Mary Cargill

"Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2", "Apollo", "La Sonnambula"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 8 2023

In a late shift, NYCB switched the program’s order and opened with “Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2” instead of closing with glorious exploration of Petipa—it was like having dessert before the main meal of “Apollo” and “La Sonnambula” but it was delicious all the same.  Unfortunately, the costume gremlins have been

"Western Symphony", "The Unanswered Question", "Tarantella", "Stars and Stripes"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 3, 2023

The bright, generally upbeat program of Balanchine works choreographed to American music was conducted with a brisk, precise, and infectious verve by Andrews Sills, who made the folk songs of “Western Symphony” and the familiar marches of John Philip Sousa used in “Stars and Stripes” seem irresistibly fresh and infectiously bouncy.

“Western Symphony”, for

"Bourrée Fantasque", "Agon", "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 30, matinee 2023

There were a number of debuts in the strikingly varied all-Balanchine program which started with “Bourree Fantasque” a light-hearted and rarely seen bonne bouche, followed by the rigorous black and white “Agon” and ended with a trip to Broadway in “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue”.  “Bourree Fantasque”, choreographed in 1949 to music

"Western Symphony", "The Unanswered Question", "Tarantella", "Stars and Stripes"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 26, 2023

It is odd to program two upbeat Americana closing ballets on the same program, but the audience didn’t seem to mind the lack of variety; only the brief, darkly mysterious “The Unanswered Question” interrupted the bouncy evening.  There were several fine debuts, including Roman Mejia, NYCB’s boy wonder, exploding as

Jewels
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 22, 2023

In the midst of the many debuts during NYCB’s week-long Jewelathon, NYCB assembled a veteran cast of ballerinas, with Ashley Bouder and Ashley Laracey in “Emeralds”, Megan Fairchild in “Rubies”, and Sara Mearns in “Diamonds”, and showed that experience can be just as exciting as debuts.  There were new faces among the men, though, with Chun Wai Chan

"Jewels"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 23, 2023 matinee

This performance of “Jewels” featured two sections with new faces (Indiana Woodward and Emile Gerrity in “Emeralds” and Unity Phelan in ”Diamonds” made their debuts earlier this week) and one familiar one, as Tiler Peck returned to “Rubies”.  “Emeralds” is the most fragile of the three and life, as they say, isn’t fair, and neither, unfortunately is ballet.

"Jewels"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 21, 2023

New York City Ballet’s all-Balanchine fall season opened with a week of the ever-popular “Jewels”, Balanchine’s salute to mood and style.  The lush romanticism of “Emeralds”, the American cockiness of “Rubies”, and the Russian grandeur of “Diamonds” call for much more than accurate steps, as the dancers need to convey an inner life; these works may

“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,