Haglund's Heel

NYCB Nutcracker returns – 11/26

This opening night of Nutcracker at New York City Ballet was far more than the patched-up performance that we were expecting. Nobody under twelve years old was on the stage due to the inability to vaccinate the younger kids prior to the start of rehearsals. Did it make a difference that we saw experienced older kids and teenagers dancing the parts usually reserved for the tiniest students? Yeah, some. But we’ve got to thank the older kids for stepping in to save NYCB’s Nutcracker season. Everyone did a fabulous job. 

 

The Act I party scene seemed thinly populated as did the troops in the fight scene with the mice. Maybe everyone was conscious of social distancing, but the action seemed less packed and eventful than usual. All of Act I was carefully danced, perhaps a little over-studied - we’re always looking for that kid who consumes too much sugar before the performance and gets carried away to the very edge of Nutcracker delinquency. We’ll check back later in the run. The new dresses for the children in the Party Scene that featured soft pinks and rich browns were quite pretty.

 

KJ Takahashi as the toy Soldier calibrated his four 1-¼ tours like he was doing them inside a cube. Precision and accuracy defined.

 

The Bunny was every mouse king’s nightmare in the fight scene. He was a – he was a – he was an animal! The Bunny grabbed hold of the Mouse King’s tail and swung him around like an Olympic hammer throw. The Mouse King didn’t know what attacked his rear. The Bunny’s dash & grab was fleet and with perfectly measured force. And as we’ve come to expect, it came just in time to save the Nutcracker Prince from the Mouse King’s sword.

 

The Snowflakes were lovely. A near collision with a snowdrift on the left side of the stage during the opening crisscrossing was covered quickly. It’s always a joy to see the aculeate hot feet of Emma Von Enck melt the snow in this section of the ballet.

 

Growth happens. In Act II, all the Polichinelles couldn’t fit under Mother Ginger’s skirt; so, the little “boy” Polichinelles arrived and departed while hiding behind the skirt. It almost worked. The Angels were most affected by size. The choreography, particularly the port de bras while holding the trees, has always been a challenge for the littlest ones. They do tend to struggle while trying to hold the trees up straight in front of themselves and have to search for the precise position of the arms overhead. Seeing older children cover the choreography point by point had a literal connect-the-dots feeling.

 

Daniel Ulbricht’s crew of Candy Canes were sequoias-in-the-making. Were they taller than Ulbricht? Possibly. It made for an interesting contrast. But truth be told, whenever Ulbricht dances Candy Cane, we don't watch the kids that much. It’s great to have the consistent brilliance of his performance in this role year in and year out.

 

Georgina Pazcoguin performed Coffee with the darkness and gravity that made us feel like we were being sucked into a black hole from which we would never escape. She’s entitled to her interpretation. What she’s not entitled to is to continually jingle the bells on her costume back stage while the Sugar Plum Fairy is performing her variation. Why does this artist try so hard to be obnoxious?

 

Tiler Peck’s Dewdrop was everything we expected and more. We’ll never tire of the musicality, radiance, and jubilation that infuses her interpretation of this role.

 

Our Sugarplum Fairy, Megan Fairchild, danced with the youthful glow and confident grace of a ballerina in the masterfully prolonged sweet spot of her career. A dropped fairy wand didn’t phase her for even a second. Her Cavalier, Gonzalo Garcia, rocked the white tights and was as gallant as anyone could wish. A few overly excited turns a la second started to waver off course, but Garcia managed to save them with a squeaky clean finish.

 

Given the obstacles, NYCB exceeded our expectations with this Nutcracker. Did we miss the magic that the littlest kids bring to the stage? Yeah. But…

 

Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, best expressed by Steve Madden’s jewels and spikes, is bestowed upon the amazing Megan Fairchild for her rock steady brilliance and grace as the Sugarplum Fairy.

 

 

 

Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema is Back

This Sunday - live from Moscow - the Bolshoi Ballet will perform SPARTACUS! We don't know if all the regular cinemas will be open, but the stream will be available at Empire 25 on W 42nd St & 8th Ave, Kips Bay 15 at 570 Second Ave., and at Union Square 850 Broadway. Check for your area here. 

CAST
Spartacus: Igor Tsvirko
Phrygia: Anna Nikulina
Crassus: Artemy Belyakov
Aegina: Svetlana Zakharova
Gladiator: Denis Savin
and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet

This is sooo exciting. And to think that the Bolshoi's Jewels is coming up in January followed by Swan Lake and the Pharaoh's Daughter (Pierre Lacotte). How lucky we are to be able to see the Bolshoi's complete Jewels in January and then truck down to D.C. to see the Mariinsky's full length Jewels in April. You'd think that this would be a good year for NYCB to patch together a full Jewels, but no-o-o-o-o, they are presenting only 2/3 of the ballet as rep pieces.

Also, there will be a Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema Nutcracker stream on December 19th.

