"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
"Dancers' Choice"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
June 14, 2009, evening
The title of the Dancers' Emergency Fund Benefit had a somewhat confusing apostrophe, since there was only one dancer who made the choice, Jenifer Ringer, who served as the gracious hostess. She explained that she wanted to give dancers, especially those in the corps, new opportunities, so there were a number of intriguing debuts. The amount of work to put this
"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 8, 2009
ABT's "Giselle" is their most traditional classical production; some might say "old-fashioned" but I say "timeless". There are no extraneous interpretive layers between the simple, tragic story and the audience, no unnecessary updating or exposition--fortunately it hasn't seemed necessary to explain exactly how Albrecht met Giselle or why Myrta really hates men. The opening night Giselle was Nina Ananiashvili, in one
"Le Corsaire"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 27, 2009
"Le Corsaire" made its ABT debut in 1998, along with another ballet in the continuing full-length sweepstakes, Ben Stevenson's long-forgotten "The Snowmaiden", a completely unmemorable stab at a fairy tale, remarkable only for its stunning sets and the limpid performance of Nina Ananiashvili. "Le Corsaire", while its story is even less resonant than the poor Snowmaiden's, does have pockets of
"Scotch Symphony", "Quasi Una Fantasia", "Concerto DSCH"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 22, 2009
Balanchine's "Scotch Symphony" is a somewhat haphazard take on "La Sylphide", and despite some true romantic choreography, it lacks emotional logic. Why does the sylph, who has spent most of her time gesturing up to the sky, where she belongs, suddenly become earthbound and perfectly happy as a bravura classical dancer? Why do the village
ABT Gala
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, NY
May 18, 2009
ABT began its traditional Spring season at the Met with a flourish, capped by the gracious speech of First Lady Michelle Obama, stressing her support for the arts. She was greeted by a spontaneous standing ovation (and lots of flashing cameras which added to the occasion), and the buzz generated by her presence was infectious. The gala program was crafted carefully, to give all
"Concerto Barocco", "La Valse", "The Four Temperaments"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 9, 2009
The program, and indeed, possibly this season and several to come, was dominated by Janie Taylor's haunted and haunting performance as the doomed heroine in Balanchine's surrealistic "La Valse". This was beyond dancing, almost beyond theater--the stage seemed to disappear as the audience itself was absorbed, with the other dancers on the stage, in watching,
"Divertimento No. 15", "After the Rain", "Firebird"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 6, 2009
This diverse and somewhat disjointed program opened with Balanchine's exquisite, and exquisitely difficult, salute to Mozart and classical dancing, "Divertimento No. 15". The Emperor Joseph II is usually help up as the prime example of a philistine for his comment "too many notes, Mr. Mozart", but the solos in Divertimento do seem to be a case of
"Concerto Barocco", "Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux", "La Valse", "Symphony in Three Movements"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
April 28, 2009
The New York City Ballet opened it Spring season in grand style with four Balanchine ballets, including some of his absolute best. Ballet doesn't come any better than the opening "Concerto Barocco", with its everchanging, always new choreographic patterns. Wendy Whelan with the dignified and elegant Albert Evans danced the central