Tag: Ballet

Deborah Wingert/Lydia Johnson Dance Salon

Above: Deborah Wingert

Sunday March 23, 2014 – Friends – long-time and new – of Lydia Johnson Dance gathered at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center this afternoon for a salon/studio presentation of Lydia’s latest work-in-progress, set to the Mozart Fantasy in C-minor, K. 475. Wearing one of her many hats, the extraordinary Deborah Wingert – teacher, choreographer, stager for the Balanchine Trust, and ballet mistress for Lydia Johnson Dance – gave a pre-salon class, demonstrated her inspirational coaching abilities, and spoke of her life as a dancer whose career took wing with Balanchine’s blessing.

First, a class. The dancers of Lydia’s company come from varied backgrounds. Deborah, who teaches Company class weekly for LJD, has been imbuing a feeling of stylistic unity in the dancers. Lydia’s choreographic vision is an unusual fusion of ballet and contemporary; Deborah’s class work places an emphasis on ballet while at the same time encouraging the individuality of expression of each dancer. It seems like a paradox, but it’s happening.

The Mozart-in-progress opens with a lyrical solo danced by Katie Martin; throughout this work, Lydia provides each of her dancers with prominent passages allowing their singular qualities to shine thru.

One extended segment is a duet for Sarah Pon and Anthony Bocconi (above), dancing in a realm of tenderness and trust.

A duet for Blake Hennessy-York and Chazz Fenner-McBride (above), which the boys have just started working on, was coached by Deborah and in the span of a few moments took on a more vivid quality, having made slight adjustments in placement and support. Chazz, the newest dancer in Lydia’s company, brings the same sincerity to his dancing here that made his performances in Robin Becker’s INTO SUNLIGHT so meaningful.

Kerry Shea, Laura DiOrio, Lisa Borres and Min Kim along with Katie and Sarah create beautiful shapes and a sense of quiet urgency as they come and go with dream-like unpredictability – all of this to Mozart’s peerless melodies.

LJD‘s Steve Cramer interviewed Deborah (above); she spoke of the affinity that has developed between Lydia Johnson and herself, and of their shared belief in the communicative power of music. Deborah further regaled us with stories of working for Mr. B, sharing anecdotes which were moving and witty by turns.

As a savory ‘dessert’, Kerry Shea and Eric Williams (above) performed a duet from Lydia’s ballet NIGHT OF THE FLYING HORSES, to a score by Osvaldo Golijov. My friend Lisette Oropesa and I shared a secret smile as the haunting melody of “Je crois entendre encore” from Bizet’s PECHEURS DES PERLES suddenly materializes in a Golijovian incarnation. I was so glad to have my friends Lisette, Steven and Joe at the studio today; this was Lisette’s first opportunity to witness dance at close range, and I think it really moved her, especially since her beloved Mozart was an integral element of the afternoon.

The new Mozart, along with the Golijov and Lydia’s ravishing Schubert ballet NIGHT AND DREAMS, will all be part of her upcoming season at Ailey Citigroup in June; details will be forthcoming.

March 23, 2014
Ariel Rivka/CaitlinTrainor/Texture

Above: Kaitlyn Gilliland and Caitlin Trainor is a rehearsal photo by Paul B Goode

Thursday February 27th, 2014 – An evening of dance at Ailey Citigroup featuring three companies: Ariel Rivka Dance, Trainor Dance, and Texture Contemporary Ballet.

Caitlin Trainor presented two works: KaitlynCaitlin (2013) a duet showcasing Ms. Trainor and former New York City ballet dancer Kaitlyn Gilliland. This is a danced conversation between the choreographer, Caitlin, dancing barefooted, and guest artist Kaitlyn, dancing on pointe. To music by Major Scurlock, using piano and electronics, the two girls dressed in ruby-red frocks dance in-sync and then move off on separate trajectories to explore their own vocabularies in combinations that makes great use of the space. The work reaches a peak as they come face-to-face, literally, and the movement stops for a moment.

In the second Trainor piece, The Air Turned White, Ms. Trainor appears both in person and as a projected image, in filmwork crafted by Maria Niro. The dancer enters from the audience, wearing jeans and a halter top. To a pulsing electronic beat (the musical setting also by Ms. Niro) Caitlin begins to dance while on the huge screen above we see her folding and crawling slowly across the surface. In a miraculous ending, the filmed image shrinks to nothing.

Take… Taken… Taking (world premiere) was performed by Texture Contemporary Ballet; choreographed by Alan Obuzor to music by Philip Glass. This is a pas de cinq in three movements with the girls on pointe; simple blue costumes and fine lighting set off the dancers in this well-structured ballet in which Mr. Obuzor’s choreography shows imagination and musicality throughout. In the restless opening segment, the flow of movement and stylized port de bras keep us engaged; the vivid dark-haired dancer Alexandra Tiso seems something of an outsider, and the others seek to entice or console her with lovely gestures. Then a chill descends and Mr. Obuzor commences a long solo to the adagio section; seemingly a lost soul, the dancer uses his long limbs to express isolation and fear. The solo takes on a more agitated aspect but there seems to be no escape. Three girls return for the turbulent finale, their hair down. Ms. Tiso is seen again both in solo and duet phrases with Mr. Obuzor. The ending of the work is visually pleasing but slightly inconclusive dramatically…though that in itself adds to the ballet’s mystique. Dancers: Kelsey Bartman, Jennifer Grahnquist, Alan Obuzor, Alexandra Tiso and Brynn Vogel.

