New York City Ballet’s Opening Night on Tuesday began with a collective exhale from audience members, dancers, and musicians who had been holding their breath for the last 18 dark months. Or maybe it was more as though a relief valve had been spun open which released the pressurized sorrow and frustration from our losses over the past year and a half. It was good to see the familiar faces of those who have composed the core audience at NYCB for many years. Ah there’s that guy; glad he made it through, too. But there were people missing who never miss an opening night. So, while we were elated by the return of performances, it was difficult to shake off concern for those who did not show up.
It was good to be greeted by a long-familiar ticket taker in the lobby who was expertly teaching patrons how to use the new contactless ticket scan. But we wondered — how was Clemente, the long time ticket taker who retired the season just prior to the pandemic? Did he make it through? Tremendous credit is due to house management for smoothly introducing the new scanning and verification process and greeting everyone as though we were old friends. And the ushers deserve our appreciation for their vigilance and no-nonsense enforcement of the mask-wearing rule.
On opening night, we were in Balanchine’s classroom. After recently watching the fabulous so-named documentary currently down at the Film Forum, it was easy to see how Megan LeCrone, Isabella LaFreniere, Ashley Hod, Lauren King, and Christina Clark favor dancers in the day of Balanchine. Emily Kikta, with enough bloom to fill an entire garden, has been poised and ready to step into more of Gloria Govrin’s roles for some time now. Their dancing swallowed space - there was a grandness coupled with urgency and economy of movement. Clearly, the fastest and most articulate path between two distant points is a freakin’ straight line. No smudging outside the lines. The truth is in the steps; no need to add a lot of fuss or frill.
Serenade was hauntingly gorgeous. (The only misstep was the tragic costume re-design that features a cream-corn yellow stripe of tulle down the front.) It is the women in the corps de ballet who are the heart and soul of this ballet, and they did not disappoint. Nor did our principal cast. Sterling Hyltin’s Waltz Girl glistened like moonlight; she was light and lightness personified. Adrian Danchig-Waring’s eloquent entrance will be the new standard; the moment when he reached the Waltz Girl was more impactful than any in memory. Megan LeCrone danced with the delicate wispy of the cirrus clouds from which her Dark Angel descended to escort the elegant Aaron Sanz to the end. Ashley Bouder danced the Russian Girl with customary strength and energy, obviously very happy and relieved to be back performing.
The popular excerpt from After the Rain was lovely as performed by Maria Kowroski and Ask la Cour. It has become something of a gala piece whose context is enlarged with every next tragedy.
Symphony in C was simply delicious from soup to nuts. Yeah, the tempi were not the racing tempi that we prefer, but enjoyable nonetheless. Megan Fairchild and Joseph Gordon commanded the First Movement with their well-earned authority. Megan, so precise and alert to the music, made us ache to see this ballet again sooner than later. Sara Mearns gave a devoted, disciplined reading of the Second Movement for which we are grateful. Tyler Angle was Mr. Clean in his partnering, for which we are also grateful. Indiana Woodward and Harrison Ball blasted through the Third Movement with a release of pent-up confidence and determination. Can’t wait to see more of these two. And Lauren King, oh my gosh, how we have missed seeing this sunny ballerina. Her gift to us on Tuesday was that somehow over the past 18 months she has, on the sly, grown as an artist. Andrew Scordato was her attentive and long-lined partner.
The corps de ballet was not going to waste the only performance of Symphony in C this year. There was such brilliance along with a smattering of unintended individuality. When is someone going to clear the stage for Isabella LaFreniere, Christina Clark, and Emily Kikta? Come on…”What are you waiting for? What are you saving them for?” Among the demi-pairs, Christopher Grant and Ashley Hod were most memorable for their verve and luster.
It was nice to see management offering some kiss-kiss comments to the orchestra on Opening Night. But kiss-kiss is no substitute for money — you know where we’re going with this. Pay the orchestra, dammit. Additionally, it would be nice to hear the musicians more often during this intermission-less season. On Tuesday night, they played Waltz of the Flowers while the tech and dancers were getting ready for Symphony in C. How about doing this more often? It might be nice to hear a Candide, an overture from Onegin, some big familiar concert stuff that the company doesn't usually dance to. It takes all of 60 seconds to raise the pit so the audience can better see the musicians. So why not?
Wednesday evening’s performance included Robbins’ Opus 19/The Dreamer which is now probably Gonzalo Garcia’s signature ballet. No one looks better in the costume and no one