“Hallelujah Junction,” “Herman Schmerman,” “The Exchange,” “Concerto DSCH”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
April 24, 2019
by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2019 by Marianne Adams
One of the most exciting things about New York City Ballet as a company is the sheer number of new choreographic works it manages to usher into the world season after season. That it has whole programs devoted to 21st century choreographers is a testament to that, and those tend to be my favorite evenings as they give a real chance to look at new works in their own context, without reference to the classics. The second of such two programs staged during the company’s spring season offered ballets by William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, Matthew Neenan and the company’s departed artistic director, Peter Martins. None of them were premieres, but the program succeeded at showing the rich, if not flawless, state of modern classical dance.
Photo of Brittany Pollack in William Forsythe’s Herman Schmerman. Photo © Paul Kolnik