Tag: New Chamber Ballet

…And All That Djazz @ NCB

Friday September 16th, 2016 – A sold-out house this evening as Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet presented their season-opening program. At a time when I am covering far less dance than in the past, Miro’s work – his choreography, his musical choices, and the dancers and musicians who bring the ballets to life – continues to draw me to his performances and rehearsals. Tonight’s program was one of the finest I have experienced at New Chamber Ballet: wonderfully diverse in the music presented, expertly danced by a quintet of distinctive ballerinas, and played by a violinist and pianist who seem to thrive on the stylistic range and technical challenges of the music Miro selects.

Variety is the spice of life, and it is also – from a musical point of view – an essential element in putting together an evening of dance. Miro will sometimes provoke New Chamber Ballet‘s faithful followers with the thorniness of a score he has decided on; inevitably, his rightness of judgment wins out. These contemporary pieces are counter-balanced by more ‘accessible’ music – tonight, Tartini and Ravel – thus turning the evening into a audio roller coaster. We are along for the ride, which can be quite exhilarating, and the NCB musicians make it all so rewarding.

Opening the evening was a trio, Silk, which premiered in 2006. Doori Na’s playing of the Sonata VII for solo violin by Giuseppe Tartini was stunningly virtuosic. The violinist had a long evening ahead of him, playing in all four works; in the Tartini, he poised himself at a very high level of technique and artistry, and then incredibly soared upward from there. The Ravel that ended the evening was – to use a 60s phrase – mind-blowing.

In Silk, the three dancers – Elizabeth Brown,Traci Finch, and Cassidy Hall – appear in Candice Thompson’s ice-blue, skirted leotards. They commence with slow ‘plastique’ port de bras and poses that might have been inspired by a Grecian urn. A sense of calm pervades their unison trio. There’s a silence as things are re-set for a charming, light-filled allegro.

Striking poses in unison, the girls commence an andante which features a simply gorgeous Tartini melody, superbly intoned by Doori. Cassidy Hall has a long solo, danced beautifully, while Traci and Elizabeth stand back-to-back, swaying gently, and curling their hands in a subtly expressive motif.

Elizabeth and Cassidy sit in a stylized pose as Traci dances an impressive solo with lots of intricate pointe work and a sense of urgency. In a striking passage, Traci balances on both pointes as her upper body sways and angles itself off-kilter. Doori hones his tone down to a thread before it goes deep: this music is so demanding!

Elizabeth Brown, a dancer of unique qualities, has solo passages laced into a spacious trio; as the pace of the music slows and then revs up again, Elizabeth executes lyrical turns and unusual, quirky footwork. The three girls dance in unison, with fast moves to slow music. Silk goes on to a sprightly conclusion.

Above: Cassidy Hall and Sarah Atkins in Upon My Wings; photo by Amber Neff

In the first of the evening’s two premieres, Upon My Wings, Doori Na again made a vivid impression in the music of Reiko Fueting: tanz.tanz was composed for solo violin as an homage to Bach’s famous Chaconne. This ballet, originally entitled Tanz Tanz, was commissioned by the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, where it premiered in 2014. For his own company, Miro has distilled the dancing to a duet for Sarah Atkins and Cassidy Hall.

Skittering sounds from Doori’s violin find the two dancers balancing against one another’s bodies. They kneel and sway. The choreography features the intimate and physically taxing same-sex partnering that Miro has been exploring of late: for example, Sarah being rotated by Cassidy in an off-center balance.

The violin stutters and buzzes, and Doori shows his mastery with some ultra-soft playing, so subtle and shining. The girls echo one another in turns as the music goes Bachian; the ballet ends in silence.

Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue, the evening’s second premiere, marks Miro’s third collaboration with composer Michel Galante; the work is made possible by a grant from the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation.

Above: Amber Neff, Cassidy Hall, and Traci Finch in Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue; photo courtesy of New Chamber Ballet

The ballet’s title derives from the colours of Sarah Thea’s stylish and usual costumes: mock-turtle-neck designs with long, gossamer slit-skirts. These elegant frocks add to the airy feeling of the space-filling choreography. Pianist Melody Fader joins Doori Na to play Galante’s very demanding score.

As Amber Neff and Cassidy Hall engage in more of Miro’s intense partnering, the music is almost immediately fiendish: deep piano and growling violin. Things turn waltzy, and the girls pair off and circle the stage in a movement motif that is half-waltz and half-galop. The music continues to engage us: somehow, Doori is able to produce a deep, gritty sound as if he was drawing his bow across sandpaper. The dancers gather in a circle, raising their arms in a reverential gesture.

Amber and Cassidy, standing back-to-back, wrap one another en attitude, and bend apart. The four dancers form a chorus line; the music grows agitated, and the girls rush off into a space-filling chase-about. Their paths cross; poses are struck while the others dance on. They re-form the celebratory circle, reaching for heaven. In an allegro rush, the dancers conjure up a galloping pace, drawing from a repeated note on Melody’s keyboard.

Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue: it’s complicated, both musically and choreographically. It will take further viewings to delve into its riches, and I feel certain we’ll be seeing it again soon. Tonight’s premiere certainly was provocative, and I look forward to this ballet’s future evolution.

Concluding the evening was Djazz. Set to Maurice Ravel’s sonata #2 for violin and piano, the ballet was commissioned by Leslie and Richard Curtis. Here designer Sarah Thea had the three dancers – Sarah Atkins, Traci Finch, and Amber Neff – in dark-coloured leotards to which long fringes have been attached. This gave the girls a “flapper” look which meshed well with Ravel’s jazz-tinted score; when doing fast turns, the fringe flared out, giving an added air of animation.

Sarah Atkins leads off the dancing, soon joined by Traci Finch and Amber Neff; their contrasting personalities are engaging. Miro’s choreography here again calls for tricky partnering, as well as jazz-inspired swaying and sauntering. At the end of the first movement, the dancers wilt; at the end of the second, they sleep. In the finale, the dancing becomes very animated, with high-kicking extensions on display and brisk steps woven into the pulsating music.

In the Ravel, the musical achievement of Doori Na and Melody Fader was extraordinary; I can honestly say I’ve never heard this piece played better. It’s such incredible music: rhythmically captivating, veering from assertive to misterioso, and rich in irony. Doori and Melody were rightly cheered by the full house as the evening drew to its close.

Dancers: Sarah Atkins, Elizabeth Brown, Traci Finch, Cassidy Hall, and Amber Neff
Musicians: Melody Fader, piano & Doori Na, violin

September 17, 2016
…And All That Djazz @ NCB

Friday September 16th, 2016 – A sold-out house this evening as Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet presented their season-opening program. At a time when I am covering far less dance than in the past, Miro’s work – his choreography, his musical choices, and the dancers and musicians who bring the ballets to life – continues to draw me to his performances and rehearsals. Tonight’s program was one of the finest I have experienced at New Chamber Ballet: wonderfully diverse in the music presented, expertly danced by a quintet of distinctive ballerinas, and played by a violinist and pianist who seem to thrive on the stylistic range and technical challenges of the music Miro selects.

Variety is the spice of life, and it is also – from a musical point of view – an essential element in putting together an evening of dance. Miro will sometimes provoke New Chamber Ballet‘s faithful followers with the thorniness of a score he has decided on; inevitably, his rightness of judgment wins out. These contemporary pieces are counter-balanced by more ‘accessible’ music – tonight, Tartini and Ravel – thus turning the evening into a audio roller coaster. We are along for the ride, which can be quite exhilarating, and the NCB musicians make it all so rewarding.

Opening the evening was a trio, Silk, which premiered in 2006. Doori Na’s playing of the Sonata VII for solo violin by Giuseppe Tartini was stunningly virtuosic. The violinist had a long evening ahead of him, playing in all four works; in the Tartini, he poised himself at a very high level of technique and artistry, and then incredibly soared upward from there. The Ravel that ended the evening was – to use a 60s phrase – mind-blowing.

In Silk, the three dancers – Elizabeth Brown,Traci Finch, and Cassidy Hall – appear in Candice Thompson’s ice-blue, skirted leotards. They commence with slow ‘plastique’ port de bras and poses that might have been inspired by a Grecian urn. A sense of calm pervades their unison trio. There’s a silence as things are re-set for a charming, light-filled allegro.

Striking poses in unison, the girls commence an andante which features a simply gorgeous Tartini melody, superbly intoned by Doori. Cassidy Hall has a long solo, danced beautifully, while Traci and Elizabeth stand back-to-back, swaying gently, and curling their hands in a subtly expressive motif.

Elizabeth and Cassidy sit in a stylized pose as Traci dances an impressive solo with lots of intricate pointe work and a sense of urgency. In a striking passage, Traci balances on both pointes as her upper body sways and angles itself off-kilter. Doori hones his tone down to a thread before it goes deep: this music is so demanding!

Elizabeth Brown, a dancer of unique qualities, has solo passages laced into a spacious trio; as the pace of the music slows and then revs up again, Elizabeth executes lyrical turns and unusual, quirky footwork. The three girls dance in unison, with fast moves to slow music. Silk goes on to a sprightly conclusion.

Above: Cassidy Hall and Sarah Atkins in Upon My Wings; photo by Amber Neff

In the first of the evening’s two premieres, Upon My Wings, Doori Na again made a vivid impression in the music of Reiko Fueting: tanz.tanz was composed for solo violin as an homage to Bach’s famous Chaconne. This ballet, originally entitled Tanz Tanz, was commissioned by the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, where it premiered in 2014. For his own company, Miro has distilled the dancing to a duet for Sarah Atkins and Cassidy Hall.

