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The Third Kingdom

Monday May 28, 2012 – By this, my third ABT BAYADERE within a week, certain aspects of the ballet were not quite holding my attention. Contributing to my inability to focus during Act I were a pair of people in the next box who wouldn’t shut up. They were obviously Cojocaru fans, since every move the ballerina made caused them to turn to one another and comment, with animated gestures. It seemed to me they missed about half of her performance as they analyzed her play-by-play. They were just out of range for shushing. So I retreated to the Family Circle where there were rows of empty seats; I watched my third ravishing Kingdom of the Shades from on high, then decided I’d had enough BAYADERE for one season and went home.

The thrills of the evening were provided by Herman Cornejo (photo at top) who was I believe dancing Solor at The Met for the first time. He was simply splendid, a lover by turns ardent and distraught, a young prince of a fellow caught in a triangle not of his own devising. His dancing was magnificent; his Act I solo at the betrothal festivities simply thrilling – the audience went wild – and he was equally impressive in the Shades variation. Herman’s partnering was gallant and smooth, and he maintained his cool command even when the feather in his headpiece went somewhat awry in Act I. And he’s just such a handsome man, you can’t help loving him. My only regret in leaving early was not to be present for the final curtain calls where, I feel certain, Herman would have received a dazzling ovation.

Alina Cojocaru danced beautifully as Nikiya and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her; unfairly (and ironically) the antics of her two admirers in the next box kept me from fully engaging in her performance in Act I. In Shades, she had a lovely lightness of movement that was captiviating, though I did feel at times she was not getting just the tempo she wanted from the pit. An opera singer can communicate to an attentive conductor when she wants to go a bit faster or slower, but there’s really no way for a dancer to do this unless she simply dances on at her own pace and hopes the orchestra will catch up. I wonder if I’d have been more drawn into Cojocaru’s portrayal if she’d been my first rather than my thrid Nikiya of the week. Hee Seo had successfully mined the deep lyricism and mystery of the role, and Polina Semionova’s dramatically nuanced interpretation and her breath-taking dancing somehow held more resonance for me, though Cojocaru was nothing short of sublime.

The scheduled Gamzatti, Natalia Osipova, was ill and was replaced by Isabella Boylston, repeating the role in which she made a very fine impression last week. The trio of solo Shades – Sarah Lane, Maria Riccetto and Yuriko Kajiya – danced grandly and were well-differentiated. Roddy Doble was an especially vivid High Priest. In the third scene of Act I, I had a very hard time prying my opera glasses off Simone Messmer; whenever she was onstage I was enslaved.

May 28, 2012
ABT BAYDERE: Semionova/Hallberg/Seo

Saturday May 26, 2012 evening – Following her memorable performance in SWAN LAKE last season at ABT, I was keen to see Polina Semionova (above) again. Tonight she danced Nikiya in LA BAYADERE with the Company for the first time, partnered by premier danseur David Hallberg. It was a performance I’d been anticipating for a long time and it was well worth the wait.

The House, though better-populated than at the week’s earlier performance, was far from full. Some idiot brought a baby…WTF? After some whimpering in Act I, the kid konked out for Act II; then she took him home. What was the point? People are so vain and thoughtless.

David Hallberg (above) now bestrides the dance world like a colossus – and a very elegant colossus at that. His dancing was splendid of course, with his stretched-out jetés and his imperial line. What struck me most about David’s performance tonight was the depth of poetic resonance that shone thru in his every moment onstage. He’s always had a beautiful presence onstage but it seemed to me that he’s now more intense in his emotional focus and superbly responsive to the dramatic nuances of the role.

Ms. Semionova is a thrilling Nikiya, her impeccable technique and supremely lissome physique investing her performance with a very personal radiance. From her first entrance it was clear we were in for a fascinating embodiment of the role. For all the inspired dancing that Semionova and Hallberg gave us tonight, it was the electrifying chemistry of their partnership that put the performance in that rare echelon of great evenings of dance. Right from their first encounter, the tenderness and steadfastness of their forbidden love gave the evening a vibrant romantic quality, reaching its apex in their reunion in the Kingdom of the Shades. The cares and concerns of the daily world fell away as we watched them dancing together.

Hee Seo, a lovely Nikiya earlier in the week, was tonight appearing as Gamzatti. She gave an impressive performance despite a momentary lapse at the end of the fouette passage. A great beauty, Seo held the stage well, uneclipsed by the star-power of the Semionova/Hallberg duo. Joseph Phillips danced brilliantly in the Bronze Idol solo, effortlessly filling the stage with his leaps and turns. In a particularly appealing trio of Shades, Luciana Paris, Maria Riccetto and Yuriko Kagiya danced superbly and were well-contrasted in personality, each exuding her own perfume. Bravissimi!