 

 

observations 11/2

Something tells us that NYCers who have a bad case of de blahs are going to feel a lot better after today. Sanity will soon be in sight -- so long as everyone gets out and votes. Today's the day.

––––––––––––––––––––

Today is also the day that Ballet Collective will livestream its 10th Anniversary performance at this link at 7:30 pm.  The performance which takes place at Bohemian National Hall on the Upper East Side of Manhattan is sold out. It will feature dancers from New York City Ballet and Martha Graham Dance Company as well as live music by the orchestral collective, The Knights . It will be a nice chance to get a post season glimpse of Lauren King, Ashley Laracey, Mira Nado, Emilie Gerrity, Anthony Huxley, Harrison Coll, and many others. Tune in tonight at 7:30 pm!

––––––––––––––––––––

Coming up at the end of the month at The Joyce Theater will be Parsons Dance with a load of new works including – hearts be still – David Parson's new dance set to Cat Stevens' Peace Train and other selections. Everyone jump on the Peace Train. Peace Train sounding louder. Oh lordy, Parsons is gonna take us there, isn't he. Oh I'm being followed by a moon shadow...

Tickets here! The season runs from 11/30 through 12/12. Performances will also include The Envelope and Caught.

 

 

ABT 10/23 Mat & Eve; 10/28 Everybody gets a break in the fall

The return of live ballet performances this fall has been a joyous time, but understandably it also yielded some sighs when the impact of the long pandemic layoff came into view on the stage. We're not going to dwell on the fact that not all of the dancers in NYCB and ABT came back conditioned like thoroughbreds or that the technical picture was sometimes sketchy. For the most part, the companies have performed remarkably considering the obstacles of the past couple of years. So for this first season back, we have been moderating our technique-related gripes.

At the October 23rd matinee, Cassandra Trenary and Calvin Royal danced Giselle and Albrecht for the first time. There was some confusion on their parts in Act I as to which ballet they were dancing. Giselle is not Juliet. Nor is Albrecht Romeo. But here we had a willful, sometimes irritable Juliet instead of the naive, overly-trusting, weak-hearted Giselle. And we had an affectionate Romeo whose gaze into Juliet's eyes was so sincere that we thought the scene might erupt into puppy kisses. This cuddly, winsome Romeo/Albrecht didn't have a deceitful bone in his body.

Some of Trenary's choices in Act I gave Giselle a backwoodsy twang from the waist up. Perhaps it was simply a matter of too many extra movements or trying too hard to stamp a personal style on the role. Overall, this Giselle was too wise in her ways. These days no woman wants to be known as a naive, overly-trusting village girl who falls for a two-timer, but that is exactly who Giselle is in Act I. Her German Renaissance upbringing meant that she was reared to be silent, obedient, chaste, and completely subservient to men. That's the character who we need to see regardless of the performer's own 21st century independence. And Act I Giselle must dance all the tough steps with a sunny day brilliance. Hmm.

Act II was unquestionably a success even though Giselle's rotating Awakening spin devolved into a Venn diagram. But we'd always rather see a courageous effort than a cowardly estimate of the spin. Happily, a number of Trenary's unique choices in Act II perfectly suited the dancer and character. The horizontal line of traveling arabesques with releves (after the entrechats quatre that traveled backward) were done with the arms straight to the side in second position for the first two releves wherein the third saw Giselle place her hands over her face and bring them downward to indicate her sorrow. Hard to describe but it was very lovely to watch and it revealed beautifully lengthened line in the upper body all the way through the back of the neck. Throughout, we sensed that both Giselle and Trenary were dancing as hard as their hearts would allow -- just what we wanted to see.

Royal's Albrecht was the very definition of average. There was nothing in his technical or theatrical portrayal that a dozen corpsmen couldn't have produced on stage. It was the type of performance that ABT used to take on tour to the likes of Podunk to give a dancer some experience, not put it on the New York stage. Haglund recalls one such performance back in the '80s or so when a touring ABT cast Julie Kent in the lead of Theme and Variations -- Balanchine's Theme and Variations. Maybe the experience made her stronger or maybe it merely toughened up the audience.

It wouldn't hurt ABT to have annual principal role qualifying exams. Say, for instance, Ballerina X or M decides she'd like to dance Swan Lake or Don Quixote. She would be required to demonstrate that she possesses the role's technical skills before the company invests time in her. It would make for a much more honest ABT, a company that needs strengthening in the areas of honesty and merit management.

Technique worries faded away in the evening performance led by Christine Shevchenko and Aran Bell. There was never a concern that we might not get all the hops on pointe or an awakening spin that blurred our vision or entrechats-six that devoured eight-counts like Joey Chestnut downing hotdogs. Yep, the Joey Chestnut of entrechats-six just kept putting them away one after another. We hadn't seen anything like that since Bolle's performance-saving 30-some entrechats-six back in 2012. But Bell produced far more than well-dressed hotdogging. His performance was as theatrically potent as it was technically strong. In recent seasons, the natural reserve of his corpsman years that could seem like military seriousness has given way to thoughtful, thought-out dramatic interpretation. He has our full attention -- as does Shevchenko.