Skittering sounds from Doori’s violin find the two dancers balancing against one another’s bodies. They kneel and sway. The choreography features the intimate and physically taxing same-sex partnering that Miro has been exploring of late: for example, Sarah being rotated by Cassidy in an off-center balance.

The violin stutters and buzzes, and Doori shows his mastery with some ultra-soft playing, so subtle and shining. The girls echo one another in turns as the music goes Bachian; the ballet ends in silence.

Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue, the evening’s second premiere, marks Miro’s third collaboration with composer Michel Galante; the work is made possible by a grant from the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation.

Above: Amber Neff, Cassidy Hall, and Traci Finch in Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue; photo courtesy of New Chamber Ballet

The ballet’s title derives from the colours of Sarah Thea’s stylish and usual costumes: mock-turtle-neck designs with long, gossamer slit-skirts. These elegant frocks add to the airy feeling of the space-filling choreography. Pianist Melody Fader joins Doori Na to play Galante’s very demanding score.

As Amber Neff and Cassidy Hall engage in more of Miro’s intense partnering, the music is almost immediately fiendish: deep piano and growling violin. Things turn waltzy, and the girls pair off and circle the stage in a movement motif that is half-waltz and half-galop. The music continues to engage us: somehow, Doori is able to produce a deep, gritty sound as if he was drawing his bow across sandpaper. The dancers gather in a circle, raising their arms in a reverential gesture.

Amber and Cassidy, standing back-to-back, wrap one another en attitude, and bend apart. The four dancers form a chorus line; the music grows agitated, and the girls rush off into a space-filling chase-about. Their paths cross; poses are struck while the others dance on. They re-form the celebratory circle, reaching for heaven. In an allegro rush, the dancers conjure up a galloping pace, drawing from a repeated note on Melody’s keyboard.

Yellow-Rose-Red-Blue: it’s complicated, both musically and choreographically. It will take further viewings to delve into its riches, and I feel certain we’ll be seeing it again soon. Tonight’s premiere certainly was provocative, and I look forward to this ballet’s future evolution.

Concluding the evening was Djazz. Set to Maurice Ravel’s sonata #2 for violin and piano, the ballet was commissioned by Leslie and Richard Curtis. Here designer Sarah Thea had the three dancers – Sarah Atkins, Traci Finch, and Amber Neff – in dark-coloured leotards to which long fringes have been attached. This gave the girls a “flapper” look which meshed well with Ravel’s jazz-tinted score; when doing fast turns, the fringe flared out, giving an added air of animation.

Sarah Atkins leads off the dancing, soon joined by Traci Finch and Amber Neff; their contrasting personalities are engaging. Miro’s choreography here again calls for tricky partnering, as well as jazz-inspired swaying and sauntering. At the end of the first movement, the dancers wilt; at the end of the second, they sleep. In the finale, the dancing becomes very animated, with high-kicking extensions on display and brisk steps woven into the pulsating music.

In the Ravel, the musical achievement of Doori Na and Melody Fader was extraordinary; I can honestly say I’ve never heard this piece played better. It’s such incredible music: rhythmically captivating, veering from assertive to misterioso, and rich in irony. Doori and Melody were rightly cheered by the full house as the evening drew to its close.

Dancers: Sarah Atkins, Elizabeth Brown, Traci Finch, Cassidy Hall, and Amber Neff
Musicians: Melody Fader, piano & Doori Na, violin

September 16, 2016
New Ravel @ New Chamber Ballet

Saturday February 27th, 2016 – Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet presenting five Magloire ballets, including a premiere, at City Center Studios. Exceptional music, played live, is always on offer at NCB; then there’s the bevy of ballerinas: five distinctive dancers who bring Miro’s classically-based but sometimes quirky – and always demanding – choreography to life.

Tonight, the house was packed; extra chairs had to be set out, and some people were standing. The program was one of Miro’s finest to date – and he’s had an awful lot of fine evenings. Two classic French violin sonatas – Debussy’s and (part of) Ravel’s – were in the mix, along with some Schoenberg (the more Schoenberg I hear, the more I like), and works by Beat Furrer and Friedrich Cerha (who just celebrated his 90th birthday).

The opening (premiere) work, RAVEL’D, is still “in-progress”; tonight we saw the first movement, with Miro promising the rest of it for his April performances. Doori Na and Melody Fader played beautifully, and Sarah Thea’s fringed tunics added an unusual flair to the movement. Stylized motifs – eating, praying, biting – are woven into the dance. One girl’s toe-shoed foot rests upon another girl’s head: this is one of several unexpected balancing devices. A space-filling unison trio stands out, and the closing section finds Sarah Atkins in a reverential pose as Amber Neff and Shoshana Rosenfield ‘converse’ in a series of mutually dependent balances.

