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The Show Goes On

"Brandenburgs", "Brief Encounters", "Also Playing"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
New York City Center
New York, NY
March 2, 2010

by Mary Cargill
Copyright © 2010 by Mary Cargill

There are, to over-generalize, three faces to Paul Taylor, the serene, the dark, and the comic.  Two of them, the serene and the comic, were featured at the gala performance.  The first, "Brandenburgs", was choreographed in 1988, and the other two are new this year.  Unfortunately, for me, though not for the audience, the new ones were disappointing.  The dancing, however, was not, as the company looked powerful and engaged.  "Brandenburgs", set to selections of Bach (financial considerations have forced to company to rely on taped music), is a compendium of the Taylor signatures (springy jumps, open-hearted arms, a male solo).  It breaks no new ground, and probably didn't when it was new, but Taylor's old ground is fertile enough to bear re-plowing, and its golden serenity, matching the timeless cheerfulness of the music, is truly beautiful.  Michael Trusnovec led the group of bounding men, interrupted by three women.  It seemed at times as if it were a version of the Judgment of Paris, with Eran Bugge as a cheeky, irresistible Venus.

Enfant no more

Mark Morris Dance Group
"Behemoth", "Looky", and "Socrates"
BAM Opera House
Brooklyn, New York
February 23, 2010

by Mary Cargill
copyright 2010 by Mary Cargill

The Mark Morris Dance Company gave a brief season at BAM, with two works new to New York, "Looky" (2007), and the new ballet "Socrates", in addition to the 1990 "Behemoth".  Morris, though always musical and inventive, has at times seemed deliberately quirky and overly cute, but this program was rich and moving.  "Behemoth" showed his contrary side--this most musically astute of choreographers made a dance to silence, finding rhythm in coordinated moments and percussive footsteps. (Unfortunately, audience coughs added some dissonance.)   For all the rhythm and coordination, "Behemoth" was generally dark and brooding (this is an observation, not a criticism).  The various dancers, though performing the same steps, danced in isolation, often hunched over.  Even the partnering seemed slightly ominous, as the dancers seemed variously ineffective comforters or sacrificial victims. 

Kings and Peasants

"Kings of the Dance"
New York City Center
New York, NY
February 20, 2010

by Mary Cargill
Copyright © 2010 by Mary Cargill

Men, men, and more men seems to be the mantra for ballet today, and the line-up presented by this
year's Kings--Jose Manuel Carreno, Guillaume Cote, Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg, Joaquin De Luz, Denis Matvienko, Desmond Richardson, and Nikolay Tsiskaridze--could dance a phone book and pack in an audience.  At times the choreography did take on a mind-numbing similarity; kings of choreography aren't as prevalent as kings of the dance.  But the overall effect was both warm and thrilling.  There seemed to be a real camaraderie and respect among the dancers, who gave every cliched step their all.  The evening opened with a film showing rehearsals, with brief interviews of the dancers talking about the project.  This is clearly a serious effort to create an ensemble, not a gala set of party tricks.

The Natural

"The Sleeping Beauty"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater,
New York, NY
February 4, 2010

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2010 by Mary Cargill

Kathryn Morgan, who was only recently promoted to soloist, made her debut as Aurora, supported by Tyler Angle, also making his debut.  They had danced the final pas de deux for the 2009 Dancer's Choice gala with impressive dignity, but a pas de deux is a different animal than a full-length ballet, especially one as technically and emotionally exacting as "The Sleeping Beauty".  However, a few minor quibbles aside, it was one of the most promising and satisfying of the many recent debuts.

Another Tradition

"Naive and Sentimental Music" and "Who Cares?"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 5, 2010

by Mary Cargill

copyright © 2010 by Mary Cargill

The New York City Ballet opened its Winter season with a program entitled, generically, "Tradition and Innovation", a general catchall title which can fit anything.  There wasn't much innovation, but there was, one hopes, a new tradition established as Balanchine's "Who Cares?" included "Clap yo' hands", set to, not to Hersey Kay's glorious orchestrations, to but a gloriously scratchy 1926 recording of Gershwin at the piano.  The choreography was last seen at the Balanchine Centennial, and then disappeared, and its return is I hope permanent.