Oh what a happy day it was to finally meet Shevchenko's Giselle in a breath-snatching beauty of a debut. When this dancer joined the corps de ballet more than a dozen years ago, she had short arms, short legs, and a long torso. Now her line is like one long note of beautiful song. Watching her transformation from when she was a last minute substitute for Gillian Murphy in Ratmansky's Piano Concerto No.1 back in 2013 to her tackling of Balanchine roles to her revelatory performances in the classics has been a most satisfying journey. Her Giselle this season was classical perfection -- an interpretation heavenly stylized with generous but immaculate port de bras, gently curved leg lines, and the lightness of an angel.

La Follia Variations, Pillar of Fire, and Zig-Zag comprised Thursday's mixed bill .

A clear look at Lauren Lovette's La Follia Variations revealed the need for a backdrop that could tie together the various bright, but clashing colors of the interesting costumes. The ballet itself looked unedited -- full of little choreographic ideas that were incongruous and failed to create a composition. But we look forward with interest to Lovette's next endeavor.

In Antony Tudor's Pillar of Fire, Gillian Murphy was riveting as the desperate, sexually repressed Hagar. The despair in her Graham-like contract-strike-poses on pointe with bended knees was felt in the viewer's own gut. Cory Stearns as the Young Man from the House Opposite nailed the unsubtle dangerous sexuality of his character in addition to nailing Hagar. In contrast, Thomas Forster as The Friend was sensitive and supporting and presumably forgiving before dancing off with her. Stephanie Petersen, as the spinster Elder Sister, flexed her stern authority over Hagar and delivered withering looks of disapproval that further tortured her. Zimmi Coker, as the Youngest Sister, flipped her curls with Na-nana-naa-nah and stole attention like pretty little sisters always do.

It was such a treat to see Pillar of Fire again. The performances of everyone in the cast were detailed, dramatic, and outstanding in every way. It was so fulfilling to watch that Haglund decided that it was a good way to end the day.

Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, a diamond and pearl embellished leather stiletto, is bestowed upon Christine Shevchenko for her exquisitely classical portrayal of Giselle.

 

ABT 10/21 Reaching the Summit, twice in one day

Spectacular doesn't begin to describe yesterday. These types of days can only happen in New York; one simply cannot experience them anywhere else.

We reached the first summit of the day around 1 PM. After donning protective shoe coverings and  complimentary sunglasses, we climbed into an elevator to be launched up to the 93rd floor of the new One Vanderbilt skyscraper. The ascent was bladder-activatingly fast, noisy, and filled with flashing light. When the elevator door opened, the sunlight beamed in so brightly that it could have been that end-of-life moment that people talk about. We'd never before stood within a light so intense and so beautiful. But like a few other things in New York, it was mostly fake -- the light was created by floor & ceiling mirrors that reflected the sunlight with imaginative refraction. Make no mistake, it was still the most impressive view in our land of tall buildings.

 

Our second summit came mid-evening when Skylar Brandt and Herman Cornejo as Giselle and Albrecht transcended all definitions of spectacular. Stephanie Petersen danced a memorable debut as Myrta -- sometimes like cold steel, sometimes like the hot sparks that jump from the steel when the welder's torch hits it. Andrii Ischuk, a graduate of Edward Ellison's fine academy in Manhattan, continued the ABT tradition of making the role of Hilarion an eye-catching principal-level role with limitless opportunity for character development.

Act I of Giselle can be difficult to sit through if the principals are colorless. During the performance the night before this one, we wondered just how long it was going to take the paint to dry. We also wondered if the pandemic had somehow stolen our passion for this ballet. But a good night's sleep and an energizing bolt up 93 floors into the sky had a resilient effect.

There wasn't a sleepy nanosecond in Skylar's and Herman's Act I. We were absorbed by their full investment in the mime. They managed to convey the complexity of two people who love each other but shouldn't really be together because their core values are polar opposite: Youthful Giselle desires true love and faithfulness whereas mature Albrecht wants true love with Giselle while he's living a lie with Bathilde. Then when he breaks Giselle's heart and she dies, he acts like he's the victim. Oh but they did it with such style.

Every pirouette, the circles of jetes, the sweet ballonés -- they all clicked together like puzzle pieces to reveal a big picture. When Giselle played the little game of "he loves me, he loves me not" with the daisy and discovered that the petals didn't add up to happiness, Albrecht revealed early signs of duplicitous behavior by stripping a petal from the daisy to fudge the final count.

Act II was as phenomenal as any in memory and perhaps more so because of little touches like Skylar ascending to a full releve on pointe for the final revolution of her furious Awakening spin. The visual effect was stunning and completely unexpected. Her Giselle tore through the allegro as though possessed and unable to quiet the spirit within.

