Baroque pastische is not a bad one but it seemed to me that between the tedious libretto, too many ‘laments’, and the too-busy plot, ENCHANTED ISLAND was going nowhere. Two 45-minute acts with a 20-minute intermission should have sufficed; instead there were expendable arias, unnecessary da capos, and overdrawn recits as the first act stretched onward. We left at half-time and so, it seems, did lots of other people.
Friday January 27, 2012 – Today at the Battery Dance studio, Lydia Johnson’s dancers were rehearsing her 2006 dancework FALLING OUT. Set to music of Philip Glass (his 3rd Symphony) FALLING OUT will be performed at a special matinee at Peridance on Sunday February 26th. In Kokyat’s image at the top, Max van der Sterre and Kerry Shea.
The work is essentially plotless but the theme of a romantic triangle is clearly established: the relationship between Kerry and Max is a tempestuous one in which moments of harmony (above) alternate with fiery outbursts. The ‘other’ woman, danced by Jessica Sand (seated at right in the photo above) remains an enigmatic figure in the piece. Jessica and Max never dance together; we can never be sure if Jessica is real or an idealized vision in Max’s mind that lures his attentions away from Kerry.
Meanwhile a female chorus, at first indifferent to the central conflict but later drawn into it, dance in stylized a commentary on the action. The dancers are Lisa Iannacito McBride, Kaitlin Accetta, Sarah Pon and Laura Di Orio.
It was an overcast day, but from time to time the sun broke thru the clouds and the studio was illuminated. Above: Laura and Kaitlin.
Dramatic structure: the elements of FALLING OUT are brilliantly sorted in Lydia’s choreography which seems like a play without words. She uses the Glass score with deft imagination, balancing speed and stillness, contemplation and action.
Max and Kerry have developed an impressive partnership in which Max’s strength and skill allows Kerry complete freedom to simply be her beautiful self. They have all the moves down pat and spent the rehearsal mainly working on exploring nuances of gesture and expression. Lydia’s style of encouraging her dancers to paticipate in the process of refining the movement makes her rehearsals unusually satisfying to watch.
Star power: Max’s t-shirt says it all. Great presence, and a real force in the studio.
Max and Kerry
Mood swings: the couple go from tender…
…to turbulent in a flash.
Mysterious force: Jessica Sand keeps us wondering exactly who this woman is, interloper or silent muse? The questions that FALLING OUT raises about the idea of devotion vs desire give us pause to contemplate the realties and illusions of romantic relationships.
Sleeping beauties
FALLING OUT, along with Lydia’s as-yet-untitled new Golijov piece, will be shown at Peridance on Sunday February 26th at 2:30 PM. $10.00 donation-based admission.
All photos by Kokyat. His Leica images from this rehearsal are here.
Oberon's Glade 