"Sylvia"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
June 24, 2013
Michael Mayer, the director of the new "Rigoletto" at the Met, explained his decision to set the opera in 1950's Las Vegas by saying "It gives the audience a chance to recognize these people in a way that doesn't require a giant imaginative leap. I'm not totaly sure where Manuta is in Italy, it's not one of those beautiful places I've visited." Fortunately, Ashton's
"Change of Heart", "Dusk", "Night of the Flying Horses", "Night and Dreams"
Lydia Johnson Dance
Ailey Citigroup Theater
New York, New York
June 7, 2013
Lydia Johnson's appealing group of dancers, augmented by Carlos Lopez, a former soloist with ABT, presented a series of four dances at the intimate Alvin Ailey Theater. The music, which ranged from Bach to Osvaldo Golijov, unfortunately was taped, but the dancers managed to make their movements seem spontaneous. Johnson's dancers have
"Le Corsaire"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 6, 2013
ABT has revised it scenery and costumes for "Le Corsaire", that delicious romp through Byron courtesy of Petipa and a number of others. The first production used the sets and costumes from a Bolshoi production, and they were colorful, too colorful in fact, considering the saturated pinks and yellow tutus worn in the sublime Jardin Animé. The new sets
"Concerto DSCH", "Sonatas and Interludes", "In Creases", "Stars and Stripes"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
June 4, 2013
Ballet choreography grows from past works, which is one of its strengths, but this can also be limiting. The shadows that Balanchine cast have at times seemed to limit new growth, as choreographers either imitate or react to him, and his ghosts (some paler than others) have appeared in many new ballets.
"Red Angels", "Sonatas and Interludes", "In Creases", "A Fool for You"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
May 29, 2013
In its unceasing and understandable efforts to attract a new (young and hip) audience, NYCB offered an evening of $29 seats, selling out almost immediately. The atmosphere was fresh and excited, and the applause was enthusiastic. Whether this will translate into permanent fans is as yet unknown, but seat prices are certainly
"Don Quixote"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
Mary 28, 2013
The first glimpse that New York had of Natalia Osipova came during the Bolshoi tour of 2005, when she burst out of the corps with her flying jumps and engaging personality. I wrote at the time that it she seemed to have turned up at the Bolshoi school one day with a note around her neck saying "Hello, my name is
"Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes", "A Month in the Country", "Symphony in C"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 21 and May 22 matinee, 2013
ABT took a brief break from its three-act warhorses to present an intriguing triple bill, sandwiching its premiere of Sir Frederick Ashton's delicate chamber ballet "A Month in the Country" between two different takes on white ballets, Mark Morris' witty romp through some piano pieces of
"Onegin" excerpt, "Cortège", "Le Corsaire" pas de deux, "Symphony #9", "Sylvia" hunt scene, "Apothéose", "The Sleeping Beauty" Act III pas de deux, "Symphony in C"
American Ballet Theatre
Spring Gala
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
ABT's Spring gala was more substantial than the usual parade of pas de deux, clocking in at almost three hours, with one intermission, and including two complete works, the new Ratmansky "Symphony #9" and the old Balanchine "Symphony in C".
"Who Cares?", "Ivesiana", "Tarantella", "Stars and Stripes"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
The 2013 New York city Ballet Spring Season opened on the anniversary of Balanchine's death with an all-Balanchine program, celebrating the froth, with the exception of the seldom-seen, dark, and unforgettable "Ivesiana". The present, I supposed, was new costumes for "Who Cares?" by Santo Loquasto. The older ones (by Ben Benson, replacing the Karinska ones, which I never
"Agon", "Black Swan Pas de Deux", "Far But Close", "Return"
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center
New York, New York
April 11, 2013
The Dance Theatre of Harlem hare returned to New York, after a nearly nine-year hiatus due to budget problems. Virginia Johnson, one of the original dancers, now leads the company and she has assembled an engaging group of 18 dancers. The larger works that the old company could perform (I especially
"Cascade", "Eventide", "Company B"
The Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center
New York, New York
March 9, 2013
For the second year, Paul Taylor has chosen the larger, more formal Koch Theater (State Theater to some of us), rather than the City Center. The dancers have adjusted to the bigger canvas well, though what is the use of an orchestra pit without live music? The recent Saturday matinee (complete with a fractious child)
"In Violent Circles (The Rite of Spring)", "Vashti"
Riedel Dance Theater and Ariel Rivka Dance
Ailey Citigroup Theater
New York, New York
March 7, 2013
Two modern dance companies, the Riedel Dance Theater and the Ariel Rivka Dance, premiered new works together. These were both character-driven explorations of old stories--a medieval Swedish ballad in Riedel's piece and the Biblical myth of Vashti in Rivka's work. Jonathan Riedel, who danced in the José Limón Dance Company from 1996-2006, has