The space was again well-utilized in GRAVITY; we were seeing the finished version of this work that Miro had started on last year. Doori Na’s expert playing of the Cerha score was something to marvel at: great subtlety and control are called for, and Doori delivered. The three dancers – Elizabeth Brown, Traci Finch, and Amber Neff – are engaged in extended paragraphs of the partnering vocabulary Miro has been exploring of late. Extremely challenging and movingly intimate, the intense physicality of these passages push the boundaries of what we expect from women dancing together. Miro’s dancers have taken to these new demands with great commitment: watching some of their improbable feats of balance and elastic strength gives us a fresh awareness of possibility. Adding yet another dimension to the work: when not actively dancing, each ballerina curls up on the floor to sleep.

Pianist Melody Fader evoked an air of mystery with her superb playing of Arnold Schoenberg’s Six Little Piano Pieces for the ballet QUARTET. Here Mlles. Atkins, Brown, Finch, and Neff appear in elegant, backless black gowns. They take seats at the four corners of the playing area, facing outward. With her hair down, a waif-like Shoshana Rosenfield dances in the center with a feeling of halting insecurity; her character seems dazed, perhaps drugged. Periodically, the four seated women move their chairs towards the center, slowing encroaching on Shoshana’s space. The four become aware of the lone ballerina as a potential victim: they turn and observe her intently. In the end, the four women have Shoshana trapped; as she sinks down in surrender, they caress her and run their fingers thru her hair. Eerie, and leaving us full of questions, QUARTET is as intriguing to watch as to hear.

In VOICELESSNESS, Beat Furrer’s mystical score was performed by Melody Fader; her playing had a fine air of somber quietude. Dancers Amber Neff and Shoshana Rosenfield, in Sarah Thea’s sleek body tights, become fervently entwined and mutually dependent in a duet that develops further elements of Miro’s intense and engrossing partnering technique.

For a revival of TWO FRIENDS, Doori Na and Melody Fader had the lovely experience of playing Claude Debussy’s violin sonata, the composer’s last completed work. Wearing black gauzy tunics and black toe shoes, Elizabeth Brown and Sarah Atkins are the eponymous duo; they partner lyrically, and all seems right with the world. Then Traci Finch appears out of nowhere and the ballet’s dynamic shifts and splinters, with fleeting pair-ups as alliances form and vanish in a trice. The subtexts of attraction and jealousy are very subtly threaded into the movement; an in-sync duet for Elizabeth and Traci is one outstanding moment, and the sonata’s final movement calls for large-scale virtuosic dancing from all three. But then Sarah impetuously rushes off.

True to life, TWO FRIENDS often finds multiple narratives developing at the same time, and over-lapping. There is so much to watch and to savor: I especially relished a brief passage where Elizabeth Brown, suddenly finding herself standing alone, quietly runs her hands up and down her arms in a caressive gesture. Elizabeth, a dancer who always lures the eye with her confident technique and personal mystique, turned this fleeting moment into something of deeper resonance.

Having followed Miro’s New Chamber Ballet for several seasons now, what I’ve come to appreciate most about him is his musical integrity. His tastes are eclectic, but always sophisticated, and he’s able to win us over to some very unusual and not always ‘easy’ music thru his own personal enthusiasm for the works he presents. The benefits of having the music played live are numerous, and greatly enhance the atmosphere at NCB‘s performances. And Miro’s excellent dancers take up each new musical and choreographic challenge that he sets for them with a wonderful mixture of strength, musicality, willingness, and grace.

The dancers tonight were Sarah Atkins, Elizabeth Brown, Traci Finch, Amber Neff, and Shoshana Rosenfield, with the music played by Doori Na (violin) and Melody Fader (piano) and costuming by Sarah Thea. Kudos to all, and to Miro for yet another fascinating evening of dance.

During the intermission, I really enjoyed re-connecting with Melissa Barak, the former New York City Ballet ballerina who now runs her own Los Angeles-based company Barak Ballet. Melissa is currently here in New York City as the inaugural Virginia B. Toulmin Fellow for Women Choreographers at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU. We shared an awful lots of news and ideas in our 15-minute chat. I love her energy!

February 27, 2016
New Chamber Ballet ~ Gallery

Above: dancers Sarah Atkins and Amber Neff in Miro Magloire’s RAVEL’D

Photographs from New Chamber Ballet‘s February 2016 performances at New York City Center Studios. Read about the program here, and about a rehearsal I attended here.