May 26, 2012
Morales Dance Rehearsing AMOR BRUTAL

Above: dancers Karina Lesko and Leonel Linares, photo by Kokyat. Click on the image to enlarge.

Monday May 21, 2012 – Choreographer Tony Morales invited Kokyat and me to a rehearsal-in-costume of his latest creation, AMOR BRUTAL which will premiere at performances by Staten Island Ballet on May 26th (8:00 PM) and May 27th (3:00 PM). For tickets call: 718 980 0500.

In this domestic-drama ballet, a married couple have reached an impasse. The mother tries to sway their three daughters to her side, but the girls prefer their charming father. The mother is left on her own.

Karina Lesko and Leonel Linares are the married couple…

…MarieLorene Fichaux, Kate Loh and Joanna Prewieziencew are the daughters.

Here are some of Kokyat’s images from this rehearsal:

Karina Lesko

MarieLorene Fichaux

Kate Loh

Joanna Prewieziencew

Mother and daughters

Father and daughters

MarieLorene, Leonel

Karina, MarieLorene

Karina Lesko

Leonel, Karina

The ballet will be danced to live music: Mary Ann Stewart (soprano) and Doug Martin (piano) performing four of Manuel de Falla’s Popular Spanish songs. The fifth and final section is danced to an old recording of Tony Morales’ father singing “Amor Brutal” when he was a professional singer in Puerto Rico and the USA in the 1960’s and 70’s.

AMOR BRUTAL will also be performed on Sept 29th and 30th @ The Theater of The Riverside Church.

All photography by Kokyat.

May 25, 2012
SALOME @ Carnegie Hall

Thursday May 24, 2012 – This concert performance of Richard Strauss’ SALOME by the Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of Franz Welser-Most has been on my calendar for months. Photo of the conductor above by Roger Mastroianni. The maestro and his musicians gave a spine-tingling account of this most dazzlingly colourful of operatic scores. From the massive onslaughts of ominous themes predicting the opera’s brutal outcome to the shimmering delicacy of filagree harp or the sensuous spinning of mid-East exotica in the winds, SALOME has never sounded better. The great sway and sweep of the Dance of the Seven Veils was enthralling, and the maestro’s fingertip control of dynamics helped soprano Nina Stemme turn the arduous final scene into a personal triumph.

One unfortunate aspect of the presentation though was that the singers were seated on raised platforms along the outer walls of the stage. This meant that for 1/3 of the audience in the hall’s upper reaches, the protagonists were simply not visible. We had a great view of the Nazarenes, Jews and Soldiers but had nary a glimpse of Ms. Stemme all evening. It seems like presenters are always trying to do something clever when giving an opera in concert form; it’s best just to line the singers up across the front of the stage and let ’em rip.

Nina Stemme scored a huge success in the title-role. I’ve had a great run of Salomes in my years of opera-going: Rysanek, Bumbry, Niska, Marton, Behrens, Malfitano, Mattila. Ms. Stemme’s final scene was on a par with the finest of these, though earlier in the opera the tone was a bit edgy, not always in focus, and some top notes were a shade flat. There’s also not a lot of sheer beauty in the Stemme timbre although – like the immortal Behrens – she can persuade you through vocal colouring that certain notes are disturbingly lovely. But any misgivings were swept clean away by the power and expressivity of her vocalism in the opera’s magnificent closing pages.

Eric Owens sang with powerful commitment as Jochanaan. His tone has a somewhat covered, throaty quality and in a few spots the force of the orchestra almost overwhelmed him. He stayed the course and was clearly well-liked by the audience. Rudolf Schasching sang with cutting power and verbal subtlety as Herod and Jane Henschel made the most of every phrase of Herodias’s neurotic music: these two singers contibuted much to the evening’s success. Jennifer Johnson Cano, a Met Rhinemaiden, sang with seductive, darkish appeal as the Page, and Garrett Sorenson was a strong Narraboth. Oddly, Mr. Sorenson remained onstage after his character’s suicide and was still there as Salome met her fate. Sturdy excellence from a trio of lower voices – Evan Boyer, Sam Hindley and Brian Keith Johnson – who doubled variously as Nazarenes and Soldiers. The Jews were a noisy, annoying lot but that’s exactly what Strauss wanted.

