"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
July 5, 2023 matinee
ABT's policy of giving as many principals as possible a shot at a role limits the opportunities to explore and to grow into a role--one or two performances of "Giselle" every few years makes it difficult to play around with different interpretations and also means that dancers get cast in roles for which they might not seem suited. But this policy does
"Like Water For Chocolate"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 24, 2023, matinee
Balanchine once famously said that there are no mothers in law in ballet, but that is certainly not true, as his revered "The Sleeping Beauty" proves; no one has trouble figuring out the relation of the Queen to the Prince in Act III. But his point that ballet is not suited to complex plots is certainly valid, and Christopher
“Fancy Free”, Agon”, “Brandenburg”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 10, 2023
This program opened with Jerome Robbins’ first work, “Fancy Free” (1944) and closed with his final ballet, “Brandenburg” (1997), with Balanchine’s “Agon” in the middle. When “Fancy Free’s” three sailors first jumped out on the Ballet Theatre (now ABT) stage, the US was fighting World War II, and many in the audience would have recognized
“La Source”, “Namouna, A Grand Divertissement”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
April 29, 2023, evening
“La Source” and “Namouna” were both elaborate 19th century ballets first presented at the Paris Opera choreographed by Frenchman to French music. “La Source” (1866,) with music by Léo Delibes and choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon and “Namouna” (1882), with music by Édouard Lalo and choreography Lucien Petipa (Marius’ older brother), have complicated plots, full
“Concerto Barocco”, “Kammermusik No. 2”, “Raymonda Variations”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
April 20, 2023
The three ballets on this all-Balanchine program were all abstract responses to music with energetic corps and intense pas de deux, yet each ballet had its own distinctive character. “Concerto Barocco”, from 1941, is one of Balanchine’s greatest works, a jazzy take on Bach, celebrating female dancing (the lone male turns
"The Sleeping Beauty"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 24, 2023
It is no exaggeration to say that without “The Sleeping Beauty”, ballet as we see it today would not exist. New York City Ballet’s program provides a useful outline of its importance, starting with the group around Diaghilev and without that great impresario, there would be no Balanchine, no Royal Ballet, and possibly no modern ballet at
"The Sleeping Beauty"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 15, 2023
The New York City Ballet celebrated the day after Valentine’s with “The Sleeping Beauty”, the apotheosis of love, grandeur, and gorgeous music. Peter Martins’ version, first seen in 1991, remains somewhat of a mixed bag, but it has some stunningly beautiful scenes with magnificent choreography, and often, excellent performances. It was produced before
"Copland Dance Episodes"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
January 28, 2023 evening
Justin Peck first used Copland's music for his 2015 ballet "Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes", an abstract piece set to Copland's symphonic arrangement of the ballet score that launched Agnes de Mille. For his new full-length ballet (as advertised and sold by the company, though it is a 70+ minute intermission-less piece) he has incorporated most of his earlier "Rodeo"
"Donizetti Variations", "Haieff Divertimento", "Valse-Fantaisie", "Stravinsky Violin Concerto"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
January 17, 2023
New York City Ballet's Winter season opened with two pairs of Balanchine ballets, as the 19th century confections "Donizetti Variations" and "Valse-Fantaisie" alternated with the more austere and astringent 20th century works "Haieff Divertimento" and "Stravinsky Violin Concerto". The pairings, with their contrasting styles, showed so clearly how music propelled Balanchine's choreography. These
"The Nutcracker"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
November 25, 2022
For some people, the Christmas season starts with New York City Ballet's magical tree growing up to the sky with scintillating, musical excitement. The production has remained basically the same for years; though the Chinese dance has lost much of its flavor, the boys still want to grow up to be cavalry officers and the girls still politely sip their
"The Dream", "The Seasons"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 26, 2022
Frederick Ashton choreographed his version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as part of the 400th anniversary celebration of Shakespeare's birth. The ballet also celebrated the birth on one of the twentieth century's most noted partnerships, as it gave Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell the starring roles and Ashton's Titania and Oberon are saturated with those dancers' qualities. Alexei
"Whipped Cream"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 21, 2022
Alexei Ratmansky's deceptively frivolous "Whipped Cream" got a bracing performance, led by guest artist Daniil Simkin, the original Boy with the insatiable sweet tooth. The wisp of a story of a boy celebrating his first communion by sucking up so much whipped cream that he ended up in a hospital where he hallucinated a magical kingdom with a beautiful Princess Praline,