Tag: Michele Wiles

Waltz of the Snowflakes

Post:ballet presents a ‘Waltz of the Snowflakes‘ from Tchaikovsky’s THE NUTCRACKER for the time of the pandemic.

Watch and listen here.

This performance really gave me a lift during this unusual holiday season. I was especially happy to see Landes Dixon dancing; I met him a few years ago when he danced with Steps Repertory Company, and again when he danced with Michele Wiles/Ballet Next.

Credits:

Choreography by Robert Dekkers
Cinematography/editing by Ben Tarquin
Performed by Post:ballet dance artists Cora Cliburn, Landes Dixon, Emily Hansel, Caitlin Hicks, Jenna Marie
With Berkeley Ballet Theater dance artists Mai Corkins, Cameron Heanue, Elizabeth Inami, Monique Jonath, Nina Owen, Frances Pine-Rinella
Produced by Lance Hepler
Costumes courtesy Berkeley Ballet Theater and Post:ballet
Special thanks to Marge Funabiki
Filmed in Alameda, CA following corresponding state and municipal COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for Media Production
Presented by Post:ballet and Berkeley Ballet Theater

Merry Christmas to all!

December 19, 2020
Ballet Next in Rehearsal

Tuesday May 27th, 2014 – Michele Wiles (above), artistic director of Ballet Next, invited me to her studio today where she is re-structuring Querencia, a ballet she created earlier this year for Columbia Ballet Collaborative, on her own Ballet Next dancers.

In this ballet, set to a ‘Passacaglia‘ by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, a violinist playing live mingles onstage with the dancers.

The ballet opens with the girls – Kaitlyn Gilliland, Tiffany Mangulabnan, and Brittany Cioce – in a cluster. From there the movement becomes expansive and technically quite demanding. The dancers today were concentrating on the nuances of the work, preparing for a studio showing next week.

Tiffany

Brittany

Kaitlyn

Michele, demonstrating the fine points

Join Ballet Next for a studio showing of Querenica and Brian Reeder’s Rameau ballet, Strange Flowers:

And Ballet Next will be at Kaatsbaan June 7th and 8th, 2014. Information here.

May 27, 2014
Ballet Next: New Works-in-Progress

Above: Michele Wiles of Ballet Next

Monday October 21st, 2013 – Ballet Next had a huge turn-out (intentional pun!) for their choreographic exhibition at Ailey tonight. Three works being created for the Company’s upcoming season at New York Live Arts were shown, all performed to live music under the direction of cellist Elad Kabilio.

The dates for the Ballet Next performances at New York Live Arts are January 13th – 18th, 2014; further information will be forthcoming.

Above: violinist Mario Gotoh played the Chaconne from the ‘Partita #2′ for the pas de deux entitled Bach 260, choreographed by Robert Sher-Machernndl, and danced by Michele Wiles and Mr. Machernndl (photo below).

This duet, anchored in the classic vocabulary, takes a contemporary overlay with elements of pursuit and capture carrying the dancers about the space in movement that both sustains and sometimes counter-acts the Bach score, which Ms. Gotoh played so beautifully.

All the Drops of Water
is a duet choreographed by Michele Wiles and danced by Tiffany Mangulabnan and Ms Wiles (above). The music, a lyrical quintet by Max Richter, was performed by Hajnal Karman Pivnik and Ms. Gotoh (violins), Caroline Gilbert (viola), Mr. Kabilio (cello) and Ben Laude (piano). The musicians were seated literally inches away from me – in fact, I could read Hajnal’s score – while the two dancers in deep blue with their hair down seemed like contemporary nymphs. The choreography has a restless quality, inter-laced with moments of repose and tenderness.

Surmisable Units is an ensemble work with choreography by Brian Reeder. The dancers (above) are Tiffany Mangulabanan, Michele Wiles, Steven Melendez, Kaitlyn Gilliland, and Brittany Cioce. The score, Steve Reich’s tricky and repetitive ‘Piano Phase‘, was played by Peter Dugan and Ben Laude.

The choreography utilizes the space in quirky ways, with the dancers sometimes standing behind the two pianos (which are center-stage) and executing semaphoric arm gestures. At times the dancers wear metallic-silver face masks, making them anonymous. Solo dancing is woven in, and the combinations echo the speed and articulation of the relentless musical pulse.

Above: Kaitlyn Gilliland and Michele Wiles in Surmisible Units.

The large crowd of Company friends and supporters seemed very taken with the dancing and the music; I look forward to seeing these works in their staged settings at NYLA in the new year.

October 21, 2013
Alison Cook Beatty for Ballet Next

Friday August 17, 2012 – Alison Cook Beatty (with Michele Wiles and Jason Reilly in the above photo by Paul B Goode) is choreographing a new work for Ballet Next; entitled TINTINNABULI, the ballet is set to Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa. Today I stopped in at the DANY studios to have a look at this new creation, which will have its premiere during Ballet Next‘s upcoming season at The Joyce.