From Ariel Rivka Dance, The Book of Esther begins with Vashti – an homage to Vashti, wife of the ruler of Persia – which the Company performed last year. Set to a melodic score by David Homan for violin, cello, guitar and piano, Vashti features five women – four handmaidens and Queen Vashti – and tells the story of Vashti’s stuggle to choose between obeying her husband’s command that she dance naked before his guests or to maintain her dignity by refusing.

Hana Ginsburg Tirosh is a poetic Vashti with an expressive face; the dancing of the five women recalls both Isadora Duncan’s works and Jerome Robbins’ Antique Epigraphs.

Last year, Vashti stood alone; now the choreographer has extended the narrative continues with Esther. As the successor to the displaced Vashti, Esther is in the difficult position of having to inform the King that she is Jewish. The King’s advisor, Haman, works to undermine Esther.

Esther begins with the entry of a solo clarinetist (Moran Katz) who crosses the stage playing a wistful melody. The story the unfolds, with Claire Cholak as Esther advised by Mordechai (Kristen Licata) and by a vision of Vashti (Ms. Ginsburg Tirosh) as to how she should deal with her dilemma. Danita Shaheen dressed in red as the Good/Evil Haman brings a welcome vibrancy to the proceedings.

By extending the dancework to incorporate the stories of both queens, the piece now seems a bit long; it might be well to pare it down just a little to maintain the dramatic flow of the narrative. But that is up to the choreographer; as it stands now The Book of Esther is both musically and visually rewarding.

A note of praise for the excellent musicians who played the David Homan score live: Ms. Katz (clarinet), Mario Gotoh (violin), Nadav Lev (guitar), Elad Kabilio (cello) and Ben Laude (piano).

February 27, 2014
Preljocaj & Martins @ NYC Ballet

Above: from LA STRAVAGANZA

February 25th, 2014 – Angelin Preljocaj’s unusual 1997 ballet LA STRAVAGANZA and Peter Martins’ tango extravaganza TODO BUENOS AIRES (dating from 2000) were on the bill at New York City Ballet tonight, along with a Wheeldon pas de deux A PLACE FOR US.

To date I’ve admired everything I’ve seen by Mr. Preljocaj, most especially his L’ANNONCIATION which has been perfomed in New York City by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. I was at the NYCB premiere of LA STRAVAGANZA over a decade ago and was very taken with this dancework which revolves around a warp in the time continuum.

In LA STRAVAGANZA, a sextet of young people in contemporary dress are dancing quietly in the twilight to the music of Vivaldi. At the intrusion of mechanical sounds, a black panel at the rear of the stage rises to review another sextet: three men in Puritan garb and three colourfully-dressed peasant girls. The contemporary group warily explore these aliens from another era who dance in stiff patterns with a stylized gestural language. A pas de deux ensues for one of the contemporary girls and one of he Puritans; in the end the girl is abducted and taken off to the other world. The contemporary dancers return to their original formation and the lost girl magically reappears: the story seems poised to repeat itself, endlessly.

In this rather odd ballet, which as I recall tended to baffle people at its premiere, Mr. Preljocaj has successfully merged the heavenly Baroque music with works of 20th century composers Evelyn Ficarra, Robert Normandeau, Serge Morand, and Ake Parmerud. Dance highlights are a duet for two of the Puritan men – Sean Suozzi and Craig Hall – moving in-sync with fast-paced gestures, and the time-spanning pas de deux danced by the ever-intriguing Gretchen Smith and Sean Suozzi.

The contemporary boys – Devin Alberda, Joseph Gordon and Allen Peiffer – have some demanding combinations and later they stand stock still in a field of light as the girls – Ms. Smith, Brittany Pollack and Sara Adams – tentatively examine their bodies. Daniel Applebaum was the third Puritan, and a very attractive female trio – Emilie Gerrity, Claire Kretzschmar and Lydia Wellington – worked beautifully together and seemed to have stepped out of a Vermeer painting.

The title A PLACE FOR US made me think we were in for that cloyingly sentimental song from WEST SIDE STORY; but mercifully Chris Wheeldon turned to far more interesting – and rare – works from Andre Previn and Leonard Bernstein for this duet, the music being performed live onstage by Steven Hartman (clarinet) and Nancy McDill (piano).

The duet, danced by NYCB‘s beloved couple Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild, is performed in squares of light gleaming onstage. The piece has a dedication: ‘For Jerome Robbins. A thank you.’ and that choreographer’s work is indeed recalled while watching this pas de deux with its combination of romance and wit. Oddly enough, though – perhaps because of Robbie’s white tights and soft tunic – this pas de deux made me think of Balanchine’s APOLLO more than once. Needless to say, the dancers and musicians did very well by it.

TODO BUENOS AIRES premiered in 2000 with Darci Kistler and Wendy Whelan in the principal female roles. In 2005, Peter Martins re-worked the ballet to incorporate a featured role for Julio Bocca. It’s the 2005 version we saw tonight, with our own primo bailarín Joaquin de Luz in a virtuoso performance.

