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A Greek Trilogy Anew

"Apollo", "Orpheus", "Agon"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
January 26, 2019 evening

by Carol Pardo
copyright © 2019 by Carol Pardo

Apollo, in Balanchine's "Apollo" can be anyone from a "rascal"(the choreographer's exhortation to Edward Villella) to a breathtaking god, seemingly fully formed (Peter Martins, exchanging Valhalla for Mount Olympus as the ballet progressed), all valid. In his company debut, Gonzalo Garcia chose the middle ground and made it his own. The softness of his gestures, from the raised arm, partially unfurled as the curtain rose, rather than fully stretched, reflected the process of becoming in his world of velvet and moss, protected and privileged, with no sharp edges. This is an Apollo who has everything to learn (the explicit subject of the ballet) and nothing to prove.

Photo: Gonzalo Garcia in "Apollo" © Paul Kolnik.

Harlequinade in Washington

Note to Readers: Harlequin and his friends are dancing at the Kennedy Center this week. Unfortunately, none of the danceviewtimes reviewers are able to cover.

We think this is an important production, and of course, Alexei Ratmansky is a very important choreographer, and so we didn't want the occasion to go unnoticed. I've written a piece about the ballet in the DanceView blog for those interested.

Ratmansky's Harlequinade

Minkus, Mirth and Merry Making

"Don Quixote"
San Francisco Ballet
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco, CA
January 25, 2019

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano, 2019

Everyone should see “Don Quixote” at least once. After all, comic ballets are more than rare. Especially if it’s as fine a production as the San Francisco Ballet’s 2003 version (mostly) by Helgi Tomasson and Yuri Possokov. Much of the dancing is spectacular, much of the Minkus score definitely less so. “Don Quixote” is also fine ensemble work, offering welcome opportunities for Kitri’s friends (Julia Rowe and Isabella DeVivo, excellent throughout ); a fierce Gypsy Queen (Kimberly Marie Oliver) and a delightful Cupid (feathery Norika Matsuyama). It’s the kind of entertainment that the 1869 Moscow audience wanted and appreciated. Though we have little of the original choreography, SFB’s version fulfills similar expectations. Still, such unremitting cheerfulness is tiring to watch even though rarely do these dancers receive such enthusiastic feedback through the evening long and during the curtain calls.    

San Francisco Ballet in “Don Quixote” Angelo Greco and Mathilde Froustey

Photo: Erik Tomasson

SFB at Eighty-Six

SFB Gala: This is Passion
San Francisco Ballet
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco, CA
January 23, 2019

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano 2019

Sometimes I think it would be desirable if American ballet companies would receive secure support from our national government, including pensions for everyone involved, the way they do in many other countries, France and Finland, for instance. But then, we might not have had San Francisco Ballet’s recent Gala, at the opening of its 86th season. And that would have been a pity. This year’s finely curated evening by experienced programmer Helgi Tomasson had everything you wanted in such a fun and necessary evening: it was packed with an appreciative audience, tightly scheduled — a bare two hours —  lacked the most obvious crowd pleasers. It started with an excerpt from a mid-twentieth century Danish work and ended with two twenty-first century pieces, one of them a world premiere. It was an evening to be treasured — even if some of the details escaped me.

San Francisco Ballet in Peck's "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming"
Photo: Erik Tomasson

Balanchine's Tschaikovsky

“Serenade,” “Mozartiana, “Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
New York, New York
January 23, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

New York City Ballet began its winter season with programs devoted to Balanchine works set to two of the choreo- grapher’s favorite composers. The opening program on Tuesday was reserved for Stravinsky, with Tschaikovsky following on Wednesday. Repeats of both programs continue through the coming week.

New York City Ballet in George Balanchine’s  “Tchaikovsky Concerto  No. 2.” Photo: Paul Kolnik.