The dancers were having a breather when I arrived but after a few minutes they gathered their energies (they’d already been rehearsing for 2 hours) and ran thru the new ballet’s completed first section and the nearly-finished second part.

TINTINNABULI begins with the women on a diagonal (watch a rehearsal sample here ) which evolves into a solo for Michele Wiles – stylized, mystical movement but highly emotive in expression. Her solo is observed by Jason Reilly – principal dancer from Stuttgart Ballet, guesting with Ballet Next this season – a charismatic dancer and excellent partner. As their pas de deux commences, there’s a nice chemistry between Jason and Michele Wiles, even though for the longest time they don’t actually touch. But when they do, it’s luminous. Jason has a dynamic solo passage of his own.

Alison Cook Beatty, Michele Wiles and Jason Reilly in a Paul B Goode photo, above.

The quartet of soloists form chains with joined hands; they crouch is a circle. Their linked, ritualistic movements evoke images of Matisse and Balanchine as they move along the diagonal. The girls of the ensemble – Lily Balogh, Lily Di Piazza, Kristie Latham, Tiffany Mangulabnan and Erin Arbuckle – each bring a distinctive element to the work while functioning as a unit.

Michele and Jason resume their duet, really gorgeously set on the music, and they give it a strong emotional context even though it’s just a rehearsal. A brief flurry of virtuosity follows.

Alison went on from the finished passages, exploring possible phrases as the ballet moves to a conclusion. I’ll have to go back one of these days and find out how she resolves things.

Charles Askegard is a wonderful presence in the studio, supportive of the young choreographer and offering meaningful suggestions without intruding on the process. At one point, a lift was being pondered and Charles suddenly swept Alison overhead with the signature effortlessness of a prince among cavaliers.

Really nice atmosphere in the studio, and I look forward to seeing Alison’s ballet costumed and lit at The Joyce. My special thanks to Paul Goode for his evocative rehearsal images.

You can catch Ballet Next at the 92nd Street Y in the Fridays at Noon series: Friday October 19th at 12:00 noon. It’s free!

August 20, 2012
Ballet Next: Choreographic Exhibition

Above: Michele Wiles and Kristi Boone in Mauro Bigonzetti’s LA FOLLIA, photo by Paul B Goode. Click on the image to enlarge.

Wednesday April 25, 2012 – “You’ll be close enough to see us sweat and breathe,” said ballerina Michele Wiles in a brief film shown at the start of this evening’s presentation by Ballet Next. She was right, and there’s nothing more beautiful – for me at least – than watching dancers dance, especially at close range. Some dance-goers want to see an effortless sheen of ‘artistry’ which masks the physicality of the dance; myself, I love to see the body working, the minute flickerings of facial expression as the dancer ‘edits’ herself, the sense of stretch as the muscles respond, and the mechanics of delivering a triple pirouette. In a large theatrical setting, you’re at a remove from all of this. Tonight at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, the dancers exposed themselves to our keenest scrutiny. They looked superb.

Michele Wiles and Charles Askegard created Ballet Next as a continuation of their top-flight dance careers after they ‘retired’ from ABT and New York City Ballet respectively. They certainly don’t look like any retirees I know; their vitality and their eagerness to share their excitement about Ballet Next with an ever-broadening audience are infectious. Michele and Charles have set forth to bring us classic and new choreography danced by ballet’s greatest talents to live music. So far they’ve been succeeding admirably.

Tonight’s programme delivered four works, each created especially for Ballet Next. The Company’s music director Elad Kabilio and his troupe of gallant young musicians delivered inspired playing of works by Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Satie and Vivaldi. Setting their musical barre very high gives Ballet Next an added lustre in my view; the better music you use, the better your choreography and dancing will look. It’s that simple.

And so we started with Stravinsky, violinist Hajnal Karman Pivnick and pianist Ben Laude treating us to shimmering suite of music from Baiser de la Fee. I have a special love for this music since Balanchine’s gorgeous setting of the score was the first work I ever saw danced by New York City Ballet (by Patricia McBride and Helgi Tomasson, no less…)

Charles Askegard entitles his duet to this music simply DIVERTIMENTO. Danced with teriffic flair by Charles and NYCB‘s Georgina Pazcoguin, his choreography is witty and wonderful with some very inventive partnering motifs threading thru the music. Physically demanding, the dance evoked genuine enthusiasm from the packed house. Ms Pazcoguin, always a dancer to lure the opera glasses when she’s on the big stage, is a fascinating technician and personality to experience in this more intimate setting. Charles, one of the ballet world’s most valuable partners, doesn’t give himself any easy breaks in his own choreography. DIVERTIMENTO is a pure pleasure in every regard.

