"Episodes", "Vienna Waltzes"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 13, 2022
In a night filled with debuts, the audience was focused on one particular couple, the first and last performance of the final scene of "Vienna Waltzes" by Sterling Hyltin, who is retiring at the end of the season after on last "Nutcracker", and Robert Fairchild, who left City Ballet in 2017, returning to say farewell to his frequent partner.
"Episodes", "Vienna Waltzes"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 5, 2022
These two ballets, one so austere and the other so luxurious, are both set to Viennese-based music divided into unrelated sections of various moods. "Episodes", with its black and white leotards, luminous grey background and atonal music (selections of orchestral music by Anton von Webern), is astringent, precise, and impersonal while "Vienna Waltzes" has elaborate scenery (including a
"Raymonda Variations", "Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux", "Piano Pieces"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 24, 2022, matinee
Though all the music on this program was Russian, the atmosphere was certainly not gloomy; the ballets cheerful collections of beautiful dancing without a tear in sight, set to enticing music by Glazunov and Tchaikovsky. Glazunov's full length "Raymonda" has some of the most limpid melodies and lush orchestrations in the ballet world
"Divertimento No. 15", "Scotch Symphony", "La Sonnambula"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 21, 2022
Though "Divertimento No. 15", set to Mozart, is a vision of Viennese elegance, complete with Austrian shades on Karinska's tutus, this performance found its romantic heart in the flowing Andante and was a courtly introduction to the more traditionally romantic idea of the unattainable in "Scotch Symphony" with its echoes of "La Sylphide", and in the
"Birthday Offering", "Shades of Spring", "Varii Capricci"
Sarasota Ballet
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
August 16, 2022
After a two-year interruption the Sarasota Ballet finally made it back to the Joyce Theater for its third August visit. Many of the dancers are new to the company and many old favorites have retired, but the company looked polished and cohesive. The Director, the former Royal Ballet dancer Iain Webb, has built an impressive repertoire, with many works by Sir Frederick
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
July 16, 2022, matinee
Kenneth MacMillan's "Romeo and Juliet" is an audience magnet and the Met was pointing straight north for Cassandra Trenary's debut as the doomed heroine. Though the work does have its dry patches--cue those frizzy haired harlots who help pad the second act (and who seem to have had a fresh perm for the occasion)--it is a true tear-jerker, as effective as any
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 22, 2022, matinee
This performance of ABT's only triple bill this season, subtitled (a bit hopefully) "American Splendor", was dedicated to Kevin McKenzie, after 30 years as Director of ABT. The evening opened with brief remarks by Gillian Murphy and Herman Cornejo introduced a short film summarizing Mr. McKenzie's career (including adorable pictures of him as a very young, dedicated ballet student) interspersed with interviews
"Of Love and Rage"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 22, 2022, matinee
"Of Love and Rage", Alexei Ratmansky's newest work for ABT, may never become a second "Romeo and Juliet", able to fill the Met with its name alone, and audiences new to it will always have to study the synopsis with devoted attention. Nevertheless, with the luminous settings and elegant costumes (Jean-Marc Puissant), the robust Khachaturian score, and the many choreographic
"Of Love and Rage"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 20, 2022
ABT's newest full-length ballet, by Alexei Ratmansky, is based on the world's oldest surviving novel, "Callirhoe" written in the First century A.D. by the Greek Chariton, described in a 1935 article as "a melodrama of no slight vigor". It is certainly not a household story, but has elements of Romeo and Juliet (including a false death) and the
Program A: "Fibers", "Images and Reflections", "Hope is a Thing with Feathers", "Profiles", "Aureole"
Program B: "Tracer", "Events II", "A Call for Softer Landings", "Profiles", "Aureole"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Joyce Theater
New York, New York
June 17, 2022 (Program B) and June 18, 2022 matinee (Program A)
The Taylor Company's brief Joyce season was a history lesson of sorts, featuring several early Taylor works, some not seen since their original performances, and a possible glimpse of the future, with
"Don Quixote"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 14, 2022
ABT's colorful version of the long-after Petipa ballet "Don Quixote" showcased three of its exciting younger dancers (Skylar Brandt at Kitri, Cassandra Trenary as Mercedes/Queen of the Dryads, and Gabe Stone Shayer as Espada), along with one of its most thrilling stars, Herman Cornejo, as Basilio. Now 40, Cornejo is not going to be dancing Basilio for much longer and the
"Don Quixote"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 15, 2022
"Don Quixote" as a ballet tends to ignore the poor fellow, using him as a hook to hang all those dances on, so it was surprising to see how the tall, lean Cy Doherty commanded attention in the opening scene, staring at the vision of Dulcinea with a befuddled but awestruck sincerity as his creaking, aged body reached for her in vain.