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Kyle Abraham at Skirball

“Live! The Realest MC”
A.I.M.
NYU Skirball
New York, New York
April 4, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright 2019 by Gay Morris

There was a time when both choreo- graphers and critics thought dance should say it all. Language in any form was considered a corrupting influence that compromised dance’s autonomy. However, as modernism has faded, dancers have stopped being afraid of language. Now it is more often seen as a valuable adjunct to dance. I thought of that during Kyle Abraham’s concert at the Skirball Center Thursday evening. Abraham’s  “Live! The Realest MC” can be enjoyed purely as dance. But at certain points the spoken word is incorporated into the piece and enhances it. “Live! The Realest MC” also gains in meaning and poignancy when we learn in a program note that it was inspired by an early autobiographical solo about a closeted boy who is trying to find acceptance and an authentic identity. Referring to the Pinocchio story, Abraham asks, what does it mean to be a “real” boy?

Matthew Baker, Jeremy “Jae” Neal, and Claude “CJ” Johnson in Kyle Abraham’s “Live! The Realest MC.” Photo: Julien Benhamou.

Osipova and Hallberg

“The Leaves are Fading,’  “Flutter,” “In Absentia,” “Six Years Later,” “Ave Maria,” “Valse Triste”
Natalia Osipova’s Pure Dance with David Hallberg
New York City Center
New York, New York
April 3, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

It has become commonplace for ballet stars to gather a few supporting dancers to tour a program of solos and duets. Natalia Osipova is in town this weekend for just such a program at City Center. However, choosing David Hallberg as one of her three male partners, puts her concert closer to Fonteyn and Nureyev than to Sylvie Guillem or even Wendy Whelan. Hallberg is too big a talent to take second place to a ballerina, not even one he works with and admires as much as he does Osipova. So despite its title, this was a show of equals. 

Hallberg danced in only three of the six works, to Osipova’s five, but his solo and his two duets with her were the high points of the program, at least for this viewer. One of them, the central duet from Antony Tudor’s “The Leaves are Fading,” opened the program. Tudor made the work for American Ballet Theater in 1975, and seeing this excerpt made me wish ABT would bring back the entire ballet.

Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg in Antony Tudor's "The Leaves are Fading." Photo: Yohan Persson.

Dorrance Dance

“Lessons in Tradition,” “Harlequin and Pantalone,” “Jump Monk,’ “SOUNDspace”
Dorrance Dance
New York City Center
New York, NY
March 28, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

It would be hard to imagine a more joyful choice for a celebration than Dorrance Dance, which opened New York City Center’s seventy-fifth anniversary season Thursday evening. Michelle Dorrance’s tap concerts seem made to lift the spirits. Much of this has to do with Dorrance, herself, a whirlwind of motion who appears to delight in every move she makes. But she is far more than a virtuoso tapper. She is also an innovative choreographer and imaginative artistic director who attracts outstanding dance talent. Each of her fourteen company members is a virtuoso in is or her own right. Dorrance also collaborates with important guest artists, in this case Bill Irwin and Kate Davis, who joined forces with her on Thursday.

Photo: Michelle Dorrance, Kate Davis, and Bill Irwin in Dorrance and Irwin's "Lessons in Tradition."  Photo: Stephanie Berger.

New Combinations

“Herman Schmerman,” “Principia,” “The Runaway”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater,
New York, New York
February 3, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

Under the rubric, “New Combinations,” New York City Ballet brought together a premiere by Justin Peck, a new ballet from the fall season by Kyle Abraham, and a ballet by William Forsythe that hasn’t been seen in full since 1994. It proved to be the kind of imaginative programming that makes elements and associations visible that might not otherwise be apparent.

Photo:   Taylor Stanley and company in Justin Peck’s "Principia." Photo: Erin Baiano. 

 

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.

'Kreatur"

“Kreatur”
Sasha Waltz & Guests
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn, New York
November 2, 20 18

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2018 by Gay Morris

Contemporary German choreo- graphers are not known for light-hearted fare, but Sasha Waltz’s “Kreatur,” which opened Friday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, may set a record for dystopian gloom. Not that there is much optimism on either side of the Atlantic these days.

Dancers in the opening section of Sasha Waltz's "Kreatur." Photo: Stephanie Berger.

Akram Khan's "Xenos"

“Xenos”
Akram Khan
White Light Festival
Rose Theater, Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 31, 2018 

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2018 by Gay Morris

Akram Khan has long been one of the UK’s most inventive dance artists. He is known for imaginatively combining classical Indian Kathak dance with contemporary western forms, and for his collaborative productions with important artists from varied genres. “Xenos,” presented as part of Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival, has to do with Indian soldiers who fought for Britain in World War I. As such, this hour-long solo may be one of Khan’s greatest challenges.

Akram Khan removing the strings of bells worn by Kathak dancers in his solo,  "Xenos." Photo: Jean Louis Fernandez.

Balanchine's School, His Style, and His Aesthetic

“But First A School: The Making of a Balanchine Dancer” 
Studio 5 
New York City Center
New York, New York
Oct. 29, 2018

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2018 by Gay Morris

New York City Ballet’s first home was New York City Center, and as part of the Center’s seventy-fifth anniversary, it is featuring a George Balanchine celebration, which is going on this week in the main auditorium. Meanwhile, upstairs in Studio 5, a less formal celebration took place on Monday evening. It was a demonstration of how Balanchine sought to develop dancers, and how what has become known as the Balanchine style is instilled in dancers today.

Watermill

“Watermill”
BAM Fisher
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn, New York
October 24, 2018 

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2018 by Gay Morris

Jerome Robbins created “Watermill” for New York City Ballet in 1972. It was staged for what was then known as the State Theater, now the David H. Koch Theater, a proscenium theater of opera house proportions. Choreographer Luca Veggetti has re-imagined the work for the intimate BAM Fisher, and the ballet benefits greatly from it.

Joaquin De Luz as the central character in Jerome Robbins' Watermill," surrounded by bobbing lights on flexible poles manipulated by other dancers. Photo: Rebecca Greenfield.

"Garden Blue" and other works at American Ballet Theatre

“Songs of Bukovina,” “Garden Blue,” “In the Upper Room”
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
October 19, 2018

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2018 by Gay Morris

Under the rubric, “ABT Women’s Movement,” American Ballet Theatre is promoting women choreo- graphers during its current fall season at the Koch Theater. Two were represented in Friday’s program: Jessica Lang and Twyla Tharp. Tharp, of course, has been on the scene for decades, and “In the Upper Room” has been in ABT’s repertory since 1988. Lang has made one ballet for ABT (“Her Notes” in 2016); her second, “Garden Blue,” was premiered Friday. Not that Lang is a novice, she has had her own dance company since 2011, and has made dances for a number of different groups.

Scene from "Garden Blue". Photo: Rosalie O’Connor.