The musicians, led by concertmaster Kurt Nikkanen and featuring JP Jofre on bandoneon, are seated onstage, and two large soft drapes mark out the dance floor of a spacious after-hours club. Five Piazzolla tangos, arranged by Ron Wasserman, provide the setting for a series of duets and ensembles. Maria Kowroski – could her extension be any more heavenly? – danced with cool allure surrounded by a quartet of sexy boys: Jared Angle, Robert Fairchild, Adrian Danchig-Waring and Amar Ramasar. In a performance marked by radiant star-power, Ashley Laracey took on the role created on Wendy Whelan and made it her own. Right from her first duet with the sensuous Amar Ramasar, Ashley was thoroughly captivating; it seems to me that she is a dancer who could take on a huge variety of roles and make them all shine.

Joaquin had the audience in the palm of his hand from the start: his speed-of-light pirouettes and spacious leaps caused the people around me to gasp in disbelief. The character’s moods range from aloof to seductive, and Joaquin seemed to be having a blast as he covered the stage with his daredevil feats, in the end basking in the adulation of the crowd and flashing his award-winning smile.

February 25, 2014
PRINCE IGOR @ The Met

Above: Ildar Abdrazakov as Prince Igor at The Met

Monday February 24th, 2014 – I fell in love with Borodin’s PRINCE IGOR back in the late 1960s when I saw several performances of it in an English-language production at New York City Opera. The staging was traditional and featured unforgettable performances by my beloved Maralin Niska (Yaroslavna) and that great singing-actor William Chapman (doubling as Khan Konchak and Prince Galitsky); much of the music became imbedded in my operatic memory, and the famed Polovtsian Dances were staged as a warriors-and-maidens extravaganza, led by the great Edward Villella who was on-loan from New York City Ballet.

The City Opera’s production used painted drops and built set-pieces to evoke the locales, with era-appropriate costumes. It spoke to us directly of the time and place that Borodin’s music conveys. The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of PRINCE IGOR is more generalized; the women of Putivi are seen in 1940-ish dresses and coats even though the action supposedly takes place in the year 1185.

The evening overall was a rather mixed affair: musically sound and with some interesting visual elements (the field of poppies) it does not really end up making a strong dramatic statement; this may be due in part to the episodic character of the opera itself. In this updated setting we don’t get much of a feel for exoticism. Khan Konchak for example is not seen as an Asiatic warlord with a scimitar but rather as a rather anonymous military type in a toxic-yellow uniform.

The opening scene takes place not in a public square in Igor’s capital but rather in a great hall where the Prince’s troops assemble in preparation for going to war. This is fine, but it rather short-circuits the effect of the solar eclipse that is taken as a bad omen by the populace. Despite this warning, Prince Igor leads his troops out to fight the Khan; he is defeated and captured.

Black-and-white films of the Prince and of his soldiers are shown during interludes; these are rather superfluous though it’s nice to see two men in a gentle embrace as they await the coming battle. The field of poppies is really very attractive and the ballet – with the dancers is gauzy cream-coloured costumes – is sensuous and flowing rather than militant and grand. I loved spotting several of my dancer-friends: Loni Landon, Michael Wright, Anthony Bocconi, Kentaro Kikuchi, Matt Van, and Bradley Shelver.

In this production, the three scenes of Act II all take place in the same spacious great hall as the prologue; nevertheless, there are longish pauses between scenes.

The first intermission stretched out unduly and the far-from-full house seemed bored waiting for the opera to resume. There were very short rounds of applause after the arias, which were for the most part attractively sung. A huge double explosion as the Act II curtain fell with Putivi under attack almost made me jump out of my seat.

Gianandrea Noseda conducted with the right sense of grandeur, but also with a nice feeling for the more reflective moments. Perhaps what was missing was a Scheherazade/mystique in the Polovtsian scene. Noseda sometimes tended to overwhelm his singers; and the very open sets did not help to project the voices into the hall. The orchestra and chorus were on optimum form.

In the title-role, Ildar Abdrazakov sang beautifully, especially in his great aria of anguish over his defeat and of his longing for his beloved Yaroslavna far away. The role, often sung by baritones, seemed to work well for Abdrazakov even though his voice is more basso-oriented. Read about Mr. Abdrazakov’s recently-issued CD of Russian arias Power Players, here. Igor’s lament is a highlight of this excellent disc.

Stefan Kocan and Mikhail Petrenko appeared as Khan Konchak and Prince Galitsky respectively and both sang well though neither seemed as prolific of volume as I have sometimes heard them. Sergei Semishkur’s handsome tenor voice and long-floated head-tone at the end of his serenade made his Vladimir a great asset to the evening musically, though he was rather wooden onstage. The veteran basso Vladimir Ognovenko was a characterful Skula, with Andrey Popov as his sidekick Yeroshka.

Oksana Dyka’s stunning high-C as she bade farewell to Igor in the prologue sailed impressively into the house; but later, in her Act I aria, the voice seemed unsteady and lacking in the dynamic control that made Maralin Niska’s rendering so memorable. Niska always took a flaming, sustained top note at the end of the great scene with the boyars where the palace is attacked. Dyka wisely didn’t try for it. The sultry timbre of Anita Rachvelishvili made a lush impression in the contralto-based music of Konchakovna, and it was very nice to see Barbara Dever onstage again in the brief role of Yaroslavna’s nurse: I still recall her vivid Amneris and Ulrica from several seasons ago.

A particularly pleasing interlude came in the aria with female chorus of the Polovtsian Maiden which opens the scene at Khan Konchak’s camp. Singing from the pit, the soprano Kiri Deonarine (above) showed a voice of limpid clarity which fell so sweetly on the ear that one could have gone on listening to many more verses than Borodin provided. It was a definite vocal highlight of the evening, and also showed Mr. Noseda – and the Met’s harpist – at their senstive best.