All the choreography depicted is by Miro Magloire, and all the images are courtesy of New Chamber Ballet:

Amber Neff and Traci Finch in GRAVITY

Amber Neff, Elizabeth Brown, and Traci Finch in GRAVITY

Shoshana Rosenfield in QUARTET

Shoshana Rosenfield in QUARTET

Shoshana Rosenfield with Sarah Atkins and Traci Finch in QUARTET

Elizabeth Brown, Amber Neff, Traci Finch and Sarah Atkins surround Shoshana Rosenfield in QUARTET

Amber Neff and Shoshana Rosenfield in VOICELESSNESS

Shoshana Rosenfield and Amber Neff in VOICELESSNESS

Shoshana Rosenfield and Amber Neff in VOICELESSNESS

February 27, 2016
Rehearsal: New Chamber Ballet

Above: New Chamber Ballet dancers Amber Neff and Sarah Atkins

Monday February 22nd, 2016 – I dropped in at Ballet Hispanico’s studios today where Miro Magloire, just back from choreographing the ballet sequences for Sarasota Opera’s production of Verdi’s AIDA, is preparing his New Chamber Ballet dancers for their upcoming performances: February 26th and 27th, 2016, at City Center Studios. Ticket information here.

Marina Harss wrote a wonderful article for DanceTabs about Miro’s Sarasota experience: read it here.

At today’s rehearsal, Miro was fine-tuning the ballets we’ll be seeing on the coming weekend at City Center Studios. Here are some photos of the dancers I took at the studio today:

Amber Neff

Shoshana Rosenfield, Amber Neff, Sarah Atkins

Shoshana Rosenfield, Sarah Atkins

Sarah Atkins, Amber Neff

Shoshana Rosenfield

Traci Finch

Elizabeth Brown, Sarah Atkins

Traci Finch, Elizabeth Brown

Elizabeth Brown, Traci Finch

Elizabeth Brown, Amber Neff

Elizabeth Brown, Amber Neff

Elizabeth Brown

The works to be presented at the upcoming City Center Studio performances are: the premiere of the full version of Gravity to music by Austrian composer Friedrich Cerha, who turns 90 this month; the premiere of a new ballet to Maurice Ravel’s 2nd violin sonata; a revival of Quartet, a dramatic solo set to Arnold Schoenberg’s Six Little Piano Pieces; a revival of Two Friends, a trio danced to Claude Debussy’s violin sonata; and Miro’s recent success Voicelessness, a duet set to music by Beat Furrer.

The dancers are Sarah Atkins, Elizabeth Brown, Traci Finch, Amber Neff, and Shoshana Rosenfield, and the music will be played live by Doori Na (violin) and Melody Fader (piano).

February 22, 2016
An Evening @ New Chamber Ballet

Friday November 20th, 2015 – Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet presenting works by Miro and resident choreographer Constantine Baecher in a nicely-mixed programme of new and olde music – expertly played – and danced by Miro’s uniquely talented band of ballerinas. In the intimate setting of the City Center Studios, there’s a sense of immediacy – both of the music and the dancing – that no other dance company in Gotham can quite match.

In his most recent works, Miro’s choreography has been daring in its exploration of female partnering. Tonight’s concert opened with the premiere of a full version of Gravity, excerpted earlier this season and which I’d seen in a formative rehearsal.

First off, a salute to violinist Doori Na for his impressive rendering of “Six Pieces for Violin” by Friedrich Cerha. The venerable Austrian composer, soon to celebrate his 90th birthday, is currently in the news locally as The Met is offering a new production of Alban Berg’s LULU which Mr. Cerha completed upon Berg’s death.

Gravity was danced tonight by Elisabeth Brown, Traci Finch, and NCB’s newest member Cassidy Hall. The dancers alternate between posing and partnering: a duet for Elizabeth and Traci is observed by Cassidy, who then inserts herself into the dance. Elizabeth’s solo comes as the music falls silent; she then dances with Cassidy in a duet where Elizabeth, at full stretch, is nearly parallel to the floor in displaying a superb line.

The dancers then polish off the ballet with a trio (Traci, Elizabeth and Cassidy, above).

More images from Gravity, photographed by Amber Neff:

Cassidy Hall and Traci Finch

Elizabeth Brown and Cassidy Hall

Someone once wrote of Aristotle Onassis: “He was not the first man to want both his wife and his mistress.” That very notion was the starting point of The Other Woman, Miro’s ‘classic triangle’ ballet set to a classic score: Bach’s B-minor violin sonata.

An en travesti Sarah Atkins, wearing a jaunty fedora, faces the age-old dilemma of the married man as he vacillates between his wife and his lover. Elizabeth Brown and Holly Curran offer contrasting attractions of face, form, and personality; in this very theatrical piece, their dancing is urgent and nuanced. The rival women confront one another while Sarah dances a space-filling solo. In the end it seems no real decision has been reached, and it feels like more chapters are yet to come before this story ends.

Doori Na and pianist Taka Kigawa played the Bach so attractively, and moments later Taka returned play Beat Furrer’s ‘Voicelessness. The snow has no voice’ for Miro’s second premiere of the evening: Voicelessness. Taka’s playing was marvelous right from the murmuring start of the piece; he was able to sustain a pianissimo misterioso atmosphere throughout with great control. This was punctuated with the occasional emphatic high staccato.