May 24, 2012
In the Studio with Jeremy McQueen

Tuesday May 22, 2012 – Choreographer Jeremy McQueen invited me to a rehearsal of his ensemble work Incandescent Paths today at Battery Dance Studio. The piece will be presented at the Young Choreographer’s Festival, which will be held at Symphony Space on Saturday, June 2nd. Jeremy is one of eleven choreographers whose works will be presented at the festival this year.

Incandescent Paths is set to the Ahn Trio’s recording of ‘Swing Shift: Prelude & Night Flight’, composed by Kenji Bunch. Jeremy will also present this piece (and other works) on Friday, July 27th as part of Jacob’s Pillow‘s Inside/Out series.

As the dancers continued working on Incandescent Paths today, I realized it’s much too fast-paced a dancework for me to capture with my limited photographic skill. Most of my images were lovely blurs of action (above). I did manage to catch a few of the dancers in moments of stillness:

Danielle Schulz

Amanda Mondoro

Tina Jackson

It was really good seeing my dancer/buddies Norbert de la Cruz and Matthew Tiberi again but they were dancing so fast that my camera couldn’t capture them.

The day after I visited Jeremy’s studio, he received some excellent news: he has been commissioned to create a full-length ballet for the 2012 Dance Gallery Festival. ‘What Lies Within‘, an ensemble work for seven male dancers, will receive its world premiere on October 14, 2012 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, as part of the Dance Gallery Festival’s “Level UP” series. Two other choreographers will also be represented, selected along with Jeremy from a field of over 250 applicants.

May 24, 2012
ABT BAYADERE: Seo/Muntagirov/Boylston

Wednesday May 23, 2012 – Tonight was the first of three BAYADEREs I’ll be seeing at ABT. Although this evening’s cast was devoid of top-tier stellar names, the evening turned out very nicely and my friend Kokyat enjoyed his first experience of watching the Kingdom of the Shades. Hee Seo, above, danced the role of Nikiya, with Isabella Boylston as Gamzatti and an ABT newcomer Vadim Muntagirov as Solor.

Going to the ballet at The Met is not a particularly rewarding experience. The place is simply too huge and you feel detached from the action; even when I sit in the orchestra, the dancers seem miles away. Tonight we were in Balcony Row A which was fine until a group of young people snatched the seats behind us after the first intermission and were restless and whispery. We moved further back for the last act. Sadly, there were tons of empty seats on every level; the Family Circle was virtually empty.

There’s also the distracting sound of toe shoes clomping on the Met stage. Mr. B made sure that this would not be a problem at His House, but at The Met – which was built to project sound from the stage – it sometimes sounds like horses are galloping around.

For all that, the performance succeeded in making a fine impression thanks to the work of the three principals and several fine individual contributions among the smaller roles. Hee Seo was a beautiful Nikiya to behold, her dancing was lyrical and devoid of theatricality. It’s a long and demanding role and the ballerina maintained her dramatic focus and her refined musicality throughout, leaving us with several luminous images.

Vadim Muntagirov (above, photo by Sian Trenbeth) is a slender, elegant danseur with a lovely technical polish. His airy leaps and swift footwork held the opera glasses in place throughout his variations, with deep backbends in the concluding poses making an especially fine impression. He and Ms. Seo created a dreamy partnership as their adagio unfolded.

Isabella Boylston (above) was Gamzatti. I overheard someone refer to the character as an ‘evil princess’, but is she really evil? Like Amneris in Verdi’s AIDA, she’s entitled – she’s used to having her way. And, it should be pointed out, Nikiya tries to kill her first. Yes, the snake in the basket thing is cruel but you have to admire Gamzatti’s inventiveness. At any rate, Ms. Boylston was excellent both in her dancing and presentation of the character; in the third act especially her pirouettes were radiant. I look forward to her upcoming Odette/Odile.

Craig Salstein was the Bronze Idol. His technical clarity and vivid delineation of this short but demanding role save me having to publish a disclaimer: he’s one of my opera buddies. I know he’s always thrilled to be on the stage where Tebaldi and Corelli sangs their hearts out. Bravo, Craig! Dancing two roles, including the third solo varation in Kingdom of the Shades, Simone Messmer is one of the most captivating dancers I’ve ever encountered. Technique and presence are abundant, but Simone also has an intangible quality that sets her apart. And it was fun picking out dancers we’ve met in other contexts: people like Sean Stewart, Eric Tamm, Nicola Curry and Puanani Brown.

Yes, parts of BAYADERE – including much of Act I – are hokey. But once Solor takes up the hookah, we know we’re about to be transported to that elusive Kingdom of the Shades. It’s an experience that always makes ballet-going worthwhile.