Herman delivered exceptional partnering, fine-tuned acting, and glorious solos. His dancing may seem to have a few vulnerabilities compared to what it once was, but he still blazes past everyone else at ABT.

Skylar's Giselle has been so lovingly detailed by Irina Dvorovenko and Max Beloserkovsky that it wouldn't be a stretch to say that those two were also stars of the show. Upon leaving the theater, we happened to walk by Irina and wanted to drop to our knees to kiss her stilettos and thank her for creating this jewel of a Giselle. Instead we walked on, sniffling as we remembered Irina's last Giselle which should never have been her final one.

Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Louboutin corpus 100 stiletto, is bestowed upon Skylar Brandt for her brilliant and beautiful interpretation of Giselle.

 

Maria Kowroski's Farewell Astrorina hits apogee; returns to Earth safely

It's impossible to count the many times in the past 25+ years that Maria Kowroski has rocketed through the balletic Kármán Line to deliver celestial performances. As proof, those who were listening closely last week may have even heard William Shatner whisper as he stared out the window from the edge of space, "My god, I feel like Maria Kowroski."

In a well planned Farewell performance yesterday, Maria personally saluted Balanchine, Bigonzetti, and Wheeldon by dancing their works and called on Sterling Hyltin and Gonzalo Garcia to dance a representative Robbins piece. Opening with the first Pas de Deux from Chaconne opposite Russell Janzen proved to be a fitting choice. The artists' limbs homed in on beautiful balletic lines as the flute wept its long notes of goodbye. Maria exited the stage in Chaconne, her leg pawing the air like the mythological Pegasus cantering above the clouds with Janzen providing her wings.

But Maria was not done flying on this day – she just had to change vehicles. After a few lovely minutes of Opus 19/The Dreamer, Maria returned to the stage for an excerpt from DGV: Danse a Grande Vitesse. While holding Maria horizontally high over his head, Tyler Angle backed onto the stage slowly like he was marshalling a jumbo jet off the runway and into its assigned gate. The excerpt was simply phenomenal. There was no need for scenery or other principal dancers, just a seamless corps that moved with linear precision in the background sort of like we see in Robbins' Glass Pieces.

The presumably final ever performance of Bigonzetti's AMARIA, which the choreographer made as a tribute to Maria and Amar Ramasar who will retire next spring, somehow looked more cohesive than any of its previous performances. It's hard to say why it was different. Perhaps after a few outings, the choreography had finally crossed over from being staged to being organic. It was much more watchable.

We then had the first and only intermission of the fall season. Oh my goodness, at the orchestra level social distancing gave way to social cavorting with thinly veiled loose lips kissing and gossiping nose-to-nose. Good luck to all those social butterflies; the incubation period is typically 2 to 14 days.

Finally we got to the finale of the finale and boy was it ever a grand finale. Slaughter On Tenth Avenue was the dance party on stage to end all parties. Every character was bigger than big. Maria and Tyler Angle spent it all on the dance floor. The Bartenders, Alec Knight and Jules Mabie, were uncorked. Ask la Cour, making a post-retirement appearance as Big Boss, was clearly off the leash. The rest of the cast was marvelous as well. This ballet is really all about the stripper's legs. And there are no legs that are more eloquent or have more flash & beautiful form than Maria Kowroski's. She let 'em go and the crowd went wild. Ecstatic joy to the back of the 4th Ring.

The final bows, the flowers, the cheers went on for several minutes. Maria's final fling on the stage brought a lot of artists back together and brought many back to their old home to pay tribute to her. We were there because we loved her dancing; others were there because they loved her as a friend. So much love.

Last week an emotional William Shatner was struggling for words to describe what it was like going over the Kármán Line. He finally just said, "I hope I never recover from this." Our feelings exactly after yesterday's celebration.

Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, special-ordered from Amazon, is bestowed upon Maria Kowroski. Live long and prosper.

 

 

NYCB 10/15 & 10/16Launch of the New Shepherd

It was billed as a debut, but it was really so much more. Friday evening, Isabella LaFreniere danced the lead ballerina role in Balanchine's Chaconne for the first time opposite veteran Adrian Danchig-Waring. Chaconne is one of those Balanchine "big ballerina roles" -- a role that requires big technical chops, big expansive style, big glamorous stage presence, and big lungs. This week one of our cherished caretakers of the Balanchine big ballerina roles retires which means we're going to need one or more new shepherds to tend to our flock of these treasured ballets.

