"Brandenburgs", "Brief Encounters", "Also Playing"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
New York City Center
New York, NY
March 2, 2010
There are, to over-generalize, three faces to Paul Taylor, the serene, the dark, and the comic. Two of them, the serene and the comic, were featured at the gala performance. The first, "Brandenburgs", was choreographed in 1988, and the other two are new this year. Unfortunately, for me, though not for the audience, the new ones were
Mark Morris Dance Group
Mark Morris Dance Group
"Behemoth", "Looky", and "Socrates"
BAM Opera House
Brooklyn, New York
February 23, 2010
The Mark Morris Dance Company gave a brief season at BAM, with two works new to New York, "Looky" (2007), and the new ballet "Socrates", in addition to the 1990 "Behemoth". Morris, though always musical and inventive, has at times seemed deliberately quirky and overly cute, but this program was rich and moving. "Behemoth" showed his contrary side--this most musically
"Kings of the Dance"
New York City Center
New York, NY
February 20, 2010
Men, men, and more men seems to be the mantra for ballet today, and the line-up presented by this
year's Kings--Jose Manuel Carreno, Guillaume Cote, Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg, Joaquin De Luz, Denis Matvienko, Desmond Richardson, and Nikolay Tsiskaridze--could dance a phone book and pack in an audience. At times the choreography did take on a mind-numbing similarity; kings
"The Sleeping Beauty"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater,
New York, NY
February 4, 2010
Kathryn Morgan, who was only recently promoted to soloist, made her debut as Aurora, supported by Tyler Angle, also making his debut. They had danced the final pas de deux for the 2009 Dancer's Choice gala with impressive dignity, but a pas de deux is a different animal than a full-length ballet, especially one as technically and
"Naive and Sentimental Music" and "Who Cares?"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 5, 2010
The New York City Ballet opened its Winter season with a program entitled, generically, "Tradition and Innovation", a general catchall title which can fit anything. There wasn't much innovation, but there was, one hopes, a new tradition established as Balanchine's "Who Cares?" included "Clap yo' hands", set , not to Hersey Kay's orchestrations, to but a
"The Nutcracker"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
November 27, 2009
For many New Yorkers, black Friday is also white Friday, when the wonderful Balanchine version of "The Nutcracker" makes its first appearance. This perennial is a cash cow, yes, but it is also a heartwarming salute to innocence and childhood and to the Maryinsky Ballet of Balanchine's youth. The first act brims with good cheer, as the wealthy Staulbaums
New York Theatre Ballet
Dance Gallery
New York, NY
November 20, 2009
This cozy "Dance on a Shoestring" performance featured an intriguing mixture of old and new, classroom exercises and spirited revivals, dance with verve by the small, vibrant New York Theatre Ballet. The performance opened with company director Diana Byer's setting of the last ballet choreographed by Sallie Wilson, who had worked closely with the company. "Pas de Six--Gounod", to the bounding, infectious and
"Seven Sonatas", "One of Three", "The Dying Swan", "Everything Doesn't Happen at Once"
American Ballet Theatre
Avery Fisher Hall
New York, NY
October 7, 2009
Since ABT's now traditional Fall venue at City Center was supposed to be under renovation, the company planned an unusual and brief appearance at Avery Fisher Hall; since it is the home of the Philharmonic Orchestra, this is not an ideal place to see ballet, but the imaginative response was to commission three
"Romeo and Juliet"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 9, 2009
ABT celebrated Frederic Franklin's 95th birthday by giving the audience another chance to see this consummate artist mime the Friar in Kenneth MacMillan's popular "Romeo and Juliet". His entrance was greeted with warm and sustained applause, which he managed to acknowledge while keeping in character. He made his every gesture a powerful plea for peace, and his appearance was a highlight
"Sylvia"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 29, 2009
With the emphasis on "today's audience" and the necessity of filling seats, ballets can sometimes seem to be a mirror, only capable of reflecting the audience's whims, and today's whims includes lots of males doing lots of jumps, or women as pretzel. But art is also a magical telescope with the ability to look both forward and backward, to what might be
"Swan Lake"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 27, 2009
In an ideal world, anyone producing a "Swan Lake" would sign an agreement stating: 1. "Swan Lake" is a German fairy tale set in the Middle Ages; 2. Petipa/Ivanov are better choreographers than anyone else; and 3. Siegfried does not spend the first act auditioning for "Spartacus". But we do not live in an ideal world, and have ABT's somewhat
"Airs", "La Sylphide"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 17, 2009
The imaginative pairing of Paul Taylor's celestial "Airs" and August Bournonville's magical "La Sylphide" makes for a very satisfying evening. Of course, it is a lot to ask of a company to look completely comfortable in two different and distinctive styles, and no one would take ABT for either Paul Taylor dancers or Danes. "Airs", though, had a serene and forthright