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A Momentous Debut

“Giselle”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 13, 2009

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel

Natalia Osipova’s debut with American Ballet Theatre Saturday night in “Giselle” not only delivered all her promise as a ballerina but inspired the rest of the company to follow and match her. Osipova, the rising star of the Bolshoi, isn’t an orthodox Giselle.  It would be unnatural; she’s too powerful, so she recast the role slightly. A few steps were tweaked within limits – on her first circling entry, she massaged the traditional balloné into a jump sur le cou-de-pied so she could get more hang time.  If a change was made, it was usually to emphasize her ballon, but she wasn’t just pushing for athletic feats. She opted not to do an arabesque penchée at her final farewell, going for the pathos of the moment rather than the extension.

Proust in Two Hours

“Proust ou les intermittences du coeur”
Paris Opera Ballet
Palais Garnier
Paris, France
May 30, 2009

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel

Even without any madeleines in sight to dip into it, Roland Petit’s ballet adaptation of Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” wasn’t my cup of tea. But even at his most indulgent, Petit kept things moving.  The audience always came first.

I have not read the series of novels by Proust, though I assume that Proust was able to color his thoughts with more subtlety in words than anyone could manage in choreography. I write here about Proust as Petit sees him. Petit avoids boiling down the plot, opting instead for a series of character sketches.  We see the young Proust and Albertine, Swann and Odette, Morel with Charlus and St. Loup as well as a few dances Petit creates out of whole cloth.   

Gala Performance

“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.

Afternoon Debuts

“Scotch Symphony,” “Monumentum pro Gesualdo,” “Movements for Piano and Orchestra,” “Tarantella,” “Concerto DSCH”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 9, 2009 matinee

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel

At the New York City Ballet matinee on Saturday, the biggest treat was a surprise.  There were several debut performances; Tiler Peck’s in “Tarantella” was unannounced in a last-minute substitution for Megan Fairchild. As with Peck’s debut as Swanilda; this part seemed so well-suited that the only thing surprising about her success was that you could have sworn she had already done the part.

Déjà Vu

“Dust and Light” “Rasa”
Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
May 5, 2009

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel

Alonzo King brought a new dance to the Joyce on Tuesday. It felt familiar. He brought a second work from 2007; it also felt familiar, though I had seen neither.

King and his company Lines have plenty going for them; strong dancers, interesting choices of subject and music, and a take on ballet that one may disagree with, but is thought-provoking.  “Dust and Light,” the new work, had its premiere in San Francisco shortly before the New York season.  Like most of King’s works, it’s built in discrete, independent sections.

Bravura Overload

“Peter the Great”
A Celebration of Peter Pestov’s Life in Ballet
New York City Center
New York, NY
April 23, 2009

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel

There’s something about a gala night of super-duper stars in solos and duets that can make your eyes cross from fatigue.  Luckily, there’s also usually something in the carnival that makes you glad to have seen it.  The gala honoring Russian teacher Peter Pestov was more substantial than its sister gala honoring the Youth America Grand Prix with better choreography sprinkled amidst the choreographic lollipops and some unfamiliar dancers New York should be very glad to see.

A Taste of Two at the Kitchen

“Middle of Man,” “Hmmm…”
Justine Lynch/Melinda Ring
The Kitchen
New York, NY
April 24, 2009

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel

Justine Lynch and Melinda Ring shared a program at The Kitchen and each was worth seeing.  Lynch was an integral part of Neil Greenberg’s work for several years; she’s also trained as an acupuncturist.  Her “Middle of Man.” inspired by her work as a healer, has a shamanistic feel; Lynch turned the plain black box of The Kitchen into a mysterious space inhabited by phantasms. A hooded woman in a short dress walked about carrying greenery.  Two women cloaked in black, stooped and huddling, thrashed off their cloaks and were naked except for bikini briefs.  They donned golden crowns attached to ropes.

Lightweight Mass

“The Great Mass”
Rioult
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
April 14, 2009

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel

Pascale Rioult certainly knows his Mass. Rioult, a long time member of Martha Graham’s company who formed his own group in 1994, opened his company’s season at the Joyce with a dance set to Mozart’s “Great” Mass in C Minor. He dedicated it to his mother, a piano teacher and choir director who died the previous year, but one didn’t sense the shadow of death in the work. 

Swans and Strippers

“Swan Lake,” “The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Slaughter On Tenth Avenue”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
February 13, 2009

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel

Balanchine’s one act production of Swan Lake hasn’t been seen at New York City Ballet for a while; Peter Martins’ full length version incorporated large elements of the Balanchine into its second act, and the Martins setting is what has been in repertory.  This earlier production attracted notice for its sets and black swan costumes, following an idea it was said that Balanchine had but never acted upon.  Alain Vaes’ set is an icy blue grotto; “Napoli” moved to the arctic.

Wendy Whelan was a swan with long, bony lines and a very human intensity.  She reproduced the requisite bird moves and as with other classical roles, got as close to a classical line as she could and filled out the rest with a sense of the situation and predicament.  In the coda, she went for footwork over the drama with small, detailed entrechats passés, but not in the finale.  As the corps looped infinitely around her, she almost touched Siegfried before she left him forever.  She rose through her back from agony, past tragedy to destiny.

Spinning Plates

“Stravinsky Violin Concerto,” “La Valse,” “West Side Story Suite”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
February 7, 2009

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2009 by Leigh Witchel

Maintaining the repertory at New York City Ballet is akin to a plate-spinner’s circus act.  All the plates are up on sticks, and when one starts to perilously wobble, someone rushes over and gives it a spin.  Meanwhile, another plate is starting to vibrate alarmingly, and on and on it goes. The 20th Century Music Masters program on Saturday night showed some prize pieces of china at various points of wobble.

“Stravinsky Violin Concerto” was wobbling badly.  The slow, almost fastidious tempos conductor Fayçal Karoui took in the opening made it difficult for the dancers to keep the thread of the movement.  Robert Fairchild had his debut in the role created by Peter Martins earlier in the week and he was a breath of fresh air; the only lead who looked excited to be there.  The rest of the cast, Wendy Whelan, Albert Evans and Yvonne Borree, were smudging steps and seemed to be operating on autopilot. The corps looked ragged as well.