A corps member for seven or eight years, LaFreniere was recognized early on by balletomanes as a potential trustee of these ballets. The flashing eyes of the new tall dancer in the corps first caught our attention. They had the intensity of a young cat cautiously assessing whether the humans on the other side of the footlights were friendly and safe. Then it was the length of line from the tips of the fingers to the tips of the toes, a form so beautifully statuesque that it could be the center of a grand marble fountain. But it was the dancer's impeccable technique and luxurious authority that have delighted us through these years above all else. We remember how that first Dewdrop on Christmas Eve in 2016 nearly stunned us into believing in Santa again. Look at what we got, Mom! We've had to endure a few letdowns over the years when injuries prevented LaFreniere from launching big debuts. A missed debut in Firebird had balletomanes moping around in melodramatic sorrow for quite a while. As of right this moment, we're totally over it. Let's go let's go let's go!

Friday night's debut and a repeat performance on Saturday night each thrilled for their own reasons. Friday night brought us everything in LaFreniere's dancing that we knew she had but we wondered if her lungs were going to give out right on stage. Her excited stress was palpable. Danchig-Waring, whose own dancing was brilliant in its force and clarity, had one of the broadest smiles on stage that we've ever seen from him. He knew LaFreniere was killing it and that he was helping to launch an important artist to the forefront. Saturday night's repeat brought a more relaxed ballerina who revealed more of her individuality. The typical pirouette of a NYCB ballerina is quite an up & down affair: they go up, flip-flip, and quickly come down. In contrast, LaFreniere went up, rotated rhythmically with the music, finished atop a solid balance, and came down when she was good & ready to come down. As a famous old teacher would have described it, she put love into the pirouette rather than trying to beat it out with force.

Emma Von Enk and Kennard Henson debuted in the secondary PdD. They were okay and we could see flashes of what might come in the future. The Pas de Trois was danced by Emily Kikta, Meaghan Dutton-O'Hara and Aaron Sanz. Yes, there is some artificiality built into the port de bras, particularly for the man who must hold his left arm up in an archaic fencing-type position throughout the dance, but Sanz incorporated too much flirtatious mugging at the audience. We wish he would dial it back.

Sandwiched between these two performances of Chaconne was a Saturday afternoon performance of La Valse in which we bid adieu to soloist Lauren King. Oh my goodness, how we have enjoyed and admired this artist's performances over the years. Look up ebullience in Merriam Webster and you will see Lauren listed as a synonym. In recent years, her debut in Emeralds with Daniel Applebaum was a season highlight for its eloquence, grace, and musical honesty. These artists danced together frequently throughout their careers as corps members and soloists. They complemented and flattered each other with a loving thoughtfulness and a joy that always added beauty to their dancing. We're going to miss that.

At the end of this season's most spirited performance of La Valse, Lauren King was Queen for a Day. Andrew Scordato marched out from the wing carrying a silver tray that had a huge outlandishly sparkling tiara. Dancers descended upon Lauren with many hands fussing over the tiara on her head, making sure that it was just so and royally fitting. As she took her final bow and disappeared behind the theater's curtain, the joyous whooping of her colleagues could still be heard as the stage was being prepared for the next ballet.

We bestow this most pink, bubbling H.H. Pump Bump Award upon Lauren King with thanks for providing us with many wonderful times in the theater.

 

 

NYCB Pedals to the Metal

When a car has been dormant in a garage for a year and a half, it will take a fair amount of maintenance to get it running in top form again. The drive belts have to be replaced because they’ve dried out and cracked. The fuel pump will need to be replaced. The radiator has to be flushed out. Oil and filter will need changing. Brake and steering fluids will need changing. And most importantly, one must pump out the old gas and replace it with fresh gas — and that seems to be what’s happening at New York City Ballet — they’re pumping out the old gas and replacing it with fresh gas.

 

After some mechanic's tinkering and test track runs, NYCB, which began the season like the Little Nash Rambler (beep beep) is finishing as the Porsche Carrera we know it can be -- roaring toward the finale furioso of its fourth week. Don’t misunderstand — we’re not referring to our beloved retiring artists as old gas. Maria Kowroski, Ask la Cour, and Lauren Lovette have turned out high level performances equal to what they’ve done their entire careers. We’re just saying, well, you know...

 

We need to digress a moment — there are members of the Damrosch Park Corps de Azaleas who have thrown some autumn blooms! They’ve pushed little blossoms right through their fall foliage as if to say, “Dormant schmormant, we haven’t danced in 18 months. Don’t try to stop us now!” Don’t even suggest that plants don’t possess emotion and soul. Look at these little warriors fighting their ways to the stage. We are all so proud of you little azaleas for sticking it out this past long, long year and a half and showing everyone your big hearts and how determined you are to bring beauty to this world.

 

Which brings us to NYCB's spectacular Corps de Ballet. Oh my goodness, how the ladies have taken over the season every time they have revved up Serenade. Even though the soloists were all lovely, with special applause to Lauren Lovette on her final Waltz Girl, the Corps de Ballet’s heart was beating stronger than ever. Maestro Otranto’s swift tempos and the bold strings of NYCB’s incredible orchestra seemed to inspire the dancers to spend everything they had on this masterpiece. Mimi Staker has found new passion in her performing and is drawing our focus in everything she dances. Alexa Maxwell’s new mature elegance replaced youthful kittenishness. Isabella LaFreniere, Christina Clark, Emily Kikta, and Mira Nadon simply astounded us with the breadth of their dancing. The corps' commitment to this choreography remains as strong as ever. We never hear corps dancers complain about being cast in Serenade.