By way of contrast, Brian Reeder’s summer-shadowy PICNIC proved to be a small jewel of a narrative ballet. Drawing inspiration from the film PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, the choreographer turns to Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata in D Minor with its alternating currents of pensive and slightly ominous feeling, and shows us three schoolgirls in white frocks setting out on that fatal picnic from which two of them never returned. Michele Wiles, Kristi Boone and Misty Copeland comprised a stellar trio, each (like the girls in the film) with her own unique little quirks. Kissing, chaste but inquisitive, delicately projects the Sapphic undercurrents found in the film. Meanwhile, Charles Askegard, perhaps drawing on his incredible portrayal of the death figure in Robbins’ IN MEMORY OF…seems silently to draw Misty and Kristi into his thrall, leaving Michele to awaken, alone and mystified. Cellist Elad Kabilio and pianist Ben Laude supported the dancers with a poetic rendering of the Shostakovitch.

Following an intermission during which we were up-dated as to the success of the evening’s live- streaming (people tuning in worldwide), Margo Sappington spoke briefly about her creation of ENTWINED for Ballet Next. I’ve seen this ballet evolve from a single, sensuous duet thru the addition of a pas de trois and a solo (for Michele Wiles); Margo revealed she has one more idea up her sleeve, a duet for two women; then ENTWINED will be complete. Or, she might even go on from there.

What she has crafted to date is an atmospheric piece set to Satie Gnossiennes (played by Ben Laude) which opens with a pas de trois danced by Charles Askegard, Georgina Pazcoguin and Ana Sophia Scheller. The choreography here flows thru a misty setting, as in a dream. Images of sleep and wakefulness drift by. The solo for Michele Wiles (beautifully danced, of course) evolves seamlessly from the pas de trois and this in turn floats into the pas de deux danced by Misty Copeland and Charles Askegard. By turns sculptural and steamy, this duet borders on the erotic, temptingly lush in its signature choreographic entwining of two bodies. Misty looked gorgeous.

(My only tiny complaint about the evening was that we didn’t get to see more of Ana Sophia Scheller; a ballerina in my super-top echelon of favorites, she danced gloriously in ENTWINED…and we did have the delightful experience of watching her warm up before the performance. Major beauty.)

Mauro Bigonzetti’s LA FOLLIA is a grand finale for a Ballet Next presentation. I’ve seen this duet now four times and it’s just incredible. The two women – Michele Wiles and ABT‘s fantastic Kristi Boone – nailed the complex in-sync steps and launched their complex solos with real bravado. This is dancing that’s taxing to the max, and the girls gave it a splendid energy. Meanwhile the excellent quartet of musicians (violinist Francesca Anderegg joining Ms. Pivnick and Mssers. Kabilio and Laude) played the dazzling Vivaldi theme and variations for all it was worth. This brought the evening to a truly exciting close.

So glad I ran into my young dancer-friend Alejandro Herrera whose easy, outgoing personality helped me overcome my innate shyness for once. Chatting with Chuck Askegard, Amanda Hankes, Rebecca Krohn, Adam Hendrickson, Sterling Hyltin, Gina Pazcoguin and Kristi Boone was a pleasure, while MMAC‘s Erin Fogarty let a couple of cats out of the bag for what is sure to be a grand night of Dancing Against Cancer at MMAC on May 7th (Matt Murphy will photograph that dress rehearsal for me).

As for Ballet Next, the future looks bright indeed with a season scheduled for The Joyce this Autumn and plans for growth and development running apace. Michele and Charles are not only great artists but great people who have a real passion for ballet and who have the connections in the dance world to make Ballet Next a truly dynamic force. I look forward to following their every step.

April 25, 2012
Ballet Next/Photos

Images by Paul B. Goode from the dress rehearsal for the premiere performance by BALLET NEXT. Read about the evening here. Above: Michele Wiles and Charles Askegard in the White Swan pas de deux.

Click on each photo to enlarge.

Jennie Somogyi and Charles Askegard in Margo Sappington’s Entwined.

Michele Wiles and Drew Jacoby in Mauro Bigonzetti’s La Follia.

November 22, 2011
Ballet Next!

Monday November 21, 2011 – In one of the most-anticipated dance events of recent seasons, BALLET NEXT have made their world debut with a single calling-card performance at The Joyce. The theater was filled to over-flowing and many luminaries from the Gotham dance scene were on hand, lending the evening a special air of excitement. Rehearsal photo of Michele Wiles and Charles Askegard at the top by Nir Arieli. Click on the images to enlarge.

