Theme and Variations/Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux/Mozartiana/Ballet Imperial
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 29, 2004, matinee and evening
ABT’s classical extravaganza was billed as a Salute to Balanchine, but it might as well have been called a Salute to Tchaikovsky, or a Salute to The Sleeping Beauty, since both Theme and Variations and Ballet Imperial are essentially variations on the theme of Aurora. It was not the
Who Cares?/Western Symphony/Stars and Stripes
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
May 25, 2004
The Fourth of July came early this year, with three of Balanchine’s most rousing closing ballets on one program—not one of the most balanced of evenings, but, if it seemed like a meal of popcorn, it was applauded to the hilt by a very happy audience.
Who Cares? had two debuts, Ashley Bouder as the red girl, and
La Bayadère
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 14, 2004
American Ballet Theatre’s version of the great Russian ballet, "La Bayadère", is now twenty-five years old, and it remains a strong and lush production. The sets and costumes, by Pierluigi Samaritani and Theoni Aldredge are vibrant and danceable, and evoke the nineteenth-century opulence without seeming to be overly heavy or a dated pastiche. And since I am someone who heart sinks
Dances at a Gathering/Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet
Dances at a Gathering/Union Jack
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
May 11, 2004 and May 15, Matinee, 2004 York City Ballet
Dances at a Gathering, Jerome Robbins’ lyrical, moving, funny, profound, and very fragile ballet, returned this season, with several debuts, and looks in fine shape. Damian Woetzel and Benjamin Millepied (in his debut) danced the boy in brown; both had been very good as the bounding boy in
Valse Fantaisie, Continuo, Vivaldian Chat, A Glimpse, Reflections
BalletNY
Symphony Space
New York, NY
January 8, 2004
The Fugate/Bahiri BalletNY (formerly DanceGalaxy) presented a varied program of old and new, lyrical and dramatic works. If some of the experiments were less successful, the company, basically a pick-up group of dancers with various backgrounds and performance histories, looked well-rehearsed and engaging.
The 1967 version of Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie (to Glinka—the music was taped) opened the program.
Master Works Program
Diversion of Angels/Symphonic Variations/Pillar of Fire/Raymonda
American Ballet Theatre
City Center
New York, NY
November 5, 2003
The center piece of the ABT season is the revival of Antony Tudor’s Pillar of Fire, staged by Donald Mahler. Three Hagars shared the six performances, and Amanda McKerrow gave her first New York performance on November 5 (and next to last one, too, if rumors of her retirement are true; she repeats the