 

The Corps de Ballet in performances of Chaconne was equally impressive with several dancers excelling in demi-soloist roles. We never hear corps dancers complain about being cast in Chaconne.

 

Sunday's matinee saw Maria Kowroski sign off on the Facades PdD with Russell Janzen. Exquisite as always, they celebrated line and length gloriously. Both have such quiet power and unforced elegance.

 

Mira Nadon and Isabella LaFreniere, new as soloists in the Rubric section this year, revealed sleek lines with maximum stretch. The men’s corps in Glass Pieces finally pulled it together for the last performance on Sunday. Jonathan Fahoury, Davide Riccardo, and Andres Zuniga pushed the pedal to the floor to yield spectacular dancing that was as precise as it was fast and huge. We never hear corps dancers complain about being cast in Glass Pieces.

 

Emily Kikta - ten years in the corps; Ashley Hod and Alexa Maxwell - eight years in the corps; Isabella LaFreniere and Mimi Staker - seven years in the corps. These supremely talented corps women dance every step of every Balanchine ballet like it is the most important assignment of their lives. They don’t “rest” in corps roles because they might be understudying demi-soloist or principal opportunities. We don’t hear them complain about being cast in the corps of Diamonds; they understand that it is a privilege to dance in that ballet anywhere on the stage.

 

So this past week, here comes corps dancer India Bradley who is invited by NYT’s Gia Kourlas to try to further her career by trashing NYCB. Bradley, who became a corps member three years ago, has danced approximately a year and a half as a corps member due to the closure of the theater during the pandemic. A year and a half. She declared to Kourlas (who as we know has a specific Woke agenda that she prioritizes over the truth) that performing in Diamonds corps was not really doing much for her dancing and intimated that she’ll leave within five years if she doesn’t get more opportunity. After a year and a half of dancing corps roles in Balanchine’s masterpieces, she has deemed herself to be deserving of greater opportunities that will further her career. Her Instagram page is all ready for promotion and fame; she just needs NYCB management to fall in line behind her.

 

After reading Bradley’s pathetic complaints, we focused on her corps work in Agon on Friday evening. What an embarrassment. She couldn’t manage a fast grand plie and fell out of most of her double pirouettes. She looked like she was marking while the other corps members were dancing as large as possible. Pardon our brusqueness, but who the hell does she think she is? Maybe after she spends seven, eight, or ten years in the corps, she might be able to approximate the quality of a Hod, Kikta, Maxwell, Staker, or LaFreniere. But let’s not torture Ms. Bradley with a Diamonds corps assignment ever again. And let’s not torture the audience by putting her in Agon again until she can do the steps.

 

Speaking of Agon, Maria Kowroski will sign off on this role with Amar Ramasar this Thursday night. On Friday night, she scrawled her signature across this masterpiece like Jimmy Page signing his guitar. Ain’t nobody ever gonna forget Maria in Agon. She and Amar amplified the architectural genius of this work by making sure that every shape was picture-worthy and every connection had us guessing which person was really in control. The whole match came to an electric and dramatic draw with the power of Page’s Stairway to Heaven. Don’t miss their final performance on Thursday night!

 

Megan LeCrone, Anthony Huxley, Ashley Hod, Andres Zuniga, Sara Adams and Sebastian Villarini-Velez gave strong performances. Huxley’s had the perfect attitude percolating within the Sarabande. While watching the corps, we kept thinking about what Christina Clark’s exacting limbs could add to the architecture of the main Pas de Deux.

 

We saw La Valse on Friday evening as well. It just wasn’t quite ready in sections. There was a late substitution of Joseph Gordon for Taylor Stanley. Gordon of course performed well with Sterling Hyltin, but at times there seemed to be a lot of thinking by the two about what came next. Ashley Laracey and Lauren King were exquisite in the demi-soloist roles. We’ll miss Lauren for a long time after she retires this coming week, but luckily we’ll still have Ashley whose refined elegance softly glows more beautifully with each passing season.

 

We sat through Peck’s Pulcinella Variations, mostly with annoyance, but with new interest in Chun Wai Chan, the soloist who recently arrived from Houston Ballet who seems able to do everything and make it all look interesting and important. We’ve always liked Tsumori Chisato’s sunflower costume for the role generally danced by Indiana Woodward. Actually, it’s half of a sunflower with the other half of the tutu petals missing. It’s all very interesting, and Woodward - a sunflower herself - makes it work wonderfully. But when Emma Von Enck danced the role during the first week of the season, she gave a different effect. Instead of being the sunflower, she was like a little bee who had landed atop the sunflower. Her amused look out at the audience seemed to ask, “Want me to sting you? Watch this.” Suffice to say, she killed the choreography much the way Huxley dispatches his with almost superhuman articulation and speed. Quite an impressive debut from a unique artist.

