Haglund enjoyed NYCB's full evening of
Stravinsky/Balanchine works Saturday night. There was a good sized crowd on
hand but apparently the word has not gotten around that the theater now opens a
half hour earlier so that patrons can enjoy a drink, sit on the soft comfy
chairs on the promenade and experience Henry
Leutwyler's stunning photography along the walls. The gift boutique is
well-stocked with some gem items including lots of old issues of Ballet Review
for $3 each. When Haglund bought a copy from 2001, the boutique volunteer
mentioned that someone had purchased 30 old issues that very afternoon. Also,
some of the big coffee table books are on sale. Really, People, getting to the
theater an extra half hour early is a great way to wind down from the day and
de-stress a bit before plopping the butt down in the chair for two
hours.
Also have to mention that it appears that some of the
ushers may have gone to charm school over the summer. "Good evening,
Gentlemen. Welcome. It's nice to have you here." Over and over again. Could
this be a trend? Perhaps New Yorkers will begin beating each other over the
head with politeness. Wouldn't that be something.
Monumentum Pro Gesualdo,
beautifully danced by Maria Kowroski with Charles
Askegard, and Movements for Piano and
Orchestra, again danced by Maria with Sebastien
Marcovici, are always paired on programs apparently because they have
always been paired on programs. When premiered in the early 1960s these pieces
were startling and inventive and shook up the concept of American ballet.
Today, they seem a little cliched and close to becoming museum pieces. It's
nobody's fault. It's just that over the past fifty years, we've seen so many
of the steps, combinations and patterns reused in other choreography – both
Balanchine's and others' – where it has been dialed up in intensity and adorned
with others' ideas of creativity. Every time someone has a brilliant, creative
idea which he brings to fruition, there are less brilliant and less
creative artists who can't come up with their own ideas, so they build on
someone else's successful work. Then the art form becomes saturated with
everyone's visions of someone else's original. Nevertheless, Maria is always
mesmerizing and the shapes which she manages with those exquisitely shaped limbs
are always stunning.
Duo Concertant still rings
original and inventive. Danced by Sterling Hyltin and
Jared Angle, it has lots of room for the dancers' personalities
to shine through. Haglund has seen Sterling Hyltin in this ballet twice – the
first time with Robert Fairchild. Have to say that Fairchild
delivered a richer theatrical reading of the ballet than Angle did. There was a
lot more communication and rapport between Fairchild and Hyltin than with Angle
and Hyltin. She was just lovely in every way but Angle needs to find a way to
get into the moment of the ballet. He just wasn't
present as much as he should have been.
Danses Concertantes led
by Megan Fairchild and Andrew Veyette was colorful and spirited. Balanchine created this piece for
the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1944 and then revised it for the 1972
Stravinsky Festival. The original Ballet Russe scenery and costume designs by
Eugene Berman continue to be used. The compact tutu worn by Fairchild is a gorgeous work
of art with its yellow center and dark gray outer edging with the under-layers of
tulle also dark gray. She and Veyette were splendid as they sliced through the
allegro sections. Haglund keeps thinking that Fairchild could be "taller" on
stage in a tutu if she maintained more space between her extensions and her
torso, i.e., legs not so high, and concentrated on pushing the top of that foot
over more.
Stravinsky Violin Concerto
closed the evening with a fantastic performance from Rebecca Krohn, Amar
Ramasar, Janie Taylor and Ask LaCour. Krohn simply
sizzled in her variations and in her PdD with Ramasar. She is looking extremely
strong, capable and confident - a matured artist. After seeing her expressive
interpretation of the Summer section of The Four
Seasons on Opening Night and her fine performance tonight, Haglund
looks forward to seeing how she handles some of the tutu roles this year.
The corps seemed more coordinated in the latter two pieces
than in the opening two. As last year, Lauren King continues
to draw the eye. While her technique is basically on par with the other
dancers, her warmth radiates far into the house and her communication and
rapport with her partners lights them up as well.
Haglund continues to be grateful for this new Fall Season
and bestows the evening's Pump Bump Award on Rebecca Krohn for her fiery feet in last night 's Stravinsky Violin Concerto:
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