Metropolitan Opera House February 24, 2014
PRINCE IGOR Alexander Borodin Prince Igor.............Ildar Abdrazakov Yaroslavna..............Oksana Dyka Vladimir................Sergey Semishkur Prince Galitzky.........Mikhail Petrenko Khan Konchak............Stefan Kocán Konchakovna.............Anita Rachvelishvili Skula...................Vladimir Ognovenko Yeroshka................Andrey Popov Ovlur...................Mikhail Vekua Nurse...................Barbara Dever Maiden..................Kiri Deonarine
Conductor...............GIanandrea Noseda

February 24, 2014
Violin Concertos @ NYC Ballet

Above: Russell Janzen of New York City Ballet

Wednesday February 19th, 2014 – Ballets by Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, and George Balanchine – each set to a great 20th century violin concerto – were on the bill at New York City Ballet this evening. To an already-great line-up of dancers there was a late addition: Russell Janzen made his debut in BARBER VIOLIN CONCERTO; Tiler Peck and Amar Ramasar were also making role debuts tonight.

Three conductors passed the baton one to another as the evening progressed; the Company’s two concertmasters – Kurt Nikkanen and Arturo Delmoni – shared the soloist spotlight, Kurt playing the Prokofiev and Arturo playing Barber and Stravinsky. It was a programme during which really missed my beautiful seat in Fourth Ring AA where I used to watch the orchestra from on high.

The evening opened on a high note: the curtain rose on Robert Fairchild, all in white, as the restless dreamer of Jerome Robbins’ OPUS 19/THE DREAMER – my favorite Robbins ballet. Robert danced the ballet’s opening solo with deep musicality and supple fluidity of movement. Out of the blue, his muse materializes: Tiler Peck, in this role for the first time, found a perfect balance between the classical vocabulary and the sometimes jagged expressionism the ballet requires. In the more lyrical passages, her lush pirouettes had remarkable clarity; to a role that has been gorgeously danced in recent seasons by Wendy Whelan, Jenifer Ringer, and Janie Taylor, Tiler brought her own distinctive touches. Robbins gives the corps some dreamy moves – and also some athletic ones – in OPUS 19; I very much enjoyed tonight’s collective which was made up of some of my favorite dancers.

It took me a few hearings to figure out exactly what it is about the opening measures of the Barber violin concerto that sings to me so clearly: it’s the use of the piano, especially the opening chord. It gave me a little frisson again tonight; while I love so many violin concertos I think sometimes the Barber is my actual favorite. I remember one summer driving very fast out Route 6 with Kenny to the end of the world – Provincetown – with the Barber blasting on the car stereo. Music and memory are so often indelibly linked.

In tonight’s performance of the Barber, Teresa Reichlen and Russell Janzen looked great together – not just because they are long-limbed and attractive, but because they share a sense of elegance that manifests itself in their bearing and the grace of their line. A chill passed thru me as Amar Ramasar entered, a fallen angel with a dangerous ‘loner’ appeal who will eventually draw Tess to the dark side. Megan Fairchild excels in the barefooted role created by Kate Johnson: it’s a far cry from the charming, pristine pointe-work that is Megan’s specialty, but she jumps right in and makes it happen.

After their classical parterning passages in the first movement, Tess and Russell will each experience a transformation. At first seeming to console Amar, Tess falls under his spell and is borne away to an unknown fate; their duet is a psychological conflict which reaches its turning point when the subjugated woman lets her hair down. Amar’s character is not so much seductive as simply a force that cannot be withstood; Tess in her vulnerability looks ravshingly ravished. Random thought: I’d love to see Amar in the Martha Graham rep.

In the final allegro, Russell strives to withstand the endless torment of Megan’s advances: she’s playing one of the most annoying characters in all dance. She ends up writhing on the floor as Russell backs away, covering his eyes to blot out the vision of her over-sexed frenzy. In a final attempt to get what she wants, Megan literally climbs up Russell’s back to perch on shoulder; in a last defense, he flips her over and sends her crashing to the floor. The two dancers handled this tricky finale with aplomb and in fact danced the whole third movement to perfection.

Above: Janie Taylor, in a Henry Leutwyler portrait

Tonight’s Stravinsky had a special energy; it was in fact one of the finest performances of this ballet I’ve seen. Part of the singular excitement in the atmosphere tonight may have stemmed from the presence of Janie Taylor, the Company’s enigmatic/charismatic principal ballerina who is soon to retire. I’ve been crazy about Janie since she first stepped out, a mere slip of a girl just over from SAB, to dance the lead in LA VALSE. After building a reputation as a dancer at once fragile and fearless, a long hiatus due to a complicated injury took her away from the stage for months…years, even. Her ‘second career’ has been a real source of joy for me and so tonight it was bittersweet to think that in a few days she will be vanishing from this stage, leaving only perfumed memories. But what memories they are!

Tonight’s performance showed off of Janie’s balletic split personality: a palpable vulnerability alinged to a steely technical resiliance: she’s simply extraordinary…and irreplacable. Ask LaCour’s partnering of this blonde enigma developed a wonderful simpatico, a sense of tenderness in what is after all an abstract and ’emotionless’ ballet. In that marvelous moment where the ballerina stands against her partner as he shows her a view of the world with a sweeping gesture of the arm, I thought I’d never seen anything so beautiful.