In this duet the two dancers – Amber Neff and Cassidy Hall, (above) – perform extremely demanding and intensely intimate feats of partnering. The two girls, abetted by Taka Kigawa’s keyboard, sustained the tension of the work most impressively.

Above: Amber Neff and Cassidy Hall in Voicelessness

More images from Voicelessness; these photos are by Sarah Thea who also designed the costumes for four of the five works seen tonight:

Amber Neff, Cassidy Hall

Amber Neff and Cassidy Hall

Following the interval, Richard Carrick’s score ‘In flow’ for solo violin provided another showcase for Doori Na as Miro’s Friction unfolded. The ballet opens in silence before Doori’s violin sounds hesitantly; the angular, sinuous music includes an alarming forte ‘scrunch’ at one point. Dancers Holly Curran and Amber Neff moved thru the intricate partnering motifs with total assurance and dealt with the technical demands Miro makes on them with cool confidence.

The evening closed with Constantine Baecher’s lively and very original ballet, Mozart Trio, set to excerpts from the composer’s piano sonatas played with genial clarity by Taka Kigawa.

In this ballet about beginnings and endings, the dancers speak: they speak not only of where they are and what they are doing at the moment, but also – more cosmically – of where they are in their lives.

Traci Finch narrates solos by Elizabeth Brown and Sarah Atkins in turn, describing their dancing and giving us bytes of biography. In the second movement, Sarah’s solo takes an autobiographical approach (“I’m in the middle!” she calls out – of her dance, of her career, of her life?). The third movement is an abstracted trio for all three dancers, full of energy and wit, until they reach the self-declared “end of the end!”

New Chamber Ballet‘s next performances are set for February 26th and 27th, 2016. More details will be forthcoming as the dates draw nigh.

November 20, 2015
New Season @ New Chamber Ballet

Saturday September 12th, 2015 – After celebrating their tenth anniversary season in 2014-2015, Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet have commenced their second decade of presenting intimate, on-pointe evenings of dance with live music: a formula which maintains NCB‘s unique place in the Gotham dance-sphere and keeps Miro’s loyal followers coming back for more.

This evening’s programme was all-Magloire in terms of choreography, and mostly ‘modern’ in terms of music: aside from the Mozart setting of the opening ballet, the oldest work played tonight dates from 1952 (Morton Feldman’s Extensions 3), and anything that’s younger than me counts as ‘modern’.

It is, in fact, Miro’s musical integrity that accounts for my unflagging interest in his work: I can go to his performances knowing I can depend on him to serve up music – whether olde or written last year – that will fascinate. His musicians – Melody Fader (piano) and Doori Na (violin) – seem capable of leaping over whatever technical obstacles might be set in their path – a virtue in itself, since contemporary composers often seem intent on pushing the boundaries of an instrument’s capabilities.

Likewise, Miro continues to expand the choreographic possibilities of what an all-female troupe of dancers can do. His most recent works – three of them seen tonight – take same-sex ballet partnering into uncharted territory.

Miro is comfortable with both narrative and abstract works. The evening’s opener – IN THE PARLOUR – is set to Mozart’s violin sonata in E-minor K. 304, which was handsomely played by Melody Fader and Doori Na. In this domestic drama, three women express shifts in friendships and matters of trust. A beautiful solo for Elizabeth Brown begins haltingly, in silence; soon she is wafting serenely about the space. She pauses to write upon the wall; in this she is thwarted by a destructive Sarah Atkins. Meanwhile, a third woman – Holly Curran – seems unsure of whose side she’s on. Holly’s crisis is resolved as she allies with sneaky Sarah. The three girls danced flawlessly and sustained the mysterious atmosphere of the ballet.

Tristan Murail’s score for LA MANDRAGORE veers from turbulence to high, shining motifs, and then to a misterioso atmosphere; Melody Fader at the piano showed a sure feel for the moods of the piece. The two lithe and wonderfully supple dancers – Traci Finch and Amber Neff – moved thru the enmeshed, intimate partnering passages with physical strength and a sense of mutual assurance that was truly impressive.

As Sarah Atkins (above, photo by Kokyat) strolls onto the stage wearing long white evening gloves and smoking a cigarette, a vision of Nijinska’s LES BICHES pops into mind; but Miro’s ballet GLOVE is in fact more intriguing than Nijinsk’a old Poulenc ballet. Melody Fader’s expert playing of Feldman’s Extensions 3 sets the scene for this small jewel of a work in which Holly Curran and Elizabeth Brown become increasingly desirous of obtaining Sarah’s gloves. There are comings and goings – the dancers periodically hide behind the piano, concocting their future moves – and the ballet ends with a mysterious seizure.

I had seen a rehearsal of parts of Miro’s newest creation GRAVITY; both at the rehearsal and at this evening’s performance, I was captivated by Doori Na’s masterful playing of the score for this ballet: numbers 3 and 5 from Friedrich Cerha’s Six Pieces for Solo Violin. In introducing this premiere tonight, Miro’s enthusiasm for Cerha’s music makes me quite certain we will see the remaining movements of the score being danced to in the near future.