May 23, 2012
Cedar Lake @ The Joyce: Program B

Tuesday May 22, 2012 – Three works, all of them new to New York City, held the stage as Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet started their second week at The Joyce. Above, an image of the Company in Simply Marvel by Regina van Berkel.

On a stage illuminated by huge hanging parchment-shaded lamps, Ms. van Berkel’s work commences with a solo danced by Oscar Ramos; the music, for solo piano, is ultra-slow and so is the movement. The dancers arrive one-by-one, the women in stylized tutus and toe shoes. Sculptural formations assemble and dissolve in this slow-motion universe.

The mood then shifts to a brighter, more animated vision as solo violin music by Nicolo Paganini sets off the three women – Acacia Schachte, Ebony Williams and Soojin Choi – in a series of on-pointe vignettes, partnered by the men. Quirky, witty and jagged, the work maintains an odd sense of formality thanks to the music. Impressive dancing from the entire cast brought the work to a close, signaling the first of many ovations during the evening.

Halfway thru the intermission, the curtain rose on the stagehands preparing for the second work: Tuplet by Alexander Ekman. As the crew busy themselves setting up, Harumi Terayama stands alone in an illuminated square, gesticulating rapidly or conducting an imaginary orchestra. As the house lights dim, five other dancers take up their own squares.

After an introductory sequence, the work’s highlight comes with a solo brilliantly danced in silhouette by Jon Bond which he – one of Gotham’s most incredible dancers – delivered with astonishing clarity and power. Throughout this ballet, the sounds of the dancers’ movements – and even of their breathing – mesh with the musical score to create a personalized soundscape.

The audience went wild after a wonderfully inventive passage in which the six dancers lined up across the front of the stage and danced to the sounds of their own names being spoken. This tour de force was so perfectly delivered by the dancers. Performing in Tuplet, in addition to Harumi and Jon, were Jubal Battisti, Oscar Ramos, Joaquim de Santana and Ebony Williams: an all-star cast.

In the closing work, Necessity, Again by Jo Stromgren (World Premiere) the stage is strewn with sheets of paper; pages hang from clotheslines strung above the space, and periodically the dancers bring in more and more sheaves of pages; occassionally someone flings a fistful of papers into the air. In this messy, cluttered setting the dancers appear alternately bored, bemused or borderline manic. There is a stylized rape scene and at one point the dancers strip down to their underwear (some people go to Cedar Lake just for the bodies). Meanwhile an annoying voice lectures on the meaning of ‘necessity’; this is offset by a series of Charles Aznavour songs. Somehow out of this chaos a dancework is built, and – thanks to the individuality and dramatic capacities of the Cedar Lake dancers – it becomes a necessity to watch.

The audience – including danceworld luminaries Miki Orihara, Stephen Pier, David Hallberg and Larry Keigwin – gave the Cedar Lakers a rousing reception at the end of the evening.

May 22, 2012
Lydia Johnson Dance: Rehearsal

Sunday May 21, 2012 – On this beautiful, sunny day Kokyat and I climbed the many steps to Battery Dance Studio where Lydia Johnson was rehearsing with her dancers for their upcoming performances at Peridance, June 23rd & 24th, 2012. Lydia will be showing a new work to music of J S Bach, a darkly luminous female ensemble work to music of Osvaldo Golijov, a revival of her 2006 FALLING OUT, and a poignant domestic quartet entitled SUMMER HOUSE. Both FALLING OUT and SUMMER HOUSE are set to music of Philip Glass. In the photo at the top, dancers Lisa Iannacito McBride and Kaitlin Accetta.

For her June performances, Lydia has inviited two guest dancers from the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company: Attila Joey Csiki (above)….

…and Reed Luplau (above); Reed will be dancing in both the new Bach work and in SUMMER HOUSE. These two dancers, steeped in the Lubovitch style, look perfect in Lydia’s lyrically expressive choreography.

The rehearsal was underway when we arrived: working on the new Bach piece which is basically all mapped out but still open to editing or embellishment. Lydia works from instinct; she is likely to put refining touches on her work right up til curtain time. Her dancers are all accomplished performers who are able to find the nuances in the movement that make the choreography looks its best.