Janie and Ask seemed poised to walk off with the gold tonight, but the other Stravinsky couple – Rebecca Krohn and Adrian Danchig-Waring – were so potent technically and so vivid in their presentation that the entire ballet took on a grand dynamic, abetted by the excellent corps (the quartet of leaping boys won a ‘bravo’ all their own). Rebecca Krohn has really done wonders in the leotard ballets; she looks phenomenally confident and polished, and for me she’s the equal of any ballerina I’ve seen in this rep, going way back to Suzanne and Karin. Her generous dancing found a fine match in Adrian Danchig-Waring’s vibrant physicality; together these two dancers crafted amazing shapes as they moved thru the ballet’s demanding partnering motifs, ending their pas de deux with Adrian in a finely-timed fall to the floor and Rebecca in a sweeping back-bend.

Extra delight: Faye Arthurs in a brief partnered segment with Adrian; she danced in both the Prokofiev and the Stravinsky tonight. So nice to run into Erica Pereira and Caitlin Dieck…and Tess, after the show.

OPUS 19/THE DREAMER: *T. Peck, R. Fairchild [Conductor: Sill, Solo Violin: Nikkanen]

BARBER VIOLIN CONCERTO: Reichlen, *Ramasar, M. Fairchild, *Janzen [Conductor: Otranto, Solo Violin: Delmoni]

STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO: Taylor, la Cour, Krohn, Danchig-Waring [Conductor: Capps, Solo Violin: Delmoni]

February 19, 2014
Gautier Capuçon @ The NY Philharmonic

Friday January 24th, 2014 matinee – Cellist Gautier Capuçon (above) gave an inspired rendering of the Shostakovich cello concerto #1 at this afternoon’s New York Philharmonic concert. Conducted by Andrey Boreyko, the programme was book-ended by works of two Russian composers with close ties to the world of classical ballet.

The name Nikolai Tcherepnin immediately conjures visions of the Ballets Russes, for it was he who not only conducted the first performance of Diaghilev’s troupe in the West (on May 19th, 1909, at the Chatelet) but also composed the score of that evening’s opening ballet – Le Pavillon d’Armide – which swept the Parisians into a fever as they beheld Karsavina and Nijinsky onstage.

Today the Philharmonic opened their concert with Tcherepnin’s tone poem The Enchanted Kingdom which dates from 1909-1910. The “kingdom” referred to in the work’s title is that of Katschei the Immortal – yes, the same sorcerer who was soon to appear in the Fokine/Stravinsky Firebird. In seems fact, Tchrepnin’s score may have been under consideration by Diaghilev as a setting for Fokine’s ballet. That didn’t transpire, but the score Tchrepnin left us is quite magical in its own right.

The huge orchestra under Maestro Boreyko gave a richly-coloured performance: right from its sombre opening, this music reveals a vibrant sound-palette: celesta, piano and harp produce magical effects while solo wind voices add characterful touches. The cinematic central melody is simply gorgeous.

Gautier Capuçon then took the stage for the Shostakovich; this charismatic artist took all the demands that the composer sets before the cellist in his stride. M. Capuçon’s playing of the central theme of the moderato literally gave me the chills, such was the spell he was able to cast; and as he played he sometimes seemed to be gazing off into some distant horizon: truly poetic. In the very long and technically demanding cadenza, the cellist’s clarity and his mastery of dynamics was most impressive – and a great smile illuminated his face when this sustained solo passage came to an end and the orchestra began to play again. Capuçon’s playing won the audience’s unstinting praise, and after the customary bows with the conductor the soloist was called out yet again for a solo bow, evoking a standing ovation.

The Shostakovich was excellently played by the artists of the Philharmonic, with the prominent horn solos finding Philip Myers at his finest: amazingly plush sound, a real treat for the ear.

Above: conductor Andrey Boreyko

The Philharmonic’s final offering today was the Tchaikovsky Suite #3, immortalized for dance lovers in Balanchine’s marvelous ballet of the same name. Of course throughout this performance the Balanchine choreography unfolded in the mind’s eye. Is there any music so romantically overpowering as the Élégie, especially when played as sumptuously as it was today? Throughout the forty-minute piece (it seems much shorter when there’s dancing to be watched), Maestro Boreyko kept a precise pulse: he was especially adept in the subtle rhythmic shifts of the Valse, and the final polonaise was regally done. The playing was stellar.

January 24, 2014
Martha Graham’s ‘Hérodiade’

Above: Miki Orihara in Graham’s Hérodiade

Wednesday November 20, 2013 – Two of today’s foremost interpreters of the works of Martha Graham – Miki Orihara and Katherine Crockett – appeared tonight in a studio showing of the great choreographer’s 1944 work Hérodiade. As a splendid prelude, Ms. Crockett also danced Spectre-1914. It was an evening that resonated for me in so many different ways.

Martha Graham Dance Company‘s artistic director Janet Eilber welcomed an overflow crowd to this second of three presentations of this programme. The Company’s spacious studio/theater on the eleventh floor of the Westbeth complex had been hung with black drapes, and after Ms. Eilber’s brief remarks, the majestic Katherine Crockett appeared to dance Spectre-1914, the opening solo from Martha Graham’s Chronicle.

Above: Katherine Crockett, photographed by Matt Murphy

Chronicle, dating from 1936, is Graham’s powerful statement on the devastation and futility of war; it is a great masterwork for female ensemble and it opens with a magnificent solo in which the dancer manipulates a voluminous skirt lined in red fabric to evoke both the bloodshed and the flames of war.