Tonight’s enticing presentation of the work as it currently stands was delicious both musically and in the dancing: Elizabeth Brown, Traci Finch, and New Chamber Ballet debutante Cassidy Hall formed a strong sisterhood and smoothly wove their way thru the many demanding elements of Miro’s choreography. The work is sculptural, with partnering motifs that can be fluid one moment and angular the next. Among the many felicitous moments were…

…a rhapsodic wingspan gesture from Elizabeth Brown, supported by Traci…

…and a lovely slow attitude promenade by Traci and Cassidy, as seen in these rehearsal images.

GRAVITY has the feel of an impending Magloire masterpiece; let’s see where the Cerha takes the choreographer next.

Above: rehearsing FRICTION: Amber Neff and Holly Curran

Doori Na and his violin propelled the evening to a fine finish in Richard Carrick’s In Flow, as set by Miro for his ballet FRICTION. Doori took the music from its hesitant opening thru a rather boozy passage of seasick pitch and on to some skittering and stuttering motifs to a big, passionate rhythm. For the dancers, again the intimacy is palpable; Amber and Holly are in full flourish for the demanding partnering and the dance well-captures the textures of the music. Holly’s black tights and toe shoes were an added visual enticement.

After ten years of reporting on the Manhattan dance scene, there are times when I think I’ve seen all there is to see. Yet a handful of choreographers and companies continue to hold my attention, and Miro and his New Chamber Ballet are among their small number…as much for the music as for the dancing. And that’s exactly how it should be.

September 12, 2015
Open Rehearsal: New Chamber Ballet

Above: dancers Holly Curran and Amber Neff of New Chamber Ballet

Saturday May 16th, 2015 – Preparing for their final performances of the current season, New Chamber Ballet opened their rehearsal at MMAC today to friends of the Company. The works being rehearsed were Constantine Baecher’s Two Tauri And A Tiger (music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) – which the Company premiered in April 2015 – and a new ballet by NCB‘s artistic director Miro Magloire: Friction, set to music by Richard Carrick.

Friction is commissioned as part of an Artist Residency at the Center for Faith and Work. At the moment, the ballet is still in its developmental stages; it is a duet danced by Holly Curran and Amber Neff (above) and the rehearsal process has given rise to a new word: “fricting”. The dance draws on motifs of friction from the dancer’s feet upon the floor, from the dancers’ body contact with one another, and from the application of bow to strings of Doori Na’s violin.

Above: Holly and Amber

Above: Miro observing

Constantine Baecher (above) then discussed the movement elements of his ballet Two Tauri and A Tiger. Melody Fader was at the piano to play the Mozart score as the three dancers demonstrated the free-flowing, improvisational phrases on which the work is built.

Above: Traci Finch, Elizabeth Brown, and Sarah Atkins, about to start Two Tauri

Observing the creative process in retrospect (I have already seen the ballet performed) gave me an entirely different feel for the piece. The dancers spoke of the joys (and challenges) of improvising, especially in the context of the intimate setting of New Chamber Ballet’s performances.

Above: Sarah and Traci waiting to dance

New Chamber Ballet will close their 10th anniversary season Friday, June 12th and Saturday, June 13th, 2015, at 8:00 PM at City Center Studios, 130 West 56th St, 5th floor. Both of the works we saw in the studio today will be on the programme.

May 16, 2015
New Chamber Ballet: Four Works

Above: Elizabeth Brown of New Chamber Ballet rehearsing the solo Moments, observed by choreographers Miro Magloire and Constantine Baecher

Saturday April 18th, 2015 – “Ballet is Woman,” said George Balanchine; and Miro Magloire‘s New Chamber Ballet seems to be living proof of it. Miro’s obvious delight and skill in choreographing for female dancers has resulted in a series of works which honor the ballerina tradition whilst at the same time pushing boundaries, especially in the realm same-sex partnering. Tonight, the customary New Chamber Ballet formula of women dancing in an up-close-and-personal setting to live music brought us works by both Miro and NCB‘s resident choreographer Constantine Baecher, including two world premieres.

Now celebrating their tenth anniversary, New Chamber Ballet have always presented an ensemble of finely-trained ballerinas with vivid, individualized personalities. The current quartet maintains the high standard: these are women who are comfortable with having their audience literally within reach, able to dance with confidence and poise in an intimate setting. Their dancing is enhanced by the accomplished musicality of violinist Doori Na and pianist Melody Fader who are always ready, willing, and able to tackle whatever music Miro hands them – and that’s saying a great deal.

Entangled, a quartet for on- and off-pointe dancers, is performed to Paganini’s Caprices expertly played by Doori Na. The girls, in Sarah Thea’s minty-green sheer costumes with a harem feeling, are paired off: two on pointe (Sarah Atkins and Traci Finch) and two in slippers (Elizabeth Brown and Amber Neff).