Here are some of Kokyat’s images from today’s rehearsal of the Bach:

Lisa Iannacito McBride & Attila Joey Csiki

Katie Martin, Lisa Iannacito McBride, Jessica Sand

Min-Seon Kim & Blake Hennessy-York

Kaitlin Accetta, Lisa Iannacito McBride

Sarah Pon, Blake Hennessy-York

Reed Luplau, Attila Joey Csiki & Sarah Pon

Attila & Blake

Katie Martin

Reed Luplau

Sarah & Blake

Attila & Lisa

Images from the rehearsal of SUMMER HOUSE appear here.

All photography by Kokyat.

May 21, 2012
Lydia Johnson Dance: Rehearsing SUMMER HOUSE

A gallery of Kokyat’s images from a rehearsal of Lydia Johnson’s SUMMER HOUSE. Read about this rehearsal here. Above: Reed Luplau (a guest dancer from Lar Lubovitch Dance Company) and Jessica Sand. In this dancework, set to some of Philip Glass’s most haunting music, a man and three women reflect upon a Summer spent together in a small house. The exact relationships between the four people are never stated; visions of their desires, dreams and disappointments suffuse the work with an Autumnal sadness as they prepare to move on from the time they have shared.

Click on each image to enlarge:

Reed Luplau

Lisa Iannacito McBride, Jessica Sand

All images by Kokyat.

May 21, 2012
Rehearsal: Jennifer Muller’s LOVERS

Thursday April 26, 2012 – It’s always a great pleasure to visit Jennifer Muller and her dancers at her unique studio space on West 24th Street. This afternoon I was invited to watch a rehearsal of LOVERS, a 1978 work that Jennifer is reviving. I asked photographer Brian Krontz to meet me at the studio; above, two of the excellent dancers of Jennifer Muller/the Works: Jen Peters and Duane Gosa.

Inspired by the paintings of Gustave Klimt, LOVERS presents a series of four duets which trace the development of a single relationship: infatuation, lust, trust, and finally deep and committed love. The score is by Keith Jarrett. Those are the facts, but the back-story about the evolution of the piece as Jennifer related it to me is fascinating.

She had commissioned a score from Keith Jarrett; she had the dancework completed but the composer wasn’t sending her any music. He told her he wanted to see what she’d created so it was arranged that the dancers would run thru the entire piece while Keith improvised at the piano. The session was recorded and – miraculously – Jennifer had her score in one fell swoop. And what a great score it is, bursting with colour and rhythmic vitality.

Observing the rehearsal today, I could see how inspired Keith Jarrett must have been watching this choreography: the movement is spectacular, the partnering uncanny in its pacing and physicality. To be honest, I’ve seldom felt so blown away by the sheer dynamics of dance partnering: dancing at high-speed with incredible lifts and swirling motifs across the floor woven in, there’s no room for even the slightest error. The dancers of Jennifer Muller/The Works have mastered her complex and ultra-demanding choreography and the result is truly breath-taking.

One of the best things about watching a studio rehearsal at Jennifer’s is: the dancers go into full-performance mode. They fling themselves full-tilt into the choreography and immerse themselves in their characters, producing the same dramatic energy you’d experience in the theater: only here they are just inches away. Unfettered by any thought of restraint, these dancers – some of Gotham’s most fascinating movers – give the viewer a sense of exhilaration.

With an eye to upcoming performances, the duets have been double- or even triple-cast. Once I saw the complexity of the partnering I could thoroughly appreciate the energy and dedication the dancers have put into learning this work.

Buddy Valdez and Olivia Jordan (above) opened the rehearsal with a joyously expressive duet celebrating the discovery of mutual attraction; ardently flirtatious, the dancers frequently open their arms in expansive gestures that indicate their love knows no bounds. The ecstatic energy of the piece was beautifully caught by the two youthful and attractive dancers, while the choreography covered the space with the restless, questing movement. I was hooked on LOVERS within seconds.

Olivia and Buddy, above. The rehearsal moved on, with various partnerships evolving from one duet to the next. The Jarrett score constantly matched the dance nuance for nuance, quite amazing considering the spontaniety of its creation.

Here are some of Brian’s images from this series of duets:

Seiko Fugita and Eric Williams

Gen Hashimoto and Seiko Fugita

Gen and Seiko

Chellamar Bernard and Seiko Fugita

Chellamar and Seiko

Seiko and Chellamar

Duane Gosa and Jen Peters

Duane and Jen

Caroline Kehoe and Pascal Rekoert

Pascal and Caroline

Pascal and Caroline

LOVERS will be performed at the Katsbaan International Dance Center on May 5th, and will be in Jennifer Muller/The Works repertoire for the 2012-2013 season. I look forward to seeing (and hearing) it again.

All photos by Brian Krontz. Click on the individual images to enhance.

April 29, 2012