Mary Cargill

"Allegro Brillante", "Swan Lake", "The Four Temperaments"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 31, 2017

The well-balanced, all-Balanchine program wasn't given a name by the marketing department, but it could have been called "Salute to Maria Tallchief", since both "Allegro Brillante" and "Swan Lake" were choreographed for her and Sanguinic in "The Four Temperaments" was one of her important roles. Tallchief was a dancer of power and majesty, characteristics which, in their own

Miami City Ballet: "The Fairy's Kiss" by Alexei Ratmansky
Works & Process
Peter B. Lewis Theater
Guggenheim Museum
New York, NY
January 29, 2017, afternoon

The Miami City Ballet is premiering Alexei Ratmansky's "The Fairy's Kiss" in February, set to Stravinsky's "Le Baiser de la Fée".  Stravinsky's music was inspired by both a Hans Christian Andersen story and the life and music of Tchaikovsky. The original tale, "The Ice Maiden," is a dark and complex

"Fearful Symmetries", "The Shimmering Asphalt", "The Times are Racing"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 26, 2017

For the past several years New York City Ballet has celebrated Balanchine with at least one new work under the rubric of "New Combina- tions", honoring Balanchine's statement "There are no new steps, only new combinations". This year the two premieres, by Pontus Lidberg and Justin Peck, showed that new combinations are hard to come

"Allegro Brillante", "Swan Lake", "The Four Temperaments"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 18, 2017

The current programming scheme of performing three similar ballets together took a welcome break on Wednesday, as New York City Ballet presented a varied triple bill, proving that variety is really spicy. The all Balanchine program had three varied works: the exhilarating opening, a drama, and a black and white masterpiece.  The newest of these works, "Allegro

"Kirana", "Consider Water"
Ragamala Dance Company and Davalois Fearon Dance
American Dance Platform - Program C
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
January 5, 2017

by Mary Cargill 
copyright © 2017 by Mary Cargill

The second American Dance Platform, a week-long, multi-company program presented by the Joyce Theater Foundation, was curated by Alicia Adams of Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center.  She wanted, she writes in the program, to show "a representative portrait of American Dance"; Program C showcased

"The Nutcracker"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
December 6, 2016

Tolstoi's remark about happy families, it seems, could have been written about the Stahlbaums, and he might have added that happy ballets are all alike, too, a celebration of innocence, wonder, and stability flanked by majestic, musical choreography. In the New York City Ballet's "Nutcracker" Tuesday night, Zachary Catazaro and Gretchen Smith were the warm, generous couple overseeing the cosy hustle-bustle of the first

"Apollo", "Leaves are Fading pax de deux", "Lamentations", "Fandango", "Lil Buck @ City Center: a Jookin' Jam Session"
Vail Dance Festival: ReMixNYC
New York City Center
New York, NY
November 4, 2016.

Damian Woetzel, a former NYCB dancer of explosive energy, has directed the summer dance festival in Vail, Colorado for the last ten years and he brought his eclectic, imaginative, and thoughtfully curated approach to New York's City Center for a brief visit. The dances ranged from Balanchine's 1928 "Apollo"

"Le Corsaire"
Boston Ballet
Boston Opera House
Boston, Massachusetts
October 29, 2016, matinee

"Le Corsaire" originally set sail in Paris in 1856 and moved to Russia with Marius Petipa in 1858, where it went through several revisions. The last Petipa version was done in 1899 and it has added a lot of cargo since then.  Unlike "The Sleeping Beauty" the swashbuckling tale, tangentially related to Byron's poem, has no definitive version and its melodramatic plot is basically a plank

"Monotones I and II", "Serenade after Plato's Symposium", "Prodigal Son"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 26, 2016

American Ballet Theatre's now traditional Fall season is a treat for its audience, which gets to see interesting one-act ballets, full of fine dancing from the corps and soloists (as well as the principals), with few tutus in sight. The October 26 program stood out for its varied and interesting choreography and its well-rehearsed, dynamic dancing in

"Rondo Capriccioso", "Symphonic Variations", "Daphnis and Chloe"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 20, 2016

The music for ABT's Fall gala was French and so was the main event, the American premier of Benjamin Millepied's "Daphnis and Chloe", choreographed for the Paris Opera Ballet in 2014.  It was well-received in Paris, but perhaps it is a case of vive la différence, since the ballet, though strongly and enthusiastically danced, was a

 "Aureole", "Dust", "Piazolla Caldera"
Taylor 2 Dance Company
Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts
Pace University
New York, NY
October 15, 2016

Paul Taylor established Taylor 2 in 1993 to perform versions of his works on smaller stages which might not accommodate the larger company. The company tours widely and also works in arts programs in schools, so the dancers in the six-member group are seasoned and accomplished performers. Many of Taylor's larger works are redone for fewer dancers

"Dances at a Gathering", "Firebird"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 14, 2016

"Dances at a Gathering", Jerome Robbins' marathon exploration of Chopin, was paired with the Russian "Firebird"; two American ballets with an Eastern-European heritage. "Dances" works best when the dancers react as a community, rather than performing a series of dances. This feeling is illusive, and, in this performance, came in fits and starts. There were late substitutions and some debuts (Robert