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Reshuffling The Deck

“La Sonnambula,” “Prodigal Son,” “Firebird”
New York City Ballet
The David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
January 29, 2017

by Michael Popkin
© 2017 by Michael Popkin

What do we look for when dancers take on new roles? For every “star is born” performance there’s probably a flop. Reshuffling the deck in three Balanchine story ballets on Sunday afternoon, New York City Ballet posed the question by casting no fewer than nine dancers in debuts. The answers were at neither extreme; instead the message was promise. The ballets looked fresh and spontaneous but the price of the new was, well, novelty in dramatic interpretation. And in the end it was the non-debut in the program (Ashley Bouder as the Firebird, replacing an injured Isabelle LaFreniere, and thus forestalling what was to have been yet another debutante going into a leading role) that reminded us how much experience in a role lends to a performance.

Ashley Bouder in "Firebird." Photo © Paul Kolnik.

The Saga Resonates

“Swan Lake” 

American Ballet Theatre

Opera House

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 

Washington, DC

January 28 at 1:30 PM

 

by George Jackson
© 2017 by George Jackson

 

The adventure that is “Swan Lake” unfolded on Saturday afternoon with Veronika Part, James Whiteside and Cory Stearns in leading roles. It was the sold-out week’s fourth cast for this Tchaikovsky ballet. Part’s personification of the heroine, Odette, is unusual.

 

 

A Trio of Notables

"Seven Sonatas" "Optimistic Tragedy" "Pas Parts 2016'
San Francisco Ballet
Program 2
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco, CA
January 26, 2017

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano, 2017

Yuri Possokhov’s “Optimistic Tragedy” is both a tribute to his Bolshoi training and a farewell gift to Principal Lorena Feijoo who will retire at the end of this season. The world premiere was seen between two superb works from last season, Ratmansky’s “Seven Sonatas” to Scarlatti, and Forsythe’s “Pas/Parts 2016”. This trio of works offered an encouraging perspective on ballet in our time, at least as presented by San Francisco Ballet.

 Lorena Feijóo in Posskhov's "Optimistic Tragedy. Photo copyright Erik Tomasson

 

Freezing in Miami

Miami City Ballet: "The Fairy's Kiss" by Alexei Ratmansky
Works & Process
Peter B. Lewis Theater
Guggenheim Museum
New York, NY
January 29, 2017, afternoon

by Mary Cargill 
copyright © 2017 by Mary Cargill

The Miami City Ballet is premiering Alexei Ratmansky's "The Fairy's Kiss" in February, set to Stravinsky's "Le Baiser de la Fée".  Stravinsky's music was inspired by both a Hans Christian Andersen story and the life and music of Tchaikovsky. The original tale, "The Ice Maiden," is a dark and complex story of an orphan boy claimed by the dangerous ice maiden, another "man challenges nature and loses" saga.  Stravinsky, who had been commissioned by Ida Rubinstein in 1927, changed the focus to man meets artistic destiny.  He honored Tchaikovsky on the 35th anniversary of his death by reworking his musical ideas and themes.  (This was a fairly radical idea in the 1920s, when Tchaikovsky was considered completely passé by the art world.)  He developed a scenario telling of a young man whose mother died in a snowstorm, and who, at his betrothal to a charming peasant girl, is claimed by the ice maiden (in the guise of a gypsy) who leads him away from his settled life and on to his artistic destiny; the artist as the eternal outsider.

Illustration by Helen Stratton.

Consummation

“Swan Lake” 

American Ballet Theatre

Opera House

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Washington, DC

January 26, 2017

 

by George Jackson

© 2017 by George Jackson

 

The news is Devon Teuscher’s unscheduled debut as Odette and Odile in ABT’s familiar “Swan Lake”. The only “promising” thing about her performance is that one looks forward to repeats. Teuscher fullfilled both roles amply and distinctly. Constant is that “Swan Lake” remains the most Wagnerian of ballet’s classics, in this production partly because of and partly despite Kevin McKenzie’s staging “after” ballet masters Petipa and Ivanov and, of course, composer Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. A scheduled debut at this second of the week’s seven “Swan Lake” performances was Alban Lendorf’s as the more human of the two manifestations of the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. 

 

Devon Teuscher. Photo by Renta Pavam.

 

Esprit de Corps

“Swan Lake”
American Ballet Theatre
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
January 25, 2017
 
by Ashley McKean
copyright © 2017 by Ashley McKean

American Ballet Theatre’s “Swan Lake” is like a cherished, old pair of slippers: a bit soft, tattered around the edges, but with all the comforts of home. This version of the iconic classic — staged by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie after Petipa and Ivanov — has been no stranger to D.C. audiences since its world premiere here in 2000 (it was subsequently filmed for television at the Kennedy Center in 2005 and returned in 2009). Still, Washingtonians flocked to the theater on Wednesday night, seeking refuge in the familiar, yet mystical otherworld of “Swan Lake.” ABT’s production tells the well-known story of love, loss and deceit fairly clearly, uniquely including a prologue that depicts the despicable Von Rothbart (guised as a handsome young man) luring Odette and subjecting her to his curse. But this version’s much-abbreviated Act IV (which can look comedic without the right dramatic buildup), among other shortcomings, threatens to lessen the ballet’s impact, pinning its success on the ability of the dancers to fill the gaps. Although Wednesday’s central couple, while physically quite beautifu, didn’t fully live up to the challenge, the immaculate dancing of the ethereal swan corps, together with the powerful strains of Tchaikovsky’s score, gave the audience a magical escape.

