NYCB Swan Lake 9/26Less is more

What totally surprising, totally terrific debuts in Swan Lake last night by Megan Fairchild and Gonzalo Garcia. Gone were the excessive arm flapping, angst, and cat-howling of other NYCB Odettes. Gone was the deer-in-the-headlights expression on Siegfried’s face when it was time to convey his deep love for Odette along with a realization that he had been bamboozled by another's pretty face. Despite the fact that these were principal debuts, they were, in fact, mature, fully thought out character interpretations with lots and lots of traditional-style Swan Lake dancing. And finally, there was some magic between the dancers in the principal roles.

Megan’s choice of port de bras for Odette looked more like the variant that we have seen in clips from Ratmansky’s restoration for La Scala and Zurich Ballet than what we have been accustomed to seeing of late from both of our New York companies. It was softly expressive with shapes that were more like wide arcs than frantic up & down Ws. This Odette was so beautifully lifted in the torso that we could envision her in flight. 

Oh, how Haglund wants to see Megan's Odile again. She was spit-in-your-face cunningly gorgeous. We’ll cut her some slack for holding back the virtuosity — she is one of two debutantes who we know can rip through Odile’s pirouette/ en dehors attitude / plie with triple pirouettes and double or triple turns in attitude. But Megan wasn’t going to mess up her debut by getting greedy. Maybe she’ll get greedy at the Saturday matinee.

Gonzalo Garcia seems to have found his niche in the NYCB roles that call for imaginative, convincing acting. Last night in his Siegfried debut, he looked as though he had been portraying this character his whole life. Haglund totally believed what he was seeing on the stage. Technical aspects of his dancing seemed to be emboldened by the opportunity to infuse a story into the steps. All of it was just terrific. 

Harrison Coll appeared for the second time as Benno. The character portrayal was very good, but we wish the dancing showed more flexibility and extension, particularly in the arabesque and with the back leg in jumps which should be higher and more dramatic. But he had the crowd in the palm of his hand the whole time. His rapport with the audience is going to quickly make him a favorite as he steps out more and more in featured roles.

Sebastian Villarini-Velez gave a controlled and energetic performance as the Jester — on par with Troy Schumacher’s and Spartak Hoxha’s portrayals. Georgina Pazcoguin and Sean Suozzi led the Hungarian Dance with panache and exuburance. Ashley Hod was a standout in the Pas de Quatre for the ease in her gazelle-like jump and extraordinary charm.

There is nothing that we liked about the corps’ choreography; so, we’ll skip over it except to say that it adds nothing to the production but irksome jerkiness.

Our H.H. Pump Bump Award by Roger Vivier is bestowed upon Megan Fairchild for her unexpectedly authentic portrayals of Odette and Odile.

 

 

Comments

[sm]

I am so happy Megan Fairchild was given this opportunity. Hopefully it will set a trend that ends the "excessive arm flapping, angst, and cat-howling".

[Sarah H.]

Dear Haglund,
I'm coming out of longtime lurkerdom to say how much I appreciate your review of last night's Swan and agree with it wholeheartedly. Like many, I've been so moved by the evolution in Megan Fairchild's dancing over the past couple of years. I was excited to see her Swan but also a little nervous. Would she be able to pull it off? At first, she looked so tiny on the stage, especially when compared with some of the taller NYCB dancers we see in this role, but soon she soon filled it with her expressive presence. Her Odile was indeed gorgeous. Somehow both spritely and womanly at the same time, she danced with a marvelous glint in her eyes that made the interpretation truly her own. As you said, there was magic between her and Garcia. You could feel their confidence in one another. Truly an evening I won't forget soon.

[Rose]

Megan Fairchild is easily the most talented, most nuanced female principal in the company. Why she seems to be overlooked by the media (rolling my eyes at you, MacCauley) in favor of Spongebob Squarepants or Ashley Bouder is beyond me. She's got it all. So glad Peter decided it was time for this Tiny Dancer to take flight.

[Cassie]

Haha which one do you mean by spongebob squarepants?

[yukionna]

I'm so glad to hear Megan's debut went great! I'm looking forward to see her and Tiler this weekend.

[jennifer G]

I have to live vicariously through you Haglund! I knew Megan would be gorgeous. Her dancing has developed so much since her debut on Broadway (and her divorce). She deserves every accolade that comes her way. I hope to see her as O/O someday soon!

Cassie - I must admit that elicited a chuckle haha. I think Rose was referring to SM (whose maudlin facial expressions I am so over).

[cassie]

hahahaha thanks Jennifer G! Glad to have made you laugh. I do like Sara and Tiler as well but I just feel that the spotlight is too heavily placed on them sometimes (mostly thanks to Alistair McCauley). I've always loved Megan because she is very honest and open about her struggles and how she tries to overcome them--that's so rare for an artist because most of them I feel try and seem perfect and invincible on the surface. IT's of course exciting to see someone like Tiler perform-- picture perfect and so naturally gifted technically at everything, but I've always been a cheerleader for the underdogs and I have over the years gained MUCH more satisfaction from the more nuanced less flashy but earnest performances from Megan Fairchild, and I really do wish others could acknowledge how tremendously she has grown as an artist.