The Koch was about a third empty this afternoon for the first Four Voices program. Lots of no-shows. Too bad - they missed some good dancing. Haglund got to move down to a front 2nd Ring seat.
The afternoon opened with Lynne Taylor-Corbett's Chiaruscuro which featured an absolute kick-ass performance by Jennie Somogyi. The center of attention for this piece is supposed to be the man - in this case Sebastien Marcovici - but today, all eyes were on Somogyi. Lithe and formidable in strength, she looked very good. The thrust and forward reach of her upper torso had a Milton Myers/Ailey-type force to it whereas the other two women, Janie Taylor and Faye Arthurs, could have just been modeling the choreography instead of dancing it. Marcovici, Daniel Ulbricht and Andrew Veyette can't be complained about and did, in fact, give committed, energetic performances. But oh, it's great to see Jennie Somogyi back.
The second offering was a Peter Martins' channel-switching-inducing piano ballet, Papillons. The program's notes said that this ballet had not been performed since its premiere in 1994. No wonder. Darci Kistler, Megan Fairchild, Jared Angle and Tyler Angle did the duty. What a waste. Haglund motions for an immediate moratorium on all piano ballets at The Koch. Seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Ratmantsky's Concerto DSCH featured Wendy Whelan, Ana Sophia Scheller, Benjamin Millepied, Joaquin De Luz and Gonzalo Garcia and a sharp and spirited corps. The trio of De Luz, Garcia and Scheller were the strongest element of the piece, all showing good humor and comedic timing. The choreography is a fresh change from the rest of the repertory. Ratmantsky clearly imposed his own unique and creative voice on these dancers with very good results.
Balanchine's Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet closed the program. This piece is actually four separate ballets strung together by the use of one piece of music and some similarities in costumes. Abi Stafford and Philip Neal started us off with a beautifully danced Allegro section. There is a genuine, non-pushy sweetness to Stafford that requires you to simply follow her all over the stage no matter where she goes or who else is dancing. Today, she was a dreamy girl delighted to be in pink tulle, ribbon streamers, and flowers in her hair. Kind of off in a fantasy. She and Neal are attractive together and appear to be a great stage match temperamentally.
Jenifer Ringer and Jared Angle led the second section, Intermezzo, with the expected elegance and romance. But Haglund was still thinking about Stafford and Neal at that point.
Then came Yvonne Borre and Andrew Veyette in the Andante. Haglund saw Borre last week in Vienna Waltzes and was pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the dancing and lack of distracting elements. Today she began very well but soon the stress-induced hand tremors came back and seemed to bring down the performance. They appear in conjunction with any hand-to-hand supported move when she just starts to lose nerve. This is so silly, because Borre is absolutely able to carry out these moves as well as most anyone else in that company. Haglund recommends a few sessions with a W W W sports psychologist.
The final section Rondo alla Zingarese was led by Maria Kowroski and Charles Askegard. Maria was everything that Haglund wrote about her last week. So just ditto all that here. A comment must be made about the surprisingly good performance of Askegard. Haglund has not seen him dance that well in years and years - maybe not ever. He's no danseur noble, but he sure sold us the show this afternoon. And hanging out in the back with the corps was the ever-lovely and observant Kaitlyn Gilliland, watching the details of Kowroski's moves, perhaps realizing that she, herself, is poised at the edge of her very own era.
So for today's lively performances, and in honor of Somogyi's return, Haglund awards this futuristic beyond-cool Pump Bump with cat-eye headlights.
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