"The Dream", "The Tempest"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
July 1, 2014
ABT's Shakespeare night included two works both danced to incidental music composed for the plays, Felix Mendelssohn's for "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and Jean Sibelius' for "The Tempest". Ashton's "The Dream" has turned fifty, and Ratmansky's "The Tempest" is less than a year old, but seeing them together shows that "The Dream" is timeless, while "The Tempest"
"Ivillage: My Indian Village", "Inseparation", "Flight", "Bollysa"
Sa Dance Company
Ailey Citigroup Theater
New York, New York
June 28, 2014
The word "Sa" means, according to the program notes, the first and last note in the octave used in Indian classical music. The Sa Dance Company, a group of 10 stunningly beautiful women, melds blends the various schools of Indian classical dance with more modern versions; the brief biographies in the program shows the range of types these dancers
"Swan Lake"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
June 27, 2014
The injury bug has hit ABT with a vengeance, and Friday's announced "Swan Lake" cast, Alina Cojocaru and Herman Cornejo, were replaced by Hee Seo and Roberto Bolle; Seo had already stepped in on Monday for the black act to replace Gillian Murphy, injured during the performance. This gallantry meant the audience was already rooting for her, but her Odette/Odile is still
"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
June 17, 2014
"Wonderful! Wonderful!" the man behind me shouted after almost every variation during the Polina Semionova/David Hallberg performance of "Giselle". He certainly had a point. Seminova is a tall, long-limbed dancer, not a typical Giselle, but she controlled her extremes to present a fully developed character; a ballerina, it seems, is someone who can do anything but has the taste not to.
Cinderella"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
June 9, 2014
"Who will play the sisters?" was the constant refrain when ABT announced that it would perform Sir Frederick Ashton's version. The Cinderella story certainly seems like a natural in the full-length sweepstakes--a familiar story with a ballroom setting and a happy ending, but the previous two versions (by Ben Stevenson and James Kudelka) were choreographic duds. The somewhat episodic Prokofiev music
"La Bayadère"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 23, 2014
The Makarova-Petipa eternal triangle got a glorious sendoff with its opening night cast, including Diana Vishneva as Nikiya, Marcelo Gomes as Solor and Gillian Murphy, in her first appearance this season, as Gamzatti. Vishneva is a beautiful woman with an expressive face, and her Nikiya was no shrinking violet. She was both shocked and angry at the High Brahmin's untoward advances
“Robert Schumann’s ‘Davidsbündlertänze’”, “Union Jack”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 17, 2014, matinee
“Robert Schumann’s ‘Davidsbündlertänze’” is an awkward title for a subtle and profound work. The four couples represent various aspects of Schumann’s (and by extension any artist’s) feelings; the two most obvious are Clara the loving and supportive wife, and Clara the wild and slightly dangerous muse. The two other couples represent
"Don Quixote"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 14, 2014
The opening scene on "Don Quixote", with the Don and Sancho Panza, is as close to the original as the frivolous, silly, and endearing ballet gets, as Quixote (Victor Barbee) and his side kick (Luis Ribagorda) mimed their search. A vision of Dulcinea appeared, and Barbee slowly dropped to his knees, reverently bowing to beauty. This simple moment encapsulated so beautifully the underlying
"Raymonda Variations", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "Le Tombeau de Couperin", "Symphony in C"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 10, evening, 2014
The marketing department could come up with nothing more imaginative than "All Balanchine", but that didn't matter to the audience, which turned out despite the lack of an advertising hook. Though there really was a hook, beautiful ballets danced very well, which seemed to be enough. The whipped cream music
"Sthayee", "Aahne nila shaila", "Shivashtaka", "Bhavayami Raghuramam", "Sakhi he", "Omkarakarini"
Rahul Acharya and Vidhya Subramanian
The World Music Institute's "Dancing the Gods"
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
New York University
New York, New York
April 26, 2014
The World Music Institute, an organization presenting music and dance from a range of countries to New York audiences, sponsored a weekend of classical Indian dance, called "Dancing the Gods". The Saturday night performance might have been called "Dancing Gods"
"Perpetual Dawn", "Fibers", "Troilus and Cressida (reduced)", "Black Tuesday"
Paul Taylor Dance
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
March 19, 2014
Paul Taylor recently announced that his company, previously dedicated to his works, will be changing format to include other modern choreographers, so this may be the last season of all-Taylor all-the time. Though the concentrated dose of Paul Taylor will be missed, this is actually a hopeful sign--he obviously wants the company to continue
"Airs", "American Dreamer", "Mercuric Tidings"
Paul Taylor Dance
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
March 12, 2014
Though spring apparently has forgotten New York, Paul Taylor can warm up the coldest weather. The company returned to the Koch Theater, with its grand vistas, not to the more familiar City Center. But economics insist that the company rely on taped music, which sounded a bit tinny in Balanchine's hall. But nothing can really dampen the dappled