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Something for Everyone

“Soirée Musicale,” “A Place for Us,” “Cool (from “West Side Story Suite”),” “Glass Pieces (excerpt),” “The Man I Love” (from “Who Cares”),” “Stars and Stripes” (“Fourth and Fifth Campaigns”)”
New York City Ballet
Spring Gala
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
May 8, 2013

By Michael Popkin
Copyright © 2013 by Michael Popkin


New York City Ballet’s spring gala program had two audiences, and worked for both of them.  The glittering assembly present for the after-the-performance soirée got a brief appearance by Queen Latifah, who served up a powerful rendition of  “The Man I Love” from “Who Cares” alongside Balanchine’s familiar choreography.  And in lieu of dinner, two new ballets by Christopher Wheeldon provided substantial fare for the ballet aficionados.  Dance excerpts from two Robbins ballets and “Stars and Stripes” mediated between the two.

Paradise Re-Envisaged

Bill T. Jones Arnie Zane Dance Company
“Ravel: Landscape or Portrait?,”  “Story/”
The Joyce Theater
April 2, 2013

By Michael Popkin
Copyright 2013 © by Michael Popkin

The second program of Bill T. Jones’ two week run at the Joyce, consisting of two new works, immediately pulled you into a poetic space and held you there.  Jones’ extraordinary scenic and dance sense were combined with superb live chamber music by the Orion String Quartet. Simple, yet powerful designs and lighting of Bjorn Amelan and Robert Wierzel (respectively) filled in the landscape.

An Omnibus Beauty

“Sleeping Beauty”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
February 15, 16 matinee, 20, 21, 2013

By Michael Popkin
Copyright 2012 © by Michael Popkin

What better way to conclude a season largely dedicated to Tchaikovsky’s music than with the composer’s masterpiece?  Five tag-team casts danced the ballet, but the highlights were debuts in the leading roles by Robert Fairchild and Ana Sophia Scheller, respectively paired with Sterling Hyltin and Gonzalo Garcia.

Celebrating Tchaikovsky, NYCB Opens Its Winter Season

“Serenade,” “Mozartiana,” “Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
January 15, 16, 2013

By Michael Popkin
Copyright © 2013 by Michael Popkin

Each ballet got a better performance than the one before as New York City Ballet opened its winter dancing the first program of its “Tschaikovsky Celebration” twice.  Kicking things off, “Serenade” was tentative on Tuesday, yet Wednesday’s rendition was a powerhouse, with Sara Mearns returning to the stage after an eight month absence.  Mozartiana,” the middle work, was strong on Tuesday (with Maria Kowroski and Tyler Angle) but remarkable Wednesday with Sterling Hyltin and Chase Finlay making debuts. The initial “Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2,” with Ashley Bouder as the principal ballerina, concluded opening night on a rousing note.  But Wednesday evening the ballet elevated to a virtual blaze of light in a performance for the ages by Teresa Reichlen and Tyler Angle that lit up every corner of the theater. Over two successive nights, every time the curtain rose, so did the level of dance.

Harold and Kumar Go To Nirvana

“Vertical Road”
Akram Khan Company
Rose Theater
New York, New York
October 24, 2012

By Michael Popkin
Copyright 2012 © by Michael Popkin

Towards the end of “Vertical Road” – performed as part of Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival - a protagonist sits in a lotus position while the rest of the dancers disappear.  Is he meditating; what does he need to subdue in order to reach paradise; do we even care?  The tableau pointed out the contradiction at the heart of Akram Khan’s occasionally interesting but often tedious work.   Drama can succeed in depicting a spiritual quest only when there are images onstage that truly involve you in the characters’ inner yearnings and conflict.  Otherwise it’s pretentious and boring.

From Russia Without Love

“The Leaves are Fading,” “Symphony # 9,” “Rodeo”
American Ballet Theatre
New York City Center
New York, New York
October 18, 2012

By Michael Popkin
Copyright © 2012 by Michael Popkin

Alexei Ratmansky’s latest work for American Ballet Theatre (“Symphony #9”) is jammed with dance excitement but keeps its distance emotionally.  Full of surface motion, like much of Ratmansky’s work it’s strongly inflected with his favorite genre of character dance.  Yet the ballet’s dramatis personae evade personal contact by engaging in bluff gestures of humor whenever the viewer gets close to them.  The Antony Tudor and Agnes de Mille works that opened and closed the evening demonstrated the human feelings missing from Ratmansky’s work.

Balanchine/Stravinsky Three Different Ways - NYCB Opens its Fall Season

“Apollo,” “Orpheus,” “Agon”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 18, 2012

By Michael Popkin
Copyright 2012 © by Michael Popkin

When the first chords of “Apollo” opened New York City Ballet’s fall season, the audience was even more attentive than usual.  Many had lived half their lives to this ballet and returned to it with an attention conditioned by memory.    The evening’s performance did justice to this reverie and laid a beautiful new recollection on top of the others.  “Orpheus” and “Agon” fell away from this level but were still danced well enough for the program’s theme to register.

Don't Look Back

“Orpheus and Eurydice”
Paris Opera Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
July 20, 2012

By Michael Popkin
Copyright © 2012 by Michael Popkin


Paris Opera Ballet concluded its ten day visit to New York with a rendition of Pina Bausch’s “Orpheus and Eurydice” that demonstrated both the range of the company’s repertory and sensitivity of its stagings.  As Bausch’s “Orpheus” hewed closely to Gluck’s opera – at least until the end, POB’s performance was faithful to the style and spirit of Bausch.  This was a contemporary realization of remarkable delicacy for a company that was also highly classical in “Giselle” earlier last week.

Will the Real Larry Keigwin Please Stand Up?

“12 Chairs,” “Trio,” “Contact Sport,” “Megalopolis”
Keigwin + Company
The Joyce Theater
June 12, 2012

By Michael Popkin
Copyright © 2012 by Michael Popkin

Moving blocks of dancers around the stage with infectious rhythm is Larry Keigwin’s gift.  When he stuck to it his show at the Joyce was fine indeed.  “12 Chairs,” and “Megalopolis,” the opening and closing pieces had the packed and enthusiastic audience dancing in their seats to strong techno and hip-hop beats, but the two middle dances in a more conventional contemporary style were unremarkable.

Dreaming of Fairyland

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
June 8, 2012

By Michael Popkin
Copyright © 2012 by Michael Popkin

As New York City Ballet came to the final notes of its season, two performances of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” struck different chords.  The opening night, with Maria Kowroski and Joaquin de Luz as Titania and Oberon, Daniel Ulbricht as Puck, and Wendy Whelan heading the second act divertissement, sent you out of the theater with feelings of nostalgia and pathos. On Friday the comedy broadened and the laughs took over when Kowroski repeated Titania, but with a different cast including Andrew Veyette as Oberon and Sean Suozzi as Puck.  Two important debuts – Tiler Peck in the divertissement and Chase Finlay as Lysander – provided extra interest on Friday but didn’t change the tone.