The ballet opens with Amber and Elizabeth face to face (rehearsal image, above); they rush away from one another and then meet again – repeatedly – in an approach-avoidance sequence. Their dance becomes spastic; they struggle on the floor and there are shakes and shapes. Doori, the violinist, is meanwhile making fast and furious with the demanding Paganini score. The pointe couple appear: Sarah and Traci in stylized balletic poses with stretched arabesques and sculptural port de bras. The couples alternate; the soft-slipper girls have a shuffling little jig. As the adagio begins, the pointe pair lean into one another before they are left alone to a high violin shimmer. Innovative floor choreography follows. We half expect a faster final movement, but instead the ballet ends quietly.

Elizabeth Brown, a founding member of New Chamber Ballet, has been thru a serious injury episode and has come back in phenomenal physical condition and more expressive than ever. A unique dancer, Elizabeth performed Miro’s solo Moments to Salvatore Sciarrino’s Caprices 5,2, and 6. Doori Na plays the annoying (in a good way) and demanding score with touches of wit. The opening section is all about line and control, and Elizabeth here reveled in these beautiful, slow-to-still poses. The choreography becomes more animated, gestural, and space-filling, with a spirited circle of piqué turns. New Chamber Ballet audiences tend to be rather reserved, but lusty cheers went up after Moments.

Above: Traci Finch and Amber Neff rehearsing Miro Magloire’s newest ballet, La Mandragore

La Mandragore (The Mandrake) is a new duet by Miro set to Tristan Murail’s solo piano work of the same title. Melody Fader at the keyboard showed a particular affinity for this music which begins misterioso, becomes turbulent, then sinks back into eerie calm. Dancers Traci Finch and Amber Neff meet Miro’s complex partnering demands head-on; they are fearless, strong and supple as they wrap around one another, performing lifts and mutually supportive feats in an unusual mixture of power and intimacy. Miro pushes the two dancers to extremes and they respond with compelling assurance and grace.

The world premiere of NCB resident choreographer Constantine Baecher’s Two Tauri and A Tiger marked yet another success for Constantine, who has created several works for New Chamber Ballet over the years. Two Tauri opens with Elizabeth Brown rushing on to a stimulating Mozart theme played by Melody Fader; Elizabeth’s solo is questing and energetic. Traci Finch enters next, followed by Sarah Atkins, each dancing a restless and animated solo. The movement has a playful, windswept feeling with an aspect of childlike joy, as when Elizabeth and Traci join hands and spin mirthfully about.

The music pauses and we hear the dancers breathing; they re-group in silence, have a walkabout, and a bit more spinning. As Melody intones a more staid Mozart theme, the ballet becomes pensive. The girls circle around, holding hands and relying on counter-balance. This passage recalls Balanchine’s fondness for similar linkings, and also evokes Matisse’s La Danse. As the music animates, the dancers rush about and a pair will playfully drag the third as in a children’s game. This recedes into a more temperate passage with some stretching motifs. Overall, Two Tauri seems like a romping, good-natured piece; yet I feel there might be some underlying shadows, too. I’ll need to see it again to get a deeper sense if it. One thing for sure: the three dancers seemed to be genuinely having a good time dancing it.

So nice to see Candice Thompson, Amy Brandt, Emery LeCrone, and Lauren Toole among the audience tonight.

New Chamber Ballet will conclude their 10th anniversary season with performances on June 12th and 13th, 2015. Further details will be forthcoming.

April 18, 2015
New Chamber Ballet: Gallery

Images from New Chamber Ballet‘s February 2015 performances at City Center Studios have come my way. Read about the evening here. Above, from Miro Magloire’s ballet ENTANGLED; the dancers are Sarah Atkins and Traci Finch. The above photo and the following images from Miro’s ballet RAW are provided by courtesy of New Chamber Ballet:

From RAW: the dancers are Traci Finch and Amber Neff

RAW: Traci Finch, Amber Neff

RAW: Amber Neff, Traci Finch

RAW: Amber Neff, Traci Finch

From Miro Magloire’s RAW: Amber Neff, Traci Finch

The costume designs for both RAW and ENTANGLED are by Sarah Thea. She provided the following photos from ENTANGLED, used with permission:

Traci Finch, Sarah Atkins

Traci Finch, Sarah Atkins

Above: pianist Melody Fader; photo by Cherie B

Live music is a key element at all New Chamber Ballet performances. Pianist Melody Fader has been Miro’s collaborator for several seasons and, along with violinist Doori Na, she makes the music an integral factor in the audience’s enjoyment of NCB evenings. Melody is currently in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to develop funding for her chamber music project, something that’s dear to her heart. You can find out all about it – and help make it happen – here.

New Chamber Ballet‘s next performances will be April 17th and 18th, 2015. Information about repertory and tickets will be forthcoming.

February 14, 2015