In the Summer of 2011, two of ballet’s premiere dancers made their farewell appearances with their respective resident companies: Charles Askegard had a full-scale grand gala as his last performance with New York City Ballet. But ABT‘s Michele Wiles simply slipped away without fanfare, leaving New York balletomanes wondering why.

Not long afterward came the announcement that these two tall and tremendously talented artists would be launching their own ballet company: Ballet Next. Their plan: to present classic and new works with world-class dancers, calling upon top choreographers of the day and working with live music. Tonight their initial offering was an emphatic success.

As the audience settled into expectant silence, the ensemble of musicians struck up the White Swan prelude and moments later Michele Wiles (above, in rehearsal) made Odette’s iconic entrance to a burst of applause. Then Charles Askegard stepped onstage; the audience greeted him affectionately. The two dancers look so very fine together, with Michele’s long limbs shaping the classic poses with finesse and Charles giving a textbook lesson in the art of partnering: ardent but never fussy. Their partnership immediately made me start making a list of works I want to see them dance together: the BAYADERE Shades pas de deux comes first.

The first half of the evening was devoted to the classics and to Tchaikovsky; Ballet Next‘s musical director Elad Kabilio and his fellow musicians now introduced the Act III pas de deux from SLEEPING BEAUTY. San Francisco Ballet‘s delicious petite etoile Maria Kochetkova was exquisite as Aurora and New York City Ballet’s Joaquin de Luz was her blindingly handsome Prince. Their partnership had the youthful charm and elegance that makes the balletomane’s heart beat the faster; they held their finely-shaped final fish dive (of three) to the delight of the crowd. In their solos, the two dancers swept thru the demands with flair, re-uniting for a bravura coda. Their lovely performance extended to their gracious bows.

From ABT, soloists Misty Copeland (rehearsal image, above) and Jared Matthews gave a joyous, space-filling performance of Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. The Joyce stage could barely contain their ebullient dancing; their easy rapport as partners and the speed and clarity of their solo dancing won the audience’s vociferous approval.

Following the intermission, Ms. Kochetkova re-appeared in a whimsical costume: pink body tights, a head-wrap, and half a tutu. She danced a Jorma Elo solo entitled ONE OVERTURE set to music of Mozart and Biber. This solo calls for pure classical technique applied in off-kilter, witty combinations as the dancer occasionally whisks offstage only to re-appear. In the pit, Ben Laude switched from piano to harpsichord for an authentic Baroque texture. The choreography is clever and unusual but the piece is a trifle too long.

For Satie, Mr. Laude reverts to the piano and the curtain rises on New York City Ballet principal Jennie Somogyi with Charles Askegard (rehearsal photo, above) to dance a Margo Sappington duet, ENTWINED. This work is stylized in its shaping but there are erotic undercurrents in play, as one might expect from the choreographer who gave us Oh! Calcutta! The two dancers, in sleek body tights, look fantastic together. I hope Ms. Somogyi is at the top of Ballet Next‘s list of dancers for future return engagements; there are so many things I would love to see her dance. It was fun to see Ms. Sappington joining the dancers onstage at the end.

Misty Copeland then returned to dance a solo, ONE, choreographed by Robert Sher-Machherndl to music by Max Richter. In this solo, Misty showed off the power of both her technique and her ability to hold the audience in the palm of her hand. The choreography was not memorable, and the piece went on a bit longer than necessary, but as a vehicle for the dancer all was well.

Above: Michele and Misty taking a break at rehearsal.

The musicians then struck up Vivaldi’s beloved La Follia and the curtain rose on Michele Wiles and Drew Jacoby crouching in a pool of light. The two leggy ballerinas then took off in Mauro Bigonzetti’s demanding and fast-paced choreography, dancing in sync or in solo passages. Bigonzetti keeps throwing steps and gestures at the two girls; they take it all in stride and keep sailing on the music.

“Faster!”, Drew Jacoby (above, in the studio) called out to the musicians at a rehearsal I attended, although she was already moving at high velocity. In her solo Michele spun some silky pirouettes; there’s some very quirky footwork in the finale which then seems to evaporate at the girls return to their opening pose.

Above: Michele Wiles rehearsing the Bigonzetti.

As all the dancers came out to bow, I was thinking of the endless possibilities for future Ballet Next programmes. With their extensive network of friends who are also great dancers, Michele and Charles can call upon stellar line-ups in the wink of an eye. There’s a vast store of established works that they can dance, both popular and forgotten, which will fare well in their live-music settings. And there are many choreographers I’d like to see them working with – Jessica Lang, Melissa Barak, Emery LeCrone, Edwaard Liang, Andonis Foniadakis, Pontus Lidberg, Justin Peck and Luca Veggetti come immediately to mind. Let’s see what’s next for Ballet Next.

The rehearsal photos included here are by Nir Arieli.

November 21, 2011