Spectre-1914 had all but passed from memory until 1994 when it was researched and reconstructed by Terese Capucilli and Carol Fried, using film clips and still photos by Barbara Morgan. May Terpsichore bless these women for their efforts, for Spectre-1914 is as powerful a dancework as may be found, and it was danced tonight with marvelous amplitude and a deep sense of consecration by the marvelous Katherine Crockett. The audience beheld the dance in an awed state of pin-drop silence.

Above: the Isamu Noguchi set pieces for Martha Graham’s Hérodiade

After the Noguchi setting had been swiftly installed in the space, we watched a full performance of Graham’s ballet Hérodiade. Set to music by Paul Hindemith and commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge for the Library of Congress, the ballet was originally called Mirror Before Me, and was first seen on October 30, 1944, at the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Writing of that performance for the New York Times (November 1, 1944), critic John Martin said: “Miss Graham has created a powerful study of a woman awaiting a ‘mysterious destiny’ of which she has no knowledge…into it she has poured a somber tension that is relentless and altogether gripping. The music is rich and dark in color and the action on the stage meets it magnificently on its own terms.”

That music, scored for chamber orchestra, was written by Paul Hindemith, a composer perhaps best-loved in the dance world for his superb Four Temperaments, choreographed by Balanchine.

When I received the announcement that Hérodiade would be performed this evening, I suppose my natural reaction as an opera-lover was that it would be a dance about the Biblical princess Herodias and her daughter Salome and their conspiracy to have the prophet John the Baptist executed. But that is not the case: there are no allusions to either the Strauss or Massenet operas, nor to the Bible, nor to Oscar Wilde who penned the famous play Salome – Salome does not figure in the Graham work at all.

Martha Graham had been interested in the poem Hérodiade by Stephane Mallarmé and in creating her ballet, the choreographer eschewed a specific narrative and instead turned to an abstraction of the character. Herodias is never named; she is simply referred to as ‘A Woman’. In Graham’s description, we see “a glimpse into the mirror of one’s being,” and she refers to this Woman as ‘doom-eager’, going forth with resolve to embrace her destiny.

The Hindemith score is in eleven short movements, and we watch with intense interest as the radiant Miki Orihara, as the Woman in a deep violet gown, and the more austere Ms. Cockett, her Attendant in simple grey, move about the space. The choreography is restless and urgent, the Woman clearly obsessed with whatever fate awaits her while the Attendant seeks to comfort or forestall her mistress. The two dancers were simply engrossing to behold: Miki often in rapid, complex combinations moving swiftly about the stage while Katherine deployed her uncanny extension with mind-boggling expressiveness.

In the end, Miki steps out of her rich gown and is revealed in virginal white; the Attendant withdraws and the Woman, taking up a black veil, contemplates her destiny. Mysterious, and all the more powerful for the unanswered questions it raises, Hérodiade is breath-taking.

November 20, 2013
San Francisco Ballet @ Lincoln Center

Above: San Francisco Ballet‘s Vitor Luiz and Vanessa Zahorian in Helgi Tomasson’s TRIO; photo © Erik Tomasson

Saturday October 19th, 2013 (evening) – Welcoming back to New York City one of the world’s greatest ballet companies: San Francisco Ballet! I had hoped to attend both of the Company’s programs during their first week at Lincoln Center, but things didn’t turn out that way. When the Company were last here in 2008, I went to see everything they offered, and I fell in love with all the dancers. Fortunately tonight I was able to see many of those beautiful dancers again, though I missed some other favorites – like Lorena Feijoo and Taras Domitro. I very much admired the Company’s programming, bringing works to New York City that we’ve not seen before.

Above: the Company in Helgi Tomasson’s TRIO; photo © Erik Tomasson

Helgi Tomasson’s TRIO, which opened the performance, is a four-movement work in the Romantic style danced before an antique/Renaissance backdrop (by Alexander V Nichols). Mark Zappone’s costumes, in shades of wine and dusty Autumn flame, set the dancers off beautifully. Tomasson’s ballets always please the ear as well as the eye: TRIO is danced to Tchaikovsky’s richly melodic Souvenir de Florence.

After a striking entrée where the ballerina is held aloft, the gorgeously elegant, the dark-haired Vanessa Zahorian swirls thru lovely supported pirouettes and covers the space beautifully with her joyous dance; her cavalier, Vitor Luiz, shows off some unusual flourishes in his combinations. Their duet, backed by the ensemble, is filled with demanding partnering motifs; they gave a wonderful performance, setting the tone for the entire evening.

Above: Sarah Van Patten and Tiit Helimets in TRIO; photo © Erik Tomasson

New York City has Wendy Whelan and San Francisco has Sarah Van Patten: I feel these two dancers might be sisters under the skin. Ms. Van Patten’s striking presence and passionate physicality transcend the steps and music. In the adagio of TRIO she appears first in a sensual duet with the marvelous Tiit Helimets; we are basking in their expressive perfection when the charismatic Anthony Spaulding suddenly appears, making his own claim to the ballerina. The trio’s passions and tensions ebb and flow thru their pas de trois, a finely-crafted dance drama.

