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Supernatural

“Giselle”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 28, 2015

by Leigh Witchel
© 2015 by Leigh Witchel

Not even an onstage injury could stop Natalia Osipova from delivering an extraordinary performance with Steven McRae in “Giselle.” It took time for the two to get into synchrony, but when they did, the juggernaut became unstoppable. The whole theater held its breath throughout Act 2.

Natalia Osipova and Steven McRae in “Giselle.” Photo © by Gene Schiavone

Two Ways of Shaping

"Stay," "The Material of Attention"
Hope Mohr Dance
ODC Theater
San Francisco, CA
May 28, 2015

by Rita Felciano
copyright by Rita Felciano, 2015

It's, perhaps, not surprising that Hope Mohr, a former student of Lucinda Childs, Trisha Brown and Margaret Jenkins, brings a rigorous conceptual approach to her dance making. Both of her new works, "Stay", a quintet inspired by the painter Francis Bacon, and "The Material of Attention," co-directed by Mohr and choreographer/dancer Christian Burns, ask fundamental questions about the body in space and time. One is choreographed; the other is an improvisation within given parameters.

Patrick Barnes and James Graham in "Stay." Photo © by Margo Moritz.

Whelan’s Back

Wendy Whelan/Restless Creature
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
May 27, 2015

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2015 by Leigh Witchel

Wendy Whelan’s chamber dance project had a twist on the usual star vehicle: she didn’t just commission choreo-graphers to make her dances, she asked them to dance with her. A quartet partnered her in this brief yet varied evening.

Kyle Abraham and Wendy Whelan in “The Serpent and the Smoke.” Photo © by Christopher Duggan

Freedom’s Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose

“Bound,” “Ecsteriority4 (Part 2)”
Dylan Crossman, Kimberly Bartosik
Abrons Arts Center
New York, NY
May 23, 2015

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2015 by Martha Sherman

In the latest installment of her eclectic “Travelogues” series at Abrons Arts, Laurie Uprich- ard chose a pair of works that both hover around themes of entrapment. In the raw space of Abrons’ Experimental Theater, the intense pieces were framed in concrete and black. The three dancers, all alumni of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, were splendid -- each powerful and crisp, that original training evident througout. Dylan Crossman danced in both works, first, in his solo “Bound,” and later, joining Marc Mann and Melissa Toogood to perform in Kimberly Bartosik’s “Ecsteriority4 (Part 2).”

Dylan Crossman in "Bound." Photo © Ryutaro Mishima.

Right Party, Wrong Spot

"Theme and Variations," "Pillar of Fire," "Fancy Free"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 13, 2015

by Leigh Witchel
© 2015 by Leigh Witchel

American Ballet Theatre opened their opera house season with the best of intentions and mixed results. The company commem- orated its 75th anniversary season starting with a week of seminal one-act works, including this triple bill of commissions from the 1940s. All masterworks, none of which looked their best on the cavernous stage of the Met. Happily, everything moved in the right direction; the show steadily improved and finished with a bang-up conclusion.

James Whiteside, Sterling Baca and Daniil SImkin in “Fancy Free.” Photo © by Marty Sohl

Taking the Gold

"Five Decades of Dance"
Oakland Ballet Company
Paramount Theatre
Oakland, CA
May 23, 2015

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano, 2015

The happy chatter and many embraces that enlivened the stately elegance of Oakland's architectural jewel, the Paramount Theatre, bore witness to a time when this art deco jewel was the place to be if you wanted to see what ballet -- both historic and contemporary -- could be. Former dancers and patrons had traveled far and wide to celebrate a company and a man who did what nobody thought was possible when Ronn Guidi, the city's native son, founded a ballet company in 1965. It was going to be on his terms; not for him the regal elegance and formality that poured out from New York City Ballet. Guidi's heart lay  with ballets about what he called "the human condition." His Diaghilev era reconstructions, American classics and, less known, his numerous commissions to contemporary choreographers, many of them women, put the, at that time, industrial city on the map. On this night Guidi, small, silent and smiling, took a single bow. Yet he looked like a giant.

Daphne Lee and Tyler Rhoads in 'The Can-Can' from "La Boutique Fantasque"
Photography: David DeSilva

Sharon Wehner and Sean Omandam in "Das Ballett"
Photography: David DeSilva

Into the Woods

"Bournonville Divertissements", "La Sylphide"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 23, 2015, matinee

by Mary Cargill 
copyright © 2015 by Mary Cargill

New York City Ballet hosted another "La Sylphide" debut as Lauren Lovette and Anthony Huxley danced the unfortunate couple on Saturday afternoon. Lovette is a dark-eyed beauty with an expressive face and a light, easy, airy jump and she used both to great effect.  Her opening bourrées, as she skimmed over the stage, were particularly effective. Her sylph was beautiful and capricious and she was able, with the tilt of her head, to show the poor sylph's contrasting moods. She made the final first scene particularly poignant as she looked around in vain for James as he was hiding with the scarf to trap her.  She walked slowly and sadly, then looked around the forest and picked up her head as if to say "Even if I have lost him, this is all mine and I will live here forever with all my sylphs." Then she saw the scarf and lost everything.  With experience Lovette may be able to give the sylph more of the moonstone glow and tinge of danger that Hyltin conveyed but it was a remarkable debut.

Lauren Lovette and Anthony Huxley in "La Sylphide". Photo © Paul Kolnik.

The Ballerina Garden

"Walpurgisnacht Ballet," "Sonatine," "La Valse," "Symphony in C"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 8, 2015

by Leigh Witchel
© 2015 by Leigh Witchel

New York City Ballet once again has a crop of ballerinas with compelling personalities as well as killer technique. NYCB’s “French” all-Balanchine program laid forth the garden in a variety of blooms, some extravagant, some neatly compact, all with different fragrances and all in a different state of blossom. From that, pick your bouquet. Some ballerinas are more equal than others, and we tend to be partisan.

Sara Mearns in “Walpurgisnacht Ballet” Photo © by Paul Kolnik

Birthdays and Debuts

"Walpurgisnacht Ballet," "Sonatine," "La Valse," "Symphony in C"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 15, 2015

By Carol Pardo
©2015 by Carol Pardo

George Balanchine’s "Sonatine" is a ballet that could easily fall through the cracks. In fact, the New York City Ballet last performed "Sonatine" in 2004. It is small in scale -- its cast one man, one woman and an onstage pianist -- and as modest and delicate in demeanor as Ravel’s filigree score of the same name. This performance marked its fortieth birthday -- to the day. The ballet looked ageless, evergreen, a reminder of the power and durability of classicism.

Black and White, Day and Night

"Apollo," "Agon," "Duo Concertant," "Symphony in Three Movements"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
April 29, 2015

by Leigh Witchel
© 2015 by Leigh Witchel

The opposing poles of black and white were an apt metaphor for an All-Balanchine program where half the program was flipped on its head by casting.

Two of the ballets looked much as usual. In “Symphony in Three Movements,” Sterling Hyltin gave a performance in the central pas that was powered by nervous energy. Maria Kowroski's focused performance in “Agon” was one of her best. Sit as near the stage as possible for her shows; you can best see her concentration close up. Andrew Veyette always dances the first pas de trois as a tough guy, but that’s a strain in the character that has been observed since Edwin Denby. At the close of his solo, Veyette made his bow as if he were about to flip us the bird.

Adrian Danchig-Waring in “Apollo” Photo © by Paul Kolnik