That Old White Magic

"The Nutcracker"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
November 27, 2009

by Mary Cargill
Copyright © 2009 by Mary Cargill

 For many New Yorkers, black Friday is also white Friday, when the wonderful Balanchine version of "The Nutcracker" makes its first appearance.  This perennial is a cash cow, yes, but it is also a heartwarming salute to innocence and childhood and to the Maryinsky Ballet of Balanchine's youth.  The first act brims with good cheer, as the wealthy Staulbaums meet and entertain their equally wealthy and well-behaved friends.  The simplicity of the action is oddly moving--children dancing around a Christmas tree, a mother tucking her little girl in bed, a child cradling a broken doll, all perfectly matched to the rich Tchaikovsky score.  In the middle of the warm hub-bub, Robert La Fosse's Herr Drosselmeier stood out for his imaginative and detailed characterization.  He was a holdover from the more courtly 18th century, flourishing an imaginary handkerchief and in his old-fashioned knee breeches, he seemed to be slightly out of place in the more robust and forthright 19th century, and danced as if he were remembering minuets of long ago.  It was a delicate and gentle performance.

Shoestrings

New York Theatre Ballet
Dance Gallery
New York, NY
November 20, 2009

by Mary Cargill

copyright 2009 by Mary Cargill

This cozy "Dance on a Shoestring" performance featured an intriguing mixture of old and new, classroom exercises and spirited revivals, dance with verve by the small, vibrant New York Theatre Ballet.  The performance opened with company director Diana Byer's setting of the last ballet choreographed by Sallie Wilson, who had worked closely with the company.   "Pas de Six--Gounod", to the bounding, infectious and dancey music from "Faust" was a charming exercise in Cechetti technique for six dancers featuring  gentle arabesques, flowing arms, and delicate batterie--a perfect work for a spring night, anytime of the year.

Fall Gala

"Seven Sonatas", "One of Three", "The Dying Swan", "Everything Doesn't Happen at Once"
American Ballet Theatre
Avery Fisher Hall
New York, NY
October 7, 2009

By Mary Cargill
Copyright © 2009 by Mary Cargill

Since ABT's now traditional Fall venue at City Center was supposed to be under renovation, the company planned an unusual and brief appearance at Avery Fisher Hall; since it is the home of the Philharmonic Orchestra, this is not an ideal place to see ballet, but the imaginative response was to commission three new works for the hall.  Since there is no place for an orchestra, all of them used on stage musicians, and since there are no wings, they used no scenery and minimal lighting.  The choreographers included ABT's new resident, Alexei Ratmansky, the Canadian Aszure Barton, and the NYCB dancer Benjamin Millepied, with the familiar Fokine "Dying Swan" for the gala audience.

Young and Old

"Romeo and Juliet"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 9, 2009

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2009 by Mary Cargill

ABT celebrated Frederic Franklin's 95th birthday by giving the audience another chance to see this consummate artist mime the Friar in Kenneth MacMillan's popular "Romeo and Juliet".  His entrance was greeted with warm and sustained applause, which he managed to acknowledge while keeping in character.  He made his every gesture a powerful plea for peace, and his appearance was a highlight of the second act, which can make the ballet seem as if it should be called "Romeo, ou les Harlots".
The young lovers were Cory Stearns and Hee Seo, making their New York debuts.  Both are very young (Stearns is a soloist and Seo in the corps) and very talented dancers.  Youth certainly helps to generate sympathy in the often overwrought and under-choreographed work, and there were many touching moments, especially in the final scene, when the lifeless Juliet is hauled around.  But young performers tend to dance the work, and since much of the choreography is of the "do a step and repeat three times" variety more experienced scenery chewers can act their way out of the many dead spots.

Shepherd's Delight

"Sylvia"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 29, 2009

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2009 by Mary Cargill

With the emphasis on "today's audience" and the necessity of filling seats, ballets can sometimes seem to be a mirror, only capable of reflecting the audience's whims, and today's whims includes lots of males doing lots of jumps, or women as pretzel.  But art is also a magical telescope with the ability to look both forward and backward, to what might be possible and also to bring the past to life.  There is no astronomer through whose telescope I would rather view the past than Sir Frederick Ashton.  "Sylvia" is his twentieth century take on Tasso's pastoral paradise, where love can conquer all, reflected through the nineteenth century prism of Delibes' luscious score.  There are echoes of Ashton's beloved "Sleeping Beauty" in both the atmosphere and in the actual choreography.  Like Petipa's Prince, the hero, Aminta, is guided and protected by a benevolent supernatural power, and he doesn't really have to do anything but be his loving and noble self.  Evil exists, but is controllable; there is no feeling, as in the romantic  sensibility of ballets like "Swan Lake", "Giselle", or "La Sylphide" that the hero is out of his place, that he wants something unattainable, or that some irrational force is against him.  In Ashton's and Delibes' calm Attic world, love may be capricious but once it conquers, all is well.