Maria Kochetkova, a petite ballerina with who radiates enormous charm and technical authority, dazzled the audience with her ebullient dancing; she and her vividly handsome partner Davit Karapetyan led the ballet’s third and fourth movements which range from classic partnering à la Russe to some stylized motifs that maintained the ballet’s freshness.

Among the ensemble, soloist Hansuke Yamamoto made an outstanding impression. This Tomasson ballet made me crave a revival of his 2000 Beethoven work for New York City Ballet: PRISM.

Martin West
conducted the Tchaikovsky score for TRIO and also had the baton for the evening’s second work: Christopher Wheeldon’s GHOSTS set to music by C F Kip Winger.

Above: Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in Wheeldon’s GHOSTS. Photo © Erik Tomasson.

Christopher Wheeldon’s GHOSTS, which premiered in 2010, is performed by an ensemble of dancers in gossamer white beneath the pallid glow of a full moon. CF Kip Winger’s score has a cinematic feel, with passages of Romantic styling mingled with quirky, more angular effects.

Christopher Wheeldon (who was on the Promenade this evening during the intermission) describes GHOSTS as a “mass gathering of souls … creating only atmosphere, not story.” The ballet’s marriage of music and mood evoke a dreamworld in which the dancers move with sonnambulistic grace, often falling to the floor only to rise again in a restless quest for some elusive sense of closure.

The ravishing Yuan Yuan Tan and her superb partner Damian Smith perform an ethereal pas de deux; Seeing Yuan Yuan Tan onstage again reminded me of a very special hour Kokyat and I spent in Jessica Lang’s studio two years ago when the ballerina was rehearsing with Clifton Brown for an appearance at Fall for Dance.

Sofiane Sylve (above in a © Erik Tomasson photo) is a more restless spirit: the beauteous ballerina is still
missed here at Lincoln Center where she danced as a principal at New
York City Ballet from 2003 – 2007. Sylve in GHOSTS casts a spell in her pas de trois
with Mr. Helimets and Shane Wuerthner.

Soloist Clara Blanco, a
particular favorite of mine during the Company’s last New York visit in
2008, stood out among the ensemble…I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Above: from Wayne MacGregor’s BORDERLANDS, photo © Erik Tomasson

BORDERLANDS, a 2013 Wayne McGregor ballet, has a strong contemporary feel and demands great stamina and focus from a dozen of the Company’s generously talented dancers. Set in an enormous bare-walled enclosure, the stage is first bathed in steely-grey light; this will shift to Autumnal gold for the central pas de deux and then to vivid neon blue as the ballet moves to its end. The dancers wear shorts, displaying their leggy allure. They often stand or kneel around the edges of the space to observe their fellow-dancers.

In this austere, stylized ballet the music of Joel Cadbury and Paul Stoney ranges from the kozmic and other-worldly thru a cinematic/romance to a rock-like statement and a final anthem. The dancers move with athletic intensity; the choreographic and partnering demands are strenuous and the dancers come and go throughout the work: their relationships uncharted, sometimes mechanical and always mystifying.

The San Francisco dancers threw themselves with complusive energy into this unusual movement style: particularly excellent work from Frances Chung and Mlles. Sylve, Van Patten and Kochetkova, and from the ever-fascinating Mr. Spaulding.

Above: Maria Kochetkova and Lonnie Weeks in McGregor’s BORDERLANDS. Photo © Erik Tomasson

All photos in this article are copyright: Erik Tomasson.

Repertoire and dancers: Saturday evening, October 19th, 2013:

Trio
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Conductor: Martin West

Vanessa Zahorian, Vitor Luiz
Sarah Van Patten, Tiit Helimets
Anthony Spaulding
Maria Kochetkova, Davit Karapetyan

Ghosts
Choreographer: Christopher Wheeldon
Composer: C.F. Kip Winger
Conductor: Martin West

Yuan Yuan Tan, Damian Smith
Sofiane Sylve, Tiit Helimets, Shane Wuerthner

Borderlands
Choreographer: Wayne McGregor
Composer: Joel Cadbury and Paul Stoney
Conductor: Martin West

Maria Kochetkova, Jaime Garcia Castilla
Sarah Van Patten, Pascal Molat

Frances Chung, Carlos Quenedit
Sofiane Sylve, Anthony Spaulding
Koto Ishihara, Lonnie Weeks
Elizabeth Powell, Francisco Mungamba

October 19, 2013
A Balanchine Evening @ NYC Ballet

Above: Mr. B with Mourka

Wednesday September 25th, 2013 – This evening’s all-Balanchine programme at New York City Ballet was a veritable parade of favorite dancers. The audience, at least in my immediate vicinity, seemed comprised of long-time NYCBers; in fact I seemed to be at the lower end of the age spectrum. It was an attentive crowd, though rather subdued in terms of expressing enthusiasm.

Any evening that begins with Faye Arthurs onstage is off to a beautiful start; the ballerina – partnered by Zachary Catazaro – danced the opening theme of Balanchine FOUR TEMPERAMENTS. This ballet is for me the most spectacular of the Balanchine black-and-whites, not only because of its marvelous steps and structuring, but the Hindemith score seems to me a true 20th century masterpiece.

Lauren King and Allen Peiffer (who literally danced all night) took the second theme, crossing the stage with semaphoric gestures; the melodic sway of the third theme brought forth yet another impressive partnership: Ashley Laracey and Justin Peck. All three couples danced to perfection.

