New York City Ballet
“The Nutcracker”
New York State Theater
New York, NY
December 11, 2007
Fortunately, there is nothing new to report about the NYCB production of “The Nutcracker”. It continues weaving its magic, unexaggerated and unchanged, its glorious details intact. The first act is full of bright activity, the children are well-rehearsed, and the adults generously stay out of the spotlight. It is a true ensemble work, but there were some standouts. In the
“Ballo della Regina”, “The Leaves are Fading”, “From Here on Out”
American Ballet Theatre
City Center
New York, NY
October 26, 2007
Effervescent, frivolous charm is a rare commodity in any art, and the most successful attempts tend to be underrated, since part of their success is the lighthearted ease they must present. Balanchine’s "Ballo della Regina" is usually viewed as a female dancer’s technical tour de force, which of course it is. But
“Ballo della Regina”, “Clear pas de deux”, “The Leaves are Fading pas de deux”, “Don Quixote pas de deux”, “Fancy Free”
American Ballet Theatre
New York City Center
New York, New York
October 23, 2007
The very brief gala program opened with the first performance by ABT of Balanchine’s sparkling exploration of female allegro, Ballo della Regina. It was staged by its originator Merrill Ashley, who got a curtain call and her own bouquet of flowers, in addition
Kyra Nichols’ Farewell
"Serenade," “Robert Schumann’s ‘Davidsbündlertänze'”, and 'Der Rosenkvalier' from "Vienna Waltzes"
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater,
New York, NY
June 22, 2007
Ballet dancers tend to live in people’s memories through the roles they create, the roles that are permanently linked to their careers. A dancer like Carlotta Grisi lives whenever "Giselle" is performed, and dancers whose lives intersect with great choreographers tend to survive in people’s memories
“The Sleeping Beauty”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 1, 2007
Other than the dancing, there’s very little beauty in American Ballet Theatre’s new “Sleeping Beauty.” The words “additional choreography by…” added to any Petipa ballet have always struck fear into a balletgoer’s heart, but a new fear has been added — the word “dramaturge”. The Sleeping Beautyhas always been the tightest and most coherent of classical ballets. Conceived
“Symphonie Concertante”, “Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes”, “Rodeo”
American Ballet Theatre
City Center
New York, NY
October 21, 2006, Matinee
This family-friendly triple bill was a big hit with the many youngsters in the audience, who ooed and awed and laughed at all the right times. And to ABT’s great credit, there was no shortage of fine dancers performing at the top of their game.
“Symphonie Concertante” is early Balanchine, and has many echoes of more familiar
“Sylvia”
San Francisco Ballet
Lincoln Center Festival
LaGuardia Concert Hall
New York, NY
July 27, 2006
Love triumphed in New York yet again, as modern dance choreographer Mark Morris visited the groves of an imaginary, pastoral Greece with the San Francisco Ballet. There is an elephant, though, in this peaceful glade, in the form of Sir Frederick Ashton, and, after seeing his magnificent version (which had not been revived when Mark Morris choreographed his), it is almost impossible, if very
“Sylvia”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 3, 2006
Several critics have referred to Sir Frederick Ashton’s “Sylvia” as the “surprise hit” of ABT’s last season. Hit, yes, but surprise? Given the piercing and triumphant sweetness of the score, the brilliantly realized, classically inspired designs of the London production, and the choreography by one of the greatest and most musical of dance makers, it would have taken some truly awful dancing to have destroyed
"La Bayadère"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 23, 2006
The audience at the opening night of ABT's "La Bayadère", as it stood and cheered, probably wasn't thinking about Natalia Makarova, but her production is one of the most valuable gifts ABT has ever received. Over the years, it has become richer and more layered, but she put the basic structure in place. It is strongly based on her memories of the Russian
“Apollo”, “Jeu de Cartes”, “Petrouchka”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 1, 2006
“All-Star Stravinsky” is the title of ABT’s evening of short ballets, presumably designed to entice a triple-bill-shy audience into thinking it will see an assembly of star dancers. It may have been a gimmick, but it was also accurate. The evening opened with “Apollo”, with the new principal David Hallberg, with Veronika Part (Terpsichore), Michele Wiles (Polyhymnia), and Stella Abrera (Calliope) as
“Donizetti Variations”, “Two Birds with the Wings of One”, “Fancy Free”
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
New York, NY
May 25, 2006
The New York City Ballet continued its Diamond Project with the premier of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s “Two Birds with the Wings of One”, to the music of Bright Sheng (“Two Poems from the Sung Dynasty” and “Chi Lin’s Dance”), sung by Lauren Flannigan. The very helpful critic’s notes explained the background of the
“Liebeslieder Walzer”, “Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet”
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
New York, NY
May 16, 2006
This all-Balanchine, all Brahms (via Schoenberg’s orchestration of Brahms’ “Piano Quartet in G Minor”) evening had more variety, morerichness, and more beauty than any comparable two hours I can think of. “Liebeslieder Walzer”, that grandmother of all piano ballets, remains one of the most subtly dramatic works of art ever made. Four very well-off couples from 19th century Vienna waltz with