"Concerto", "In Twilight", "Duet from The Other", "The Edge"
Ballet NY
The Ailey Citigroup Theater
New York, NY
November 19, 2011
by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2011 by Mary Cargill
Ballet NY, the newish name for the Judith Fugate/Medhi Bahiri company formerly known as Dance Galaxy, gave a brief New York season in the Ailey Theater. The company looked very good--engaged, well-rehearsed, and open-hearted. The main draw was a selection from the rarely seen "The Other", Agnes de Mille's final ballet, but the other three works, by director Medhi Bahiri, showed off the dancers very well. The program opened with "Concerto", to music by Bach. The work was definitely influenced by Balanchine's majestic "Concerto Barocco"--many steps and poses were familiar. It by no means rivaled that most perfect work, and the adagio movement for three couples was too fussy to capture the piercing simplicity of the music, but Bahiri used the ballet vocabulary well, with lots of little steps and quick transitions.
"In Twilight" was a pas de deuxfor Jennifer Goodman and John-Mark Owen, set to the Elisabeth Schwarzkopf recording of Richard Strauss song "Im Abendrot". This is definitely music that does not need choreography, and the note "When internal pain takes over, we turn to a friend for comfort, but sometimes it's too late" would probably sound better in German. But Goodman, ably supported by Owen, gave a delicate, nuanced performance, with every emotion made clear. The final lift, with Goodman perched on Owen's back as he walked slowly off stage, was so much more than just a technical trick.
Goodman, this time with the gracious and stalwart Luke Manley, was also utterly engaging in the de Mille work, set to a song by Franz Schubert. This was choreographed for ABT in 1992, the year before she died, and years after she had suffered a terrible stroke, but the pas de deux is youthful, vibrant, and winning. Goodman, coached by Amanda McKerrow (the original young girl), caught much of that wonderful dancer's precision and delicacy. If the rest of the work is anywhere near this standard, it seems call for a revival, and Ballet NY deserves a salute for bringing it back.
The final work to music by Enigma, Bahiri's "The Edge", was originally choreographed in 2010, and the choreographer's note describes it as "light-weight", but he is underestimating it. It is a well-crafted exhibition of the dancer's varied strengths, with a fine sense of development. Unlike so many modern ballets, the dancers don't hurl themselves around at full-speed from the get-go. The female soloists were not identified, but the second soloist had an intriguing series of slow balances set against the percussive music, an interesting use of counterpoint.
copyright © 2011 by Mary Cargill
Photographs by Christopher Duggan
"Concerto"
Jennifer Goodman and John-Mark Owen in "In Twilight"
Jennifer Goodman and Luke Manley in "The Other"
"The Edge"