"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera
New York, NY
July 9, 2008
One of the signs of a truly great work of art is that over time various artists can find new ways to portray the characters and new angles to find. I expect the original librettists of "Giselle" would be quite surprised at Albrecht's current characterizations, since they felt he could repent and end up happily with Bathilde. But the story is so strong and so true
"The Sleeping Beauty"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 19, 2008
Once upon a time, in far away Russia, there were three brilliant men who loved France and devised a wonderful world based on French ideals of harmony and reason, set in historical periods of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. To make the world more real, the composer used melodies and harmonies from those periods, the costume designer based his designs on the same
"Don Quixote"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 11, 2008, Matinee
This vibrant, detailed, and exciting performance of the Petipa-based Spanish comedy remotely connected to Cervantes featured, among other joys, the debut of Herman Cornejo as the poor barber Basilio. The artistic gods aren't known for their fairness, and his comparatively short stature and Puckish looks make the more extravagantly noble ballet heroes a stretch, but his exceptional technique and distinctive personality make him a
"Le Corsaire"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 24, 2008, Matinee
Memorial Day weekend seemed to turn into the Forth of July with a spirited and invigorated version of the pirate caper. In the recent past, this ballet has appeared to be danced, not just with tongue in cheek, but with a finger holding the nose, as if the company were barely enduring the admittedly mishmash of styles and confusing story. Though Le
"ABT Gala"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 19, 2008
As good galas go, this one went quickly, with a lot of variety, and a couple of sets of fouettes to count. It was, by and large, a preview of the season to come, with excerpts from various works. The novelty was Antony Tudor's Judgment of Paris, a preview, so to speak, of the upcoming Tudor homage in the fall City
"Symphony in C", "Symphony in Three Movements", and "Western Symphony"
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
New York, NY
May 3, 2008, matinee
One of the few-all Balanchine programs in this Robbins-fest season was also an all symphonic program, an immersion into Balanchine's astounding variety; three completely different responses to three different symphonies, all developed from the majestic geometry of the Russian classical ballet in which he grew up. "Symphony in C" and "Western Symphony" both, in
Miami City Ballet
"Raymonda Variations", "Sonatine", "Tarantella", and "In the Upper Room"
Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
Long Island University, New York
April 25, 2008
The Miami City Ballet made one of its too rare and too brief visits to the New York vicinity, appearing for two days in the spacious and well-designed Tilles Center of Long Island University; the company has yet to appear in Manhattan. This visit confirmed the virtues seen in earlier performances, and showed
"Suite from Mazurkas", "Jardin aux Lilas", "Little Improvisations", Pas de Deux from Romeo & Juliet", "Judgment of Paris"
New York Theatre Ballet
Florence Gould Hall
New York, NY
April 4, 2008
The enterprising New York Theatre Ballet celebrated two 100-year anniversaries in their recent performance of works by Jose Limon and Antony Tudor. The company has long been known for its dignified revivals of Tudor works (Sallie Wilson, the famous Tudor dancer, has worked extensively with the company)
"Raymonda, Act 3", "Paquita, Grand Pas", La Bayadere, Act 3"
Kirov Ballet
New York City Center
New York, NY
April 1, 2008
A reduced contingent of the Kirov danced on the inconvenient and unfamiliar City Center stage offering outtakes of three of Petipa's wonderful ballets; not the ideal way to judge a company's artistic strength.
But the opening scence of "Raymonda", with the magnificent Vladimir Ponomarev summoning the dancers with a majectic sweep of his arm, promised much.
Matters of the Heart
"Raymonda Variations", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "Robert Schumann's 'Davidsbundlertanze' "
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
New York, NY
February 14, 2008
Pity the poor marketing person who thought this program was a celebration of love--the audience saw tragedy, insanity, indifference, abandonment, and death. The opening ballet, "Raymonda Variations", however, was more like it, a Valentine by Balanchine to the luscious Gazounov music. Ashley Bouder danced with Andrew
"Apollo", "Flower Festival in Genzano", "Zakouski", "Cool", "Western Symphony"
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
New York, NY
February 10, 2008
New York The packed and appreciative audience said goodbye to Nikolaj Hübbe in a cowboy hat, flirting with Maria Kowroski, while being saluted by his colleagues—the applause backstage could still be heard as the audience was leaving. This cheerful and cheeky final farewell was some compensation for the loss of that great artist. Loss
"Traditions"
"Square Dance", "Prodigal Son", "The Four Seasons"
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
New York, NY
January 29, 2008
The marketing department has apparently decided there is more than one Tradition to be celebrated in the Balanchine and Robbins program, but the tradition of great choreography coherently danced is the most important tradition of all, and fortunately this program had that to offer. The inevitable tradition of dancers retiring was also, quietly, celebrated, as Nikolaj Hübbe gave