What a brilliant evening at NYCB on Thursday!
The program opened with a splendid performance of
Serenade from Ashley Bouder, Rebecca
Krohn in her debut, Jenifer Ringer, Ask La Cour, and
Jonathan Stafford. Rebecca came out with a roar – perhaps due
to nerves – which suggested that work needed to be done on smoothing out the
upper body and arms and making the movement less abrupt. But then in the final
two movements as the dark angel with hair down, she was a different dancer:
very steady when steady was called for with generous, sweeping movements that
had been missing earlier. Ashley and Jenifer each gave inspiring performances
using the music to its fullest. Ashley's beautifully crossed beats and
Jenifer's arabesques denoting longing were especially lovely. Ask La Cour is
turning his role in Serenade into one of his best. His manipulation of the dark
angel's promenade in arabesque was flawless this evening. His partnering of all
of the women was lush and romantic. His demeanor was poetic and
soulful.
Peter Martins' The Magic Flute
returned to the repertory Thursday, and Haglund has to say that it's a keeper
for sure. The original production was created by Martins at Balanchine's
suggestion for the SAB students in 1981 and was taken into the company in 1982.
The production is not The Magic Flute story and music familiar to Met Opera
goers. Instead of Mozart, Martins used the score by Riccardo Drigo which is very danceable, hummable, and is full of beautiful melodies. The story is
a simple one: boy and girl who are in love are being kept apart by parents; a
magic flute descends from the sky which when played by the boy makes parents,
peasants, and everyone else dance against his or her will; the lovely Oberon
intervenes in the chaos and unites the boy and girl forever.
The whole ballet was charming from start to finish with
thoughtful, interesting choreography and substantive corps work integrated into
the story. Absolutely amazing is the best way to describe the performances by
Megan Fairchild as Lise and Andrew Veyette as
Luke along with a slew of character roles impressively played by Adam
Hendrickson, Henry Seth, Christian Tworzyanski, Andrew Scordato, Ralph Ippolito,
Gwyneth Muller, Devin Alberda and Ellen Ostrom. The stage was packed
with kids who were in complete control of the audience's attention – and not
simply because their entire families were seated in the theater. The costumes
and scenery, new this year, were elaborate by NYCB standards. One aspect of the
costumes that Haglund didn't care for was the use of black outlining or edging
for so many costume parts. It made the costumes look like they came out of a
kid's coloring book.
Haglund recommends that everyone see The Magic
Flute. You will be happily surprised.
Stars and Stripes closed the
evening with rousing allegro performances from Daniel Ulbricht in the Third
Campaign and Sara Mearns as the Liberty Bell. Unfortunately Savannah
Lowery suffered an injury from a fall she incurred while leading the Second
Campaign. One of her solos was omitted from the section, and she was eventually
replaced for the finale.
This ballet is a crowd pleaser for its Sousa music and its regimented technical spectacle. Daniel Ulbricht doesn't just do fast, tidy double tours, he does them with amazing elevation. As with Ms. Bouder, his crossed beats were a delight du jour.
The corps was tremendous in all three pieces on Thursday. However, Haglund must mention Lauren King as one to watch closely in future performances. She truly is a gem undergoing polishing. This evening she was one of four demi-soloists in Serenade and The Magic Flute. A magnetic performer with a beaming smile, she seems to be having the time of her life dancing in the corps at the New York City Ballet.
The evening was a testament to powerful programing packed
with variety, grand music, and magnificent performances. But even Haglund is shocked to be bestowing this Sizzle silver Pump Bump Award on Peter Martins' The Magic Flute:
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