Robert Fairchild’s Melancholic had a restless grandeur about it: what a compelling stage presence! Meagan Mann and Georgina Pazcoguin circled the handsome danseur, deploying their extensions to dramatic effect. Tyler Angle replaced his brother Jared in the Sanguinic pas de deux; I do not recall having previously seen Tyler paired with Savannah Lowery but it turned out to be an interesting match-up, with Tyler bringing a touch of classic nobility which dovetailed with Savannah’s authoritative contemporary style. In Phlegmatic, Adrian Danchig-Waring seemed to have descended from Mount Olympus: his striking physique and intense focus were engrossing. Ashley Bouder gave a stunning Choleric, her dancing – vivid and grandly secure – was marked by sustained balances and a rich feeling of commitment. In the pit, guest conductor Carolyn Kuan led this splendid score with passionate élan, and pianist Cameron Grant made a significant contrbution to the ballet’s atmosphere.

EPISODES is basically a series of four duets, three of them performed with attendant corps dancers. Clothilde Otranto and the NYCB musicians gave clarity to the quirky Webern pieces which comprise the ballet’s score, ending with the composer’s imaginative tribute to Bach in a setting from Musical Offering.

Abi Stafford and Sean Suozzi were finely-matched in the ballet’s opening Symphony; their articulation of the steps and their fluent work as partners made me wish to see them together in other ballets. Three couples echo the principal pair: Marika Anderson with Russell Janzen, Gwyneth Muller with Allen Peiffer and Gretchen Smith with Andrew Scordato. This entire opening movement, with the stage bathed in an unusual verdigris hue, was absorbing to watch.

Things then take a darker turn as Teresa Reichlen and Ask LaCour appear in pools of light and dance a mysterious succession of five brief duets, their relationship physical but unfathomable. The ballet’s sense of mystery extends to the ethereal Janie Taylor’s appearance in Concerto; dancing with Sebastien Marcovici (who is just back from a hiatus), Janie retains the allure of being the Company’s most enigmatic ballerina.

EPISODES ends with a gorgeous ritual: a corps of fourteen female acolytes weave patterns around the central couple: Maria Kowroski- looking supremely divine – and her noble consort Jonathan Stafford. The two principal dancers, so well matched both in physique and in their ability to make expressive nuances count in these abstract ballets, were superb.

Principal ballerina Megan Fairchild talks about Balanchine’s DUO CONCERTANT here. When Chase Finlay sustained an injury onstage last week, forcing him to withdraw from his immediate-future performances, I wondered who might partner Ms. Fairchild in this evening’s performance. My thoughts ran to Jared Angle, who had danced DUO so perfectly at Yvonne Borree’s farewell. And sure enough: Jared it was, stepping into the ballet tonight with his signature nobility of style and peerless partnering abilities.

Kurt Nikkanen and Cameron Grant performed this panoramic Stravinsky score – it veers from playful to deeply expressive – with impressive musicianship. The ballet is an ideal vehicle for Megan Fairchild, sweeping her from girlish impetuosity to womanly tenderness on the brilliant changing modes of the rhythms and harmonies of the instrumental voices. Jared was by turns playful, protective and poignant as he interacted with his ballerina; their partnership was a rewarding one to experience, and the audience – heretofore rather reserved in their reactions to the evening – greeted the dancers and musicians with warm applause. Now I’m wanting to see the Megan/Jared duo in other ballets.

From its iconic opening diagonal of sleekly white-clad, pony-tailed ballerinas to the final ritualistic tableau as the dancers kneel or raise their arms (in homage to Balanchine and Stravinsky, I imagine) SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS is one of NYCB‘s treasures. Excellent demi- and corps work in tonight’s performance, which opened with the vitality of Daniel Ulbricht’s remarkable high leaps; Ana Sophia Scheller, letting her hair down, shows us that a first-class tutu-and-tiara ballerina can also be a dynamic contemporary stylist. Rebecca Krohn looked stunning in her deep-rose leotard and danced with abandon, matched by Andrew Veyette’s speed and clarity. In the central pas de deux, one of Balanchine’s more effective, Sterling Hyltin and Amar Ramasar were at their finest. Earlier, Sterling had made a swift trajectory, circling the stagetwice in pique turns at ever-increasing speed. Amar’s charismatic presence, his commancing partnering and his generosity as a dancer make him an invaluable member of this troupe.

As the work soared forward to its energetic conclusion, propelled by Carolyn Kuan’s baton, one felt yet again the great genius of Balanchine, and the continuing pleasure of experiencing his works, year after year.

THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS: Arthurs, Catazaro, King, Peiffer, Laracey, J.Peck, R. Fairchild, Lowery, T. Angle, Danchig-Waring, Bouder

EPISODES: A. Stafford, Suozzi, Reichlen, laCour, Taylor, Marcovici, Kowroski, J.Stafford

DUO CONCERTANT: M. Fairchild, J Angle

SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS: Hyltin, Scheller, Krohn, Ramasar, Ulbricht, Veyette

September 25, 2013
Images from NYC Ballet’s Balanchine Evening

A series of Paul Kolnik’s photographs from last night’s Balanchine programme at New York City Ballet. Above: Jared Angle and Megan Fairchild in DUO CONCERTANT.

Amar Ramasar & Sterling Hyltin in SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS.

Janie Taylor & Sebastien Marcovici with the corps de ballet in EPISODES.

Tyler Angle & Ashley Bouder in THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS.

My thanks to Mr. Kolnik and the NYCB press office for providing these photos

September 25, 2013