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New York City Ballet

It's the Music

"Mozartiana", "Monumentum pro Gesualdo", "Movements for Piano and Orchestra", "Concerto DSCH"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 4, 2024

The four ballets, three by Balanchine and one by Alexei Ratmansky, on this program were all abstract, yet each one had a distinctive flavor and emotional resonance; plotless yet nuanced, they all echoed and amplified their scores. Any story or even hint of narrative was up to the viewer to provide, yet

New York City Ballet

Doll Face

"Coppélia"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 29, 2024

About twenty years ago I saw Megan Fairchild, then a new member of the corps, dance one of Swanilda’s friends. She was completely absorbed in the ballet, eyes wide, listening carefully to the wheat ear, watching Swanilda’s reaction, and sharing in her disappointment. “There’s our new Swanilda” my seat mate said to me, and indeed

New York City Ballet

Uneasy Combinations

"Divertimento from 'Le Basier de la Fée'", "Each in His Own Time", "This Bitter Earth", "The Four Seasons"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 21, 2024

This somewhat oddly constructed program opened with a jolt: the astringent and fundamentally pessimistic “Divertimento from ‘Le Baiser de la Fée”, Balanchine’s abstraction of Hans Christian Andersen’s harrowing story “The Ice Maiden” is a rather heavy opening work. Two sentimental pas de deux

New York City Ballet

Welcome Back

"Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2", "Duo Concertant", Glass Pieces"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 17, 2024

NYCB’s opening night, called “Masters at Work” featured ballets by Balanchine and Robbins and could have been called “Masters at Play”, since the choreography (and the dancing) looked effortless, as if it just poured out of these masters while listening to the music. The oldest work, “Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2”

Falling Forward

Fall for Dance Program 1
"Wartime Elegy", "Piano Songs", "Sama"
National Ballet of Ukraine/Aaron Bell/Gallim
New York City Center
New York, NY
September 18, 2024

The Fall for Dance Festival at City Center is 21 years old this year and, based on the rapturous audience reception on opening night, shows no sign of slowing down. Ticket prices have increased from $10 to $30, still an incredible bargain. The opening night program featured the usual

Kneading Drama

“Like Water for Chocolate”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 16, 2024

American Ballet Theatre ending its five-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House with Christopher Wheeldon’s “Like Water for Chocolate” seemed like an emblematic move committed to its determined new identity – a company of story ballets, new world-class choreographies and solid, home-grown dancing talent. It is an encouraging direction for the troupe, even if the ballet itself was not the most

Start With a Blank Page

“Woolf Works”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 26, 2024

For its second week of the 2024 New York summer season, American Ballet Theatre stuck to the literary works theme, but with an unexpectedly modern, multi award-winning twist. Created in 2015, Wayne McGregor’s “Woolf Works” is everything one would expect from him – highly physical, seemingly stripped-down yet loaded with meaning and detail, and pushing the boundaries of traditional ballet. But it

All That Glitters

“Jewels”
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
June 15, 2024

It has been 18 years since the National Ballet of Canada performed George Balanchine’s “Jewels”, considered the first abstract three act ballet, in its entirety (they performed “Rubies” as part of a triple bill in 2016). As such, this run introduced a new generation of dancers to this popular work. This run features many exciting (and some less successful) debuts. Indeed,

Paul Taylor Dance Company

Going to Extremes

"Runes", Post Meridian", "Brandenburgs"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Joyce Theater
New York, New York
June 26, 2024

Marketing has christened the Joyce’s week-long Taylor season as “Extreme Taylor”, a perfectly accurate designation since all of Taylor’s works are extreme challenges, requiring both physical strength and an internal fierceness strong enough to transport an audience. This program highlighted Taylor’s variety; “Runes” (1975) showed his fascination with communal rituals, the rarely seen “Post Meridian” (1965) featured his sly

Flamenco Depths, in Equal Measure

“Equilibrio”
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
June 19, 2024

It can be too easy to forget just how many elements make up the tapestry of the flamenco genre, but Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana company’s performance of Emilio Ochando’s new “Equilibrio” expertly brought the various strands into focus. Conceived originally as a solo performance in 2020, Ochando expanded the COVID-19 pandemic creation to the whole company. Infused with a few modern

“Onegin,” By the Book

“Onegin”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 18 and June 19 (matinee), 2024

American Ballet Theatre boldly opened its 2024 season at the Metropolitan Opera House with John Cranko’s “Onegin.” With somewhat last-minute casting changes, the opening night honors fell on Christine Shevchenko and Cory Stearns as Tatiana and Onegin respectively, who danced with dedication; though it was the next day’s matinee performers, also a substitute cast, Chloe Misseldine and Thomas Forster, who

A Star is Born

“Don Quixote”
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
June 1, 2024

The beloved classic “Don Quixote” has not been seen in Toronto since 2011. At that time, it was the Petipa/Gorsky/Beriozoff version, which was fun but perhaps in need of a refresh. Prior to that, in 2007, the company performed the George Balanchine one act version, which is a different work entirely as it is centred more on the

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