American Ballet Theatre in "Swan Lake." Photo © Gene Schiavone

Ballet Blowing Hot & Cold

"The Snow Queen"
Finnish National Ballet
Operaen, The Royal Danish Theatre
Copenhagen, Denmark
January 28, 2017

by Alexander Meinertz
copyright © Alexander Meinertz 2017

On the eve of Kenneth Greve’s departure as artistic director of the Finnish National Ballet, the former principal dancer of the Royal Danish Ballet, has brought his company to perform at his Alma Mater in Copenhagen as part of celebrations in connection with the 100^th anniversary of Finland’s independence. Greve has directed the Finnish company since 2008, but announced in July of last year that this would be his final season in Helsinki: during his 10 years as director, he has created new productions of “Scheherazade,” “Swan Lake,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “The Snow Queen” for the company, which was originally founded in 1921. 

High Energy

"Fearful Symmetries", "The Shimmering Asphalt", "The Times are Racing"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 26, 2017

by Mary Cargill 
copyright © 2017 by Mary Cargill

For the past several years New York City Ballet has celebrated Balanchine with at least one new work under the rubric of "New Combina- tions", honoring Balanchine's statement "There are no new steps, only new combinations". This year the two premieres, by Pontus Lidberg and Justin Peck, showed that new combinations are hard to come by, as each work, dynamic though the dancers were, had a whiff of been there, seen that. The evening opened with Peter Martins' 1990 "Fearful Symmetries", a shot of propulsive dancing to John Adams' propulsive score. The cast, led by Claire Kretzschmar with Russell Janzen, Ashly Isaacs with Zachary Catazaro, and Alston Macgill with Harrison Ball, all making debuts, danced at the top of their voices, but the repetitive, finicky, and rushed choreography hid their distinctive personalities under a mass of steps and blank stares. Though Janzen and Catazaro switched partners half-way through, all four couples did the same steps (lots of swinging bent-kneed arabesques for the women and split jumps for the men) to little emotional effect.

 Claire Kretschmar and Russell Janzen in "Fearful Symmetries" © Paul Kolnik.

First Program Three Surprises

"Haffner Symphony" "Fragile Vessels" "In the Countenance of Kings"
San Francisco Ballet
Program I
War Memorial Opera HouseSan Francisco, CA
January 24, 2017

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano 2017

Four world premieres, in addition to three story ballets, are part of this year's SFB season. First off was Jiri Bubenicek's "Fragile Vessels"'. Upcoming are works by choreographer in residence Yuri Possokhov, Arthur Pita and Miles Thatcher. Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson clearly takes chances on lesser-known talents. Whether there will be another Ratmansky among them -- SFB gave him his first American commission with the 2003 "Le Carnaval des Animaux" -- remains to be seen. At the very least the dancers test themselves in a wide variety of styles and approaches to classical dance. It's one of the reasons that for many SFB became a company of choice. Audiences also greet new work with a great deal of good will; it's rare that these newbies are not heartily welcomed. So it would gratifying to say that "Fragile Vessels"was a welcome surprise.

San Francisco Ballet in Bubenicek's "Fragile Vessels". Photo © Erik Tomasson

The Blue Danube Reloaded

"At the Beautiful Blue Danube"

Austrian Cultural Forum

Embassy of Austria

Washington, DC 

January 25, 2017

 

by George Jackson 

© 2017 by George Jackson

 

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the foremost waltz, Johann Strauss II’s “At the Beautiful Blue Danube”, the Austrian Embassy’s atrium was flooded with videofilms. A bravura flow of piano playing followed. Also on the program were two talks, as was a concluding toast with a glass of wine for everyone in the audience – a capacity crowd that seemed somewhat elderly. A little dancing was shown on screen in the opening, uncredited video: an orchestra playing what has become known as “The Blue Danube Waltz” with the musicians’ motions intercut by footage of young women in wafting long gowns. These female figures melded ballroom rotations, Isadora Duncan skipping and bit of ballet line into a pleasant accompaniment for the music. My guess is that this was dancing in the art nouveau manner of Grete Wiesenthal (1885 –1970) and her sisters. Strauss, though, had composed this waltz not for dancers but for men’s voices. He did so at the behest of his friend Johann Herbeck, choir master of the Vienna Men’s Chorus, which premiered the composition on February 13, 1867. The original title, which suggests being on the river’s banks, came from a poem by Karl Isidor Beck. Nevertheless, the actual text sung by the choir was written by Josef Weyl. There is also an alternate text by Franz von Gernerth. Despite the words of three poets, the choral version of the waltz has not had particular success. Later in 1867, Strauss revised the waltz for orchestra and it is this instrumental version that became a hit after premiering at that year’s World’s Fair in Paris. Many choreographers have been challenged by “Blue Danube” during the last century and a half.  

 

Photo: Adele Krausenecker, Herma Berka, Gusti Pichler, Fritzi Fraenzl, Risa Dirtl.