“Quasi Una Fantasia,” “Toccata,” “Theme and Variations”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 13, 2009
by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel
Gala performances are usually more about the audience and meal than the ballets and dancing, but even without a dinner invitation, New York City Ballet’s spring gala on Wednesday night didn’t leave you starving.
“Quasi Una Fantasia” in the best work conceptually and structurally so far that I’ve seen from Benjamin Millepied. Fifteen years ago I would have faulted him more for using Henryk Górecki’s low, rumbling music; it’s less ubiquitous now. (Note to would-be choreographers: You still don’t get a pass on Arvo Pärt.) The ballet is fashionably dark – slate grey with a yellow or red luminescence. Millepied had a plum cast with a corps de ballet containing several soloists and two leading couples, Rebecca Krohn with Sébastien Marcovici and Janie Taylor with Jared Angle.
The ballet used Górecki’s music of the same title (omitting the second movement) and followed an emotional journey if not a narrative one. The movement was mostly slow as the corps pulsed; women were lifted onto the men’s shoulders and the group slowly walked as a cortege. Couples were seamlessly dislodged for duets. Angle and Taylor depicted a relationship with hints of violence and depression, but as Angle sent Taylor skyward in a slow lift – also transcendence. Time will tell how durable “Quasi Una Fantasia” is, but Millepied took a unified palette and a complete idea, wrapped his brain around it and followed through in the choreography.
Jiří Bubeníček and his twin brother Otto are both principal dancers; Jiří choreographs and Otto composes as well. Mom should be proud.
“Toccata” was a smaller-scale work than “Quasi Una Fantasia;” it was also dark in atmosphere, but Jiří worked with only four men and three women; Otto scored his music for a quartet of instruments, two pianos, a viola and a cello. The delicate music keeps the atmosphere gentle even as the movement is contemporary, but it doesn't stray far from ballet – not a bad idea for a ballet company.
“Toccata” also eschews narrative but trades in emotions and relationships. The mood is almost adolescent – not the sturm und drang of adolescence but the reticent, tentative shyness. The ballet used some dancers we don’t see that often (David Prottas and Brittany Pollack) and others that could benefit from being looked at with fresh eyes (Abi Stafford.)
After some group sections, Robert Fairchild watched Craig Hall and Abi Stafford in an emotionally ambivalent trio. In breakout roles for both, Brittany Pollack and Andrew Scordato danced a brighter, more intricate duet. Georgina Pazcoguin and Fairchild coupled for a more ardent dance and Prottas finished the ballet with a solo that continued even as the curtain slowly descended. “Toccata” is different enough from the rest of repertory to provide contrast and is contemporary without being flashy or trashy.
The evening ended with a tested crowd-pleaser, Balanchine’s “Theme and Variations.” The company first showed a short documentary film on the restoration of the tutus. It was fascinating how much their colors changed slowly over time; trim that was once rust brown became bright orange.
Megan Fairchild and Joaquin De Luz danced the leads. Fairchild was marginally shakier than her usual reliable self, but the shakiness seemed towards a goal; she was taking risks and extending herself. Without physically resembling her, her attack and musicality recalled Merrill Ashley. De Luz danced with masculine elegance and managed one of the calmest series of double tours and pirouettes that I have seen. The final novelty of the evening – using the word “calm” to describe that harrowing moment.
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel
Photos by Paul Kolnik
Top: Janie Taylor and Jared Angle in “Quasi Una Fantasia”
Bottom: Abi Stafford and Craig Hall in “Toccata”
