Mary Cargill

Different Notes

Different Notes


"Her Notes", "Symphonic Variations", "Other Dances", "Thirteen Diversions"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
October 22, 2017, matinee


ABT's Sunday matinee showcased four ballets choreographed to concert music, music which was originally intended to stand alone. The choreographers all faced the challenge of improving, so to speak, the original works of art, and though all works were very well danced and had impressive moments, only Ashton's "Symphonic Variations" melded the steps, the atmosphere, and the

By Mary Cargill
Silver Lining

Silver Lining


Silver Lining

"The Gift", "Songs of Bukovina", "Thirteen Diversions"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theatre
New York, New York
October 18, 2017


ABT's Fall gala celebrated Kevin McKenzie's twenty-five years as Artistic Director with a silver jubilee.  Appropriately, it was a company effort, celebrating the JKO students and the ABT Studio Company as well as the current dancers; as the gracious hosts, Stella Abrera and David Hallberg noted in their opening remarks, 63 of ABT's 92 dancers started

By Mary Cargill
Moving On

Moving On


"Cortège Hongrois", "La Valse", "Square Dance", "Duo Concertant"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
October 15, 2015


Robert Fairchild gave his farewell performance at New York City Ballet in Balanchine's low-key, pensive, and very personal "Duo Concertant", which was rescheduled to close the afternoon, in place of the apotheosis of closers, "Cortège Hongrois", which opened the performance. If the switch made for a somewhat unbalanced schedule, it let the audience thank Fairchild properly, as

By Mary Cargill
Fashion Forward

Fashion Forward


"The Wind Still Brings", "Composer's Holiday", "Not Our Fate", "Pulcinella Variations"
New York City Ballet
Koch Theater
New York, New York
September 27, 2017


New York City Ballet's Fall gala, with its now traditional spotlight on fashion designers, clocked in at an efficient two hours. There was a brief opening film with glimpses of the new designs, no speeches, no intermissions, and four new ballets. The first three shared a distinct family resemblance (opaque titles, young dancers, bare legs, and

By Mary Cargill
The Heart of the Matter

The Heart of the Matter


"Swan Lake"
New York City Ballet
Koch Theater
New York, New York
September 27, 2017


Peter Martins' "Swan Lake", for all its problematic moments, does leave the iconic black and white pas de deux reasonably intact, and, since they constitute "Swan Lake's" emotional core, a committed pair can wrest a moving performance from those dreary, blotchy paint drips. Even without Odette's mime to explain the situation (how is Martins' Siegfried to know that foreswearing Odette will doom her?) Tiler Peck

By Mary Cargill
Souvenirs

Souvenirs


"AfterEffect", "The Nutcracker pas de deux", "Souvenir d'un Lieu Cher", "Mozartiana"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
July 8, 2017, matinee
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The final Saturday matinee's all-Tchaikovsky program was a real souvenir program, with a ballets set to the composer's "Souvenir de Florence", his "Souvenir d'un Lieu Cher", his "Nutcracker", with its cosy memories, and his "Mozartiana", his salute to the earlier composer. But it was also a souvenir for the audience, as Veronika Part

By Mary Cargill
Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters


"Swan Lake"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 14, 2017, matinee


ABT's ever-popular but problematic "Swan Lake" had a glorious new swan queen in Devon Teuscher, who made her New York debut in front on an enthusiastic matinee audience. Fortunately, most of her choreography remains traditional, though the truncated and breathless Act 4 (or Act 2, Scene 2 in this version) continues to flutter anticlimactically and Odette still has to make a

By Mary Cargill
The Circus Comes to Town

The Circus Comes to Town


"Le Corsaire"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 5, 2017


The Ringling Brothers may be defunct but New Yorkers can still enjoy three-ringed entertainment as "Le Corsaire" is still floating, with its milling throngs of slave girls auditioning for a role in an "I dreamt I joined a harem in my Maidenform bra" advertisement, its dashing men jumping with sub-Byronic flair, and its intricate female choreography culminating in the jardin animé,

By Mary Cargill
A Fable for Our Time

A Fable for Our Time


"The Golden Cockerel"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 1, 2017


Alexei Ratmansky's version of "The Golden Cockerel", based in part on the earlier Fokine ballet, is a hybrid work, a partially mimed (and quite complicated) story with episodes of dancing set to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera. The original 1914 full-length ballet was danced to the opera with singers on the side of the stage, though Fokine's 1937 one-act revision did

By Mary Cargill
The Home Team

The Home Team


"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 27, 2017, evening


For the past two years ABT has limited its guest-star list, relying on its own dancers, which has meant several long-awaited debuts, Gillian Murphy's "Giselle" among them. Murphy is a strong, sturdy, redhead who dances a stupendous Myrta, not the traditional dark-haired shrinking violet but as her sepia-toned Nikiya proved, she is a stylish and subtle artist, not

By Mary Cargill
Mr. ABT

Mr. ABT


"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 30, 2017


ABT has produced some outstanding "Giselles" this season, but the Wednesday night performance celebrating Marcelo Gomes' twenty years at ABT was extra-special, culminating in emotional curtain calls where the audience and the company thanked Gomes for so many years of committed, generous, dramatic, as well as comic, performances. Though he has given up some roles (I especially miss his noble but flawed Solor and his open-hearted

By Mary Cargill
To the Cottage Born

To the Cottage Born


"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
May 27, 2017, matinee


The Saturday matinee of "Giselle" was a mini-festival of debuts, as all the leads made their first New York appearances in the ballet; Sarah Lane as the doomed heroine, Daniil Simkin as Albrecht, Christine Shevchenko as Myrta, and Craig Salstein as Hilarion. None showed any hint of nerves and all gave strong, detailed, and moving performances in one of ABT's most durable classical productions.  

Lane is

By Mary Cargill