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Kneading Drama

“Like Water for Chocolate”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 16, 2024 by Marianne Adams

copyright © 2024 by Marianne Adams

American Ballet Theatre ending its five-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House with Christopher Wheeldon’s “Like Water for Chocolate” seemed like an emblematic move committed to its determined new identity – a company of story ballets, new world-class choreographies and solid, home-grown dancing talent. It is an encouraging direction for the troupe, even if the ballet itself was not the most scrumptious dish ABT had on offer.

Photo of Skylar Brandt and Luciana Paris. Photo © by Rosalie O’Connor.

Start With a Blank Page

“Woolf Works”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 26, 2024

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2024 by Marianne Adams

For its second week of the 2024 New York summer season, American Ballet Theatre stuck to the literary works theme, but with an unexpectedly modern, multi award-winning twist.  Created in 2015, Wayne McGregor’s “Woolf Works” is everything one would expect from him – highly physical, seemingly stripped-down yet loaded with meaning and detail, and pushing the boundaries of traditional ballet.  But it was also more than that – a deconstructed exploration of key themes of the underlying writings, presented in a novel way by both the choreographer and the dancers new to his movement lexicon.

Photo of Devon Teuscher and James Whiteside in Act 3 of “Woolf Works.” Photo © Marty Sohl.

Flamenco Depths, in Equal Measure

“Equilibrio”
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
June 19, 2024

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2024 by Marianne Adams

It can be too easy to forget just how many elements make up the tapestry of the flamenco genre, but Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana company’s performance of Emilio Ochando’s new “Equilibrio” expertly brought the various strands into focus.  Conceived originally as a solo performance in 2020, Ochando expanded the COVID-19 pandemic creation to the whole company.  Infused with a few modern twists and featuring many props, the evening, accompanied by vocals, and keyboard, guitar and even cello as musical instruments, showcased the many aspects of the art form, and its many ways of telling stories.

Photo of the dancers of Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana in “Equilibrio.” Photo © by Steven Pisano

“Onegin,” By the Book

“Onegin”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 18 and June 19 (matinee), 2024

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2024 by Marianne Adams

American Ballet Theatre boldly opened its 2024 season at the Metropolitan Opera House with John Cranko’s “Onegin.” With somewhat last-minute casting changes, the opening night honors fell on Christine Shevchenko and Cory Stearns as Tatiana and Onegin respectively, who danced with dedication; though it was the next day’s matinee performers, also a substitute cast, Chloe Misseldine and Thomas Forster, who brought the depth of Alexander Pushkin’s iconic characters to life.

Photo of Christine Shevchenko and Cory Stearns in Act 3 of “Onegin.” Photo © by Rosalie O’Connor

All The Colors Fit For Stage

“Law of Mosaics,” “This Bitter Earth,” “Herman Schmerman Pas de Deux,” “Love Letter (on shuffle)”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 23, 2024

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2024 by Marianne Adams

In its second of two programs featuring works by contemporary choreographers, New York City Ballet dazzled and dazed, leaning heavily on the quality of its dancers to bring forward the more vibrant elements of the presented ballets’ expressive palettes, both physical and emotional. The best of the evening – the absolutely devastating “This Bitter Earth” and the energetic “Herman Schmerman” - were bookended by the less inspiring Pam Tanowitz’s ballet “Law of Mosaics” and Kyle Abraham’s “Love Letter (on shuffle),” both 2022 creations. Still, even those two works had their memorable moments thanks to the cast.

Photo of Adrian Danchig-Waring and Mira Nadon in Pam Tanowitz’s “Law of Mosaics.” Photo © Erin Baiano

What Was, What Could Have Been

“Fandango,” “Bloom,” “Where We Dwell”
Roman Mejia, Tiler Peck and Herman Cornejo, Ayodele Casel
Fall For Dance – Program 5
New York City Center
New York, NY
October 23, 2021

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2021 by Marianne Adams

The last program of this year’s Fall For Dance Festival looked back in looking ahead. Alexei Ratmansky’s 2010 work “Fandango” was presented in a restaging on a male dancer form, Justin Peck’s new work “Bloom” drew heavily on George Balanchine’s iconic “Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux,” and the world premiere of Ayodele Casel’s tap extravaganza “Where We Dwell” looked to historically American themes in dance and music, adjusting them for the times.

Photo of Tiler Peck and Herman Cornejo in “Bloom.” Photo © Stephanie Berger.

Dance, (Un)interrupted

“Mapping Out A Sky,” “38109,” “Each In His Own Time,” “Meet Ella”
BalletX, Lil Buck, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Caleb Teicher & Company
New York City Center
New York, NY
October 22, 2021

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2021 by Marianne Adams

The Fall For Dance Festival never really left, considering the two programs it offered in a digital streaming format last year, but still its return to a live audience felt like a homecoming.  A bonus on the second night of Program 4 was the unscheduled appearance by Caleb Teicher and his dancers, rounding out the programming to the traditional four work count that each festival night usually offers. (This year the billing was tweaked to only include three works, and no intermissions.)

Photo of Adrian Danchig-Waring and Joseph Gordon in “Each In His Own Time." Photo © Stephanie Berger.  

Catching Up with Adam Sklute, Artistic Director, Ballet West

April 2021
Salt Lake City, Utah 
by Marianne Adams

As most ballet companies around the world are slowly getting back to what once was normal, Ballet West has clocked in not one, but two live seasons since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. How they did it and what lies ahead were among the topics I was excited to explore in my conversation with Adam Sklute, the company’s Artistic Director.

Back On Stage: If Cautiously, Relentlessly

Precious Gems: Precious Jewels Variations from “Alladin,” “Aria,” “Tarantella,” Solo from “Lambarena,” “Variations for Four,” Sicilienne from “Emeralds,” Duet from “Concerto Six Twenty-Two,” “Paquita”
Capitol Theatre
Salt Lake City, UT
April 15, 2021

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2021 by Marianne Adams

What would ballet look like on a theater stage, when it returns, has been a question plaguing most ballet lovers and insiders alike, and as one of the first companies in the world, and certainly in the United States, to bring its dancers back in front of a live audience, Ballet West confidently answered it with “resilient.”  The company’s spring 2021 season was its second time performing live since the Covid-19 pandemic began, following a brief season in November 2020, and the mixed bill program of mostly classically dance was a welcome reassurance that when it comes to dance, the pandemic shouldn’t rob us of much more than actual time lost.

Photo of Jordan Veit in "Aria." Photo © Beau Pearson.

To Feast, Perchance to Dream

“Who Cares?” (excerpts), “to be seen,” “Concerto Six Twenty-Two” (duet), “Lady Swings the Blues”
Fall for Dance Festival – Program 2
New York City Center (Pre-recorded Digital Broadcast)
New York, NY
October 26, 2020

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2020 by Marianne Adams

There may not have been many good news for the dance world this year, but the enduring holding of the Fall for Dance Festival, even if in an abbreviated, digital format, was certainly one of them.  Admittedly, in these trying times the starved audience would have been content with mere fresh performances of old works on a real stage (not that all those recordings of dancers in non-conventional places have been unwelcome!), but the Festival did one better. Rather than taking some old faithfuls out of the refrigerator and reheating them for our delights, it presented some brand new concoctions, and those dishes, along with their execution and presentation, were of the finest flavor.

Photo of Calvin Royal III in “to be seen.”  Photo © by by Christopher Duggan