Greeks Bearing Gifts

"Apollo", "Orpheus", "Agon"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
January 22, 2019

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

The whims of the calendar decreed that New York City Ballet's winter season opened on Balanchine's birthday and the company honored him by dancing three of his most significant works, the so-called Greek trilogy.  "Apollo" is the oldest of his ballets currently being performed, the theatrical "Orpheus" is the ballet that inspired Morton Baum to invite the young company to become part of City Center in 1948, and "Agon" is Balanchine and Stravinsky at their black and whitest.  Maria Kowroski and Tyler Angle welcomed the audience with a casual camaraderie, Kowroski reminiscing about the joys of working with Arthur Mitchell on "Agon" a few months before he died and Angle talking about giving his all as the third rock in his first "Orpheus", as well as saluting his dressing room mate Taylor Stanley's upcoming debut in "Apollo".

Taylor Stanley with Tiler Peck, Indiana Woodward and Brittany Pollack in "Apollo" photo © Erin Baiano.

A New Cinderella is Born

“Cinderella”
New Adventures Company
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
January 16, 2019

by Arielle Ostry
Copyright © 2019 by Arielle Ostry

The New Adventures Company showcased a new appreciation for a well-known fairy tale at the Kennedy Center this past week, sparked by Matthew Bourne’s reinvention of the Cinderella story. With Bourne’s artistic vision and a cast of brilliantly talented and expressive dancers, the company took the iconic character ballet, while maintaining much of Prokofiev’s original score, and placed the popular story in a novel context — the city of London during World War II. Transplanting the story of Cinderella into an often romanticized time period was a risky move, making certain elements of the story a bit jarring when Bourne’s artistic decisions differed greatly from the traditional and expected. In the beginning of the performance some of the characters seemed more like caricatures than real people, and Bourne had Cinderella ride a white, celestial motorcycle instead of a horse-drawn carriage. Still, the choice to set Cinderella during WWII had its own payoffs due to the romanticism and intrigue of the era, making it the perfect setting for a fairy tale revamp.

Photo: Andrew Monaghan 'Harry', Ashley Shaw 'Cinderella' and The New Adventures Company. Photo by Johan Persson.

Persistence

“RedWhiteBlueBlack&Orange -

the Art and Dance of Resistance”

 

Maida Withers Dance Construction Company

Center for Contemporary Political Art

Washington, DC

January 20, 20l9

 

by George Jackson

copyright 2019 by George Jackson

 

The performance took place in the main room of a downtown art gallery, a space with windows on one long side and art work hung on the inside walls. Through the windows came the sunlight of a clear winter afternoon, illuminating the space and its pictures. All the art was of actual, recognizable things but not in a single style or from a single period or place. It certainly was not a display of Soviet social realism. An audience of perhaps half a hundred people sat along the walls on folding chairs or on the floor while a few stood. Three red metal folding chairs, as if thrown down, lay on the floor near the center of the room as the performance began. Three dancers entered the space surrounding the downed chairs; a “sound artist” with an electric keyboard, microphone and other gear, sat on the floor against the long inside wall. The dancers, two women and one man, all wore velvet jackets but looked distinct. Maida Withers was a white-red-white motile. She had a mop of white hair, a red jacket and tight white trousers. Erica Rebollar surged like midnight. Her black hair was carefully coiffed, her jacket was black and so were her tights. Gold was the color of Anton Ovchinnikov’s velvet jacket. He wore it over a muted orange shirt. The dancers snapped their limbs, snapped at the waist and at the neck as Yoko K. Sen, wearing a bowler hat, sat producing her sound score. The dancers’ vigor made them look like puppets. Relaxing or pausing, they seemed more human.

 

Photo above by Nicky Sundt. 

What, Why and How?

Fresh 2019
"Hot Mess(Sage)", "Rock e Malta: Orientamento (a collage /study)". "1880-2015", "Queent"
Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco
January 11, 2018

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano 2019

For the last decade the “Fresh Festival” has become a month-long January event of “experimental” dance, music, performance and workshops. It started out modestly as a project by La Alternativa, the artistic team of dancer/choreographer Kathleen Hermesdorf and musician/composer Albert Mathias. This month it includes participants from Germany and Mexico. Coincidentally, the Festival’s ten-year anniversary also celebrates two decades of La Alternativa.