 

After the Rain has dried up and perhaps needs to be stored away for a while. As much as we have enjoyed Lauren Lovette’s dancing during her eleven years with the company, her debut in this ballet the day prior to her retirement was not her best choice. It came off as overly self-indulgent instead of the quiet introspection of Kowroski or Wendy Whelan. Lauren almost danced it like it was a photo shoot for Nisian. Preston Chamblee had an easy assignment with the tiny Lovette and managed it well. Actually, he was the one with the quiet introspection that we hoped to see.

 

Ask la Cour retired on Saturday night by demonstrating his superb partnering in Monumentum pro Gesualdo, Movements for Piano and Orchestra, and After the Rain. Over the weeks, we watched him in M&M performances opposite both Mira Nadon and Teresa Reichlen - such different ballerinas who each have a unique voice that makes us listen to different parts of the music. It would have been nice to see him perform Phlegmatic from The Four Temperaments because he made that role so uniquely his own. The black & white Balanchine ballets were his specialty and his absence will be felt.

 

We wish Lauren and Ask the best on whatever paths they embark. Hopefully we will have a chance to see Lauren dance again some day; it seems she desires to explore the more classical side of her art form. So we will watch for that. Principals and soloists are ever important to our enjoyment of NYCB, but its heart and soul are the hardworking, disciplined, committed artists of the Corps de Ballet. We salute you with an H.H. Pump Bump Award, our Lamborghini First Position stiletto, to be shared equally among all.

 

 

 

 

 

observations 10/7

It's terrific news to hear that NYCB has promoted Unity Phelan and Roman Mejia to principal and soloist, respectively. Unity somehow made steady progress throughout the year and a half pause due to the pandemic and truly has come back to the stage dancing at a high principal level.

Congratulations to both! However, management's cheeseparing with regard to promotions is really hard to understand considering the number of announced retirements and the number of should-be-announced retirements. Is there some type of filibuster going on with regard to Harrison Ball, Emily Gerrity, Sebastian Villarini-Velez, Kikta, LaFreniere, Clark, Von Enck Jr., Nadon, Riccardo, Hod, Maxwell, and Fahoury? NYCB needs to replace more than just a couple of bricks in the upper floors of the House of Balanchine.

Edited to add:

Let's add our congratulations to Indiana Woodward as well who has been promoted to principal!

NYCB episode of: Love It or List It

Haglund was thrilled to be able to bring his HGTV BFFs Hilary Farr and David Visentin to the NYCB Fall Fashion Gala last night.

It was quite the chore getting past the gala crowd corralled outside to find the "performance only peons" queue. Hilary remarked, "The building structure is lovely on the outside. Clean lines. A spacious inviting entry." David replied, "They always look nice on the outside. The truth is on the inside. This could end up being another full gut-reno."

We made it past the vaccine verification checkpoint smoothly and into the lobby. Hilary gazed at the ceiling, "Well isn't this nice - it's a gleaming open-concept with perfect traffic patterns. Obviously, the architect was ahead of his time." David said, "Oh yeah, Hilary? Look at this bathroom." Hilary's eyes squinted up like she got stinging soap in them, "This is unacceptable. There's no room for even a hand towel. Guests have to stand around in a line." David, becoming more confident, said, "True, Hilary, and I will have just the answer for that problem in another property." Hilary smirked, "Silly David. Let's have a look at the main living area."

Of course, we sat in the 4th Ring so as not to cause any celebrity-type disruptions and to get the best overall perspective of what was happening on both sides of the footlights. There seemed to be a lot of celebrity disturbances going on outside the theater. (Did anyone else see the lady who was poured into the yellow dress with her girls and nipples overflowing like the Revson Fountain on a rainy day? What exactly was she offering?)

David didn't care for our 4th Ring seats, "Couldn't we move down a level? That bossy chandelier is bothering my sight line." Hilary cut to the chase, "It won't annoy you when the performance starts. Try to focus, David, try to focus for once. You know, David, I originally wanted to be a ballet dancer. I actually attended the Royal Ballet School until I was about 11." David smirked, "I always knew that you must have had some special training in order to stay so skinny." Hillary, "Don't be such a prissy bitch, David." It was time for Haglund to intervene before the conversation went south.

We opened our Playbills for a quick look before the lights dimmed for some speeches. Boy, did the ears of the orchestra members perk up when new board chair Diana Taylor bragged that the gala had raised a whopping $2 million. Wow, how tactless to flaunt your money bags while stiffing the people who you owe. David couldn't contain himself and blurted out, "Pay the orchestra, dammit!"

Thank goodness we got to Jerome Robbins' Glass Pieces before David shattered audience protocol again. Amar Ramasar gave a final salute to the Facades PdD with the best fashion of the evening. Maria Kowroski will sign off on the role with a last performance on October 10th opposite Russell Janzen. On this night, both artists plumbed the depths of Robbins' originality -- his streamlined choreography for streamlined dancers to minimalist music provoked extra stretch and length in the limbs. Torsos, arms, and legs melded with the comfort of twenty years dancing together. It almost felt like we were intruding on a private goodbye.

The Rubric soloists were more settled into their roles than during their first performance last week. Ashley Hod danced spectacularly to the edge of every count and needs to officially come out of the corps for more soloist work. She's almost the textbook case of how a decade of corps work strengthens a young dancer and ripens artistry and maturity. But it's time for a lead in Agon as well as more sparkling ballerina roles.

Davide Riccardo has shot to the forefront of everyone's attention, not surprisingly, with his 1000% efforts, smooth partnering, and pristine technique. Anyone who watched his SAB performances, particularly opposite Mira Nadon, knows that he  possesses unique talent, unique discipline, and that je ne sais quoi that grabs the viewer's attention. His soloist work in Rubric and corps work in Akhnaten were exceptional--intense, joyous, limitless.

Also catching our attention in Glass Pieces this season have been Jonathan Fahoury, Olivia Boisson, and Emma Von Enck. Fahoury, especially, moves like the quintessential NYCB dancer with such seriousness of purpose and the ability to surprise the viewer with the intensity of his musicality. Those qualities brought back a flood of memories of Jennie Somogy who danced with a similar controlled force. What a pair they would have made...

Hilary and David thoroughly enjoyed Glass Pieces. Hilary said, "There's really not much I could do to improve it. Maybe reduce the shine on the unitards. But, really, it's a museum piece that's not a museum piece because it contains so much present day truth. Any updating would just clutter it up. Who wants to see the Rubric corps maneuvering around outdoor dining tables, people sleeping over sidewalk grating, and hand trucks barrelling through the crowds." Then the two of them put Haglund on the spot, " So Mr. H., are you going to love it or are you going to list it?" Of course Haglund replied, "I'm going to (pregnant pause) love it."

On to the next two pieces which were premieres commissioned for the gala. Sidra Bell's Suspended Animation and Andrea Miller's sky to hold were equally terrible, equally a waste of money, equally a waste of expenditure of calories but served the concept of the fashion gala well. There is simply nothing worthwhile that either choreographer has to offer NYCB. The company may as well hire Béla Károlyi to create a gala dance or Jim Carrey or Elon Musk or Bernie Sanders. Neither Bell nor Miller possess a ballet vocabulary beyond what one sees in a local avocational class in the evening; so it should come as no surprise that their works communicated nothing on this stage. It all looked the same: do a couple of movements, stop, wave arms, repeat. Then let Harrison Ball or Taylor Stanley do some frenetic movements that they helped the choreographers make up. Push the boundaries of ballet by putting Peter Walker on stage with his ponytail and beard in a pink tutu and of course turn Sara Mearns' melodramatic facial expressions and long hair loose. It all was beyond terrible, but at least it wasn't offensive.

Christopher John Rogers' costumes for Bell's dance were vibrant, colorful, catwalk-worthy designs. We mentioned Walker's pink tutu, but there were other pleasant examples of wearable art (not danceable art): a huge orange dress for Emily Kikta, a green contraption with unlikely hat for Megan LeCrone, and an elaborate sultry blue costume for the always sultry Mira Nadon. Esteban Cortazar's costumes for Miller's dance better incorporated the fabric into the choreography. The gauzy strips sometimes accented the dancers' lines as they moved. Men were draped to the same extent as the women, and there was plenty of "everyone dances with everyone" lip service. Men leaped into women's arms, women sat atop women's shoulders, men sat atop men's shoulders. Thankfully, the choreographer didn't go so far as to ask Baily Jones to carry Preston Chamblee, but you get the idea. All of it was a woke-lame load of waste.

Hilary and David sat there almost speechless. Almost. David said, "Well, Hilary, not much you can do with that. You might as well concede to me now." Hilary shook her head, "Not even gut-renos would save these two. We should burn them to the ground and start over. Not even The Property Brothers would take on these projects." Then they put Haglund on the spot again, "Mr. H., are you going to love them or are you going to list them." Haglund replied, "I'm going to (pregnant pause) list them."

So that's the way the gala went. Unfortunately, Haglund can't bear to sit through the two new dances again and and thus will miss Western Symphony which is included on the bill on future dates. If NYCB had put Western Symphony on the front of the bill, many would be willing to buy tickets and then leave at the pause. But sit through this crap again - no thanks.

Glass Pieces saved the evening. And so, we bestow the H.H. Pump Bump Award upon Amar Ramasar and Maria Kowroski. If only red and blue could always work so well together...