The National Ballet of Ukraine and the Shumka Dancers
Classical pas de deux and Ukrainian folk dances
New York City Center
New York, NY
October 15, 2024
Twenty four dancers from the National Ballet of Ukraine and the Canadian based Ukrainian folk dance troupe Shumka are on a grueling three-week, seven-state, sixteen-city tour to raise money for the war effort. The gala format (including a Don Q pas de deux) showed off their dancers and was generally
"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 8, 2024
This exciting program, called by the Marketing Department simply “Balanchine and Ratmansky”, does not need any other description to entice the viewer. In addition, it had one of the most anticipated debuts of the season, as the tall and lovely Mira Nadon danced “Mozartiana”, the final ballet Balanchine created for
"Coppélia"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 5 evening, 2024
NYCB has scheduled “Coppélia” over successive weekends, a marketing triumph, it seems, for the theater has been packed (even the fifth ring was open for this performance), filled with excited families; the children especially loved the shivering knees in Act II. But for all its rollicking humor, “Coppélia” lexists in a village of elegant, sophisticated dancers, and few City
"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
"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
"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
"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”
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
“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 scrumptious dish ABT
“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 was also
“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,
"Swan Lake"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
June 27, 2014
The injury bug has hit ABT with a vengeance, and Friday's announced "Swan Lake" cast, Alina Cojocaru and Herman Cornejo, were replaced by Hee Seo and Roberto Bolle; Seo had already stepped in on Monday for the black act to replace Gillian Murphy, injured during the performance. This gallantry meant the audience was already rooting for her, but her Odette/Odile is still very