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One Last Spin

"Swan Lake"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 28, 2012

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2012 by Mary Cargill

Angel Corella gave his final performance at ABT last night, and during the curtain calls, amidst the flowers, the wreaths, and applauding company members, showed the cheering audience one last glorious set of turns a la seconde.  It was a charming and generous gesture from a dancer who combined warmth, skill, and intelligence to become one of ABT's most, and the word doesn't seem hyperbolic, beloved principals.  As a nineteen-year old wunderkind whose turns were sometimes too enthusiastic for gravity to keep straight, but whose open-hearted generosity made the audiences root for him, to the more romantic performer of his later years, he has been one of ABT's most exciting dancers, and the audience got its chance to thank him.

Scrupulously Equal?

“In Tandem,” “Delicate Balance,” ”Luminous,” ”Embellish”
Gotham Dance Festival
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
June 3, 2012

By Carol Pardo
Copyright ©2012 by Carol Pardo

The joint program of works by freelance choreographers Peter Quanz and Jodie Gates, presented under the umbrella of the Gotham Dance Festival, served a dual purpose. It reminded New Yorkers, who haven’t quite given up on their town as the dance capital of the world, that there is life—and dance—outside the five boroughs. It also provided an opportunity for three smaller companies, Quanz’s own Q Dance based in Winnipeg, BalletX from Philadelphia and Colorado Ballet, to perform before a new, large audience without shouldering the full cost of a solo season.

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.

Games of Chance

"Hungry Kite"
Deganit Shemy       
Chocolate Factory
New York, NY
June 21, 2012

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2012 by Martha Sherman

“Hungry Kite” is a puzzle without a solution – and a title that gives nary a clue. In this dance/film conundrum, Israeli choreographer Deganit Shemy describes her goal: to present the dancers and objects in their “bare essence” as simple facts onstage, “perpetually in a state of potential, waiting to manifest.” The essentials onstage were dancers moving solo, then mirroring, watching and manipulating each other, wrapped throughout in live and taped video imagery. Although the choreographer suggested that the audience watch without expectation, the intriguing “simple facts” became a game of disconnected messages, waiting to be linked and interpreted.

Staying Alive

“The Emperor Jones,” “Chaconne,” “La Cathédrale Engloutie,” “Come with Me”
Limón Dance Theater
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
June 20, 2012

By Carol Pardo
Copyright ©2012 by Carol Pardo

José Limón died forty years ago. The company he founded with Doris Humphrey is proof that a choreographer’s company, can survive and even thrive, long after its founders are gone. The method, if one program can serve as an example,seems simple. First, whatever the piece, dance it with affection and respect, without letting reverence ossify into pedantry, That will suck the life out of it. Show as many different facts of the founder's work as possible. Add pieces from other traditions, one a world premiere. Variety is the spice of programming and novelties are useful for both dancers and box office receipts. But at this performance it was the older works that carried the day and stayed in the mind’s eye.

Balcony Blues

"Romeo and Juliet"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 20, 2012

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2012 by Mary Cargill

Another couple got their chance to charge through "Romeo and Juliet" when the real-life couple Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg (both from the Royal Ballet) danced the crowd-pleaser.  MacMillan gives his lead dancers lots of opportunities to stamp their own interpretations on the roles, and Cojocaru and Kobborg have had many years to work on their characters.  The ballet tends to glow whenever Juliet is on the stage, and Cojocaru made Juliet a sweet-faced, lovely child, who, however ineptly, managed to take control of her life.

The Sound of Silence

"Coppelia"
Pacific Northwest Ballet
McCaw Hall
Seattle, Washington
9 June matinee
10 June matinee

By Helene Kaplan
copyright © 2012 Helene Kaplan

Pacific Northwest Ballet ended the 2011-12 season with a revival of its 2010 re-designed production of "Coppelia": Roberta Guidi di Bagno's designs looked as fresh and beautiful as when it debuted, and the score sounded as ravishing.  Opening the run as Swanhilde was the company's reigning senior ballerina, Kaori Nakamura, and closing it was one of the company's newest corps members, Leta Biasucci. (It also featured the newest company Principals, Rachel Foster and Lesley Rausch, both of whom debuted in 2010.)  Jeffrey Stanton, who retired from the company last season, returned to reprise Dr. Coppelius with Nakamura, and corps member Ezra Thomson made his debut in the role with Biasucci.  I saw the second/last performances of these two casts. 

Ascending Mount Olympus

"Thirteen Diversions", "Apollo", "The Firebird"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 13, 2012  matinee

 by Carol Pardo
Copyright © 2012 by Carol Pardo

Marcelo Gomes, often cast as a prince in American Ballet Theatre’s full evening works, moved up to a god status with his debut in the title role of Balanchine’s “Apollo.” He’s the most Dionysian Apollo to tread the boards in years. From birth (ABT retains the opening scene) to Olympus, this Apollo was all about channeling energy and mastery of the self.

The progression from newborn to adult was very subtle. Still in swaddling clothes, the divine babe all but out-jumped his handmaidens. Released from his bonds, he was not quite steady on his feet but raring to go and radiating energy in all directions. Leto must have encouraged her son’s interest in dance to burn off some of his overwhelming need to move.

Now and Then

"Elite Syncopations", "Song of a Wayfarer", "Chroma"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
June 13, 2012

By Denise Sum

Copyright © 2012 by Denise Sum

The National Ballet of Canada ended their 60th anniversary season with a mixed program reflecting the company's versatility, history, and future direction. The varied repertoire showcased the depth of talent in the company and instilled hope for its continued artistic development. The evening opened with Sir Kenneth MacMillan's "Elite Syncopations". It is a delightfully lighthearted jaunt through ragtime tunes that transports the viewer to the social dancers of a bygone era. Next, for a complete change of pace, was "Song of a Wayfarer", Maurice Béjart's soulful duet for two male dancers. The program concluded with the newest work, Wayne McGregor's lively and modern "Chroma". 

News From Across the Pond

“Violet Kid,” “Annonciation,” “Grace Engine”
Cedar Lake
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
May 15, 2012

By Carol Pardo
Copyright ©2012 by Carol Pardo

Cedar Lake has made a name—and a place—for itself in the New York dance scene by presenting works by choreographers who are familiar names in Europe, but less well known on this side of the Atlantic. This program included works by Hofesh Shechter, an Israeli who began his career with the Batsheva Dance Company and now has his own troupe in London, Angelin Preljocaj who works out of Aix-en-Provence and Canadian-born Crystal Pite, formerly a dancer under William Forsythe with Ballett Frankfurt and now head of Kidd Pivot. Each of them has assembled an individual movement language combining—in various proportions—ballet, modern dance, and more recent popular styles.