"Dances at a Gathering", "Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 12, 2024

The double bill of Jerome Robbins’ “Dances at a Gathering” and Balanchine’s “Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet” was a glimpse back at an idealized European past, where elegant youths wore colorful chiffon while dancing to Chopin and, in an idealized Vienna, beautiful and mysterious women enticed stalwart men while luscious Gypsies cavorted on the green.  Both ballets

"Rubies", "Dig the Say", "Underneath, There is Light"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 2, 2024

New York City Ballet’s Spring gala had one Balanchine, two premieres, three brief speeches, and no intermission and clocked in at a very efficient one and a half hours.  It opened with sparkling version of “Rubies”, in all its bright red glory, danced by the veterans Megan Fairchild and Anthony Huxley, with

"Bourrée Fantasque", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "Errante", "Symphony in C"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
April 24, 2024

The New York City Ballet opened it’s 75th Anniversary Spring season, subtitled “The Future”, with an all-Balanchine program of four ballets whose dates ranged from 1940’s (“Symphony in C”, 1947 and Bourrée Fantasque, 1949 ) to 1975 (“The Steadfast Tin Soldier” and “Errante”, the new name for “Tzigane”).  The future,

"UtopiVerse", "islands", "Suite en Blanc"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
March 20, 2024

The National Ballet of Canada’s winter triple bill featured three exciting premieres: a world premiere, a North American premiere and a Canadian premiere. Two of the ballets, “UtopiVerse” and "islands”, were in a contemporary style. In contrast, Serge Lifar’s 1943 showpiece “Suite en Blanc” provided the tutus, pointe shoes and classical bravura that many expect from

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
March 6, 2024

Exactly five years after its last run, Christopher Wheeldon’s hugely successful and family friendly “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” was brought back to the Toronto stage, scheduled to coincide with March break. The strategy paid off as the run was completely sold out – something that does not generally happen unless the ballet starts with “Swan” and ends

"The Four Temperaments", "Liebeslieder Walzer"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 16, 2024

This program, made up of two of Balanchine’s finest ballets, had several important debuts; the company’s lower ranks are full of fine and interesting dancers and it’s encouraging that so many are getting opportunities.  These ballets, though, need not only fine dancers, but dancers with style, imagination, and depth, characteristics that usually

"Opus 19/The Dreamer", "Solitude", "Symphony in Three Movements"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 15, 2024

“Solitude”, the first ballet Alexei Ratmansky has choreographed since becoming New York City Ballet’s Artist in Residence, is dedicated “to the children of Ukraine, victims of the war”; Marina Harss, writing in the New York Times about the creation of the work, explained that the inspiration came from a photograph of a father

Something for Everyone

"Ballo della Regina", "In a Landscape", "Hallelujah Junction", "The Concert"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 9, 2024

This varied program began with Balanchine’s “Ballo della Regina”, a luscious soap bubble set to Verdi, continued with two more astringent ballets, a revival of Albert Evans’ “In a Landscape” to John Cage followed by Peter Martins’ high energy “Hallelujah Junction” to John Adams, and ended with Jerome Robbins’

"The Four Temperaments", "Liebeslieder Walzer"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 6, 2024

NYCB’s yearlong celebration of its 75th anniversary is in it second phase, called "Evolution", but it paused for an evening to look back, and this program featured two of Balanchine’s most memorable works, “The Four Temperaments” (1946) and “Liebeslieder Walzer” (1960), two of Balanchine’s most memorable works.  “The Four Temperaments” is danced

"Rotunda", "Concerto for Two Pianos", "Odesa"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
February 1, 2024

Tiler Peck’s new ballet “Concerto for Two Pianos” premiered in a program featuring ballets created in the twenty-first century; rather optimistically NYCB calls the program “New Combinations”. It also included Justin Peck’s 2020 “Rotunda” and Alexei Ratmansky’s 2017 “Odesa” (the updated spelling for “Odessa”).  All three were abstract, all three explored different

"Fancy Free", "In the Night", "The Four Seasons"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
January 24, 2024

The Winter season of NYCB’s 75th anniversary is titled “The Evolution” and includes works of a selection of choreographers whose works presumably evolved from Balanchine, who was so gloriously celebrated in the Fall.  Three works by Jerome Robbins, who after Balanchine, is the choreographer most closely associated with NYCB, opened the Winter