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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.

'Kreature"

“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.

Sutra

“Sutra”
White Lights Festival
Rose Theater, Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 16, 2018

by Gay Morris
© 2018 by Gay Morris

Belgian choreo- grapher Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s “Sutra” is a spectacle in the true sense of the word. Created in 2008, it features monks from the Shaolin Temple in China, as well as sculpture by the well-known British artist Antony Gormley and a score, played live, by Polish composer Szymon Brzóska. Cherkaoui also performs the central role, along with child monk, Xing Kaishuo.

The monks of Shaolin Temple fighting in "Sutra," choreographed and directed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Photo: Richard Termine.

Fall for Dance 4

“Rhapsody” (excerpts), “Canto Ostinato,” Petrushka,” “Rennie Harris Funkedified’ (excerpt)
Fall for Dance, Program 4
New York City Center
New York,  New York
October 11, 2018

by Gay Morris
copyright © 2018 by Gay Morris

Fall for Dance is known for the variety of its programs, but Number Four, seen on Thursday, felt like whiplash as it changed from one offering to the next. Yet when all was said and done, there were relationships to be found among the works, which started with classical ballet and ended with hip hop.

Frederick Ashton created “Rhapsody” in 1980 for Mikhail Baryshnikov. Excerpts from the ballet were danced by Herman Cornejo of American Ballet Theater and Alina Cojocaru of the English National Ballet. The work is set to Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” arranged by Kurt Crowley. Crowley was at the piano for the live music, accompanied by the Attacca String Quartet.

Alina Cojocaru and Herman Cornejo in Frederick Ashton's "Rhapsody." Photo: Stephanie Berger.

Trisha Brown at BAM

“Ballet,” “Pamplona Stones,” “Working Title”
Trisha Brown Dance Company
BAM Fisher
Brooklyn, New York
October 10-13, 2018

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2018 by Gay Morris

Carolyn Lucas and Diane Madden, who are the directors of the Trisha Brown Dance Company, seem to be making all the right decisions on how to proceed after the founder’s death eighteen months ago. Last year the company presented a splendid concert of late Brown works at Jacob’s Pillow, and at BAM Fisher this week the group showed earlier pieces with the same exactitude and sense of joy. 

Brown’s presence was evoked throughout Wednesday’s performance, not only through her choreography, but also in film, and in program notes that documented the roles she had taken in each of the dances. Lucas and Madden listed the three works presented as “reconstructions,” which stresses the fact that the dances are not the originals, but those dances recreated with the aid of archival materials and through the lens of memory. 

Cecily Campbell in Trisha Brown's "Ballet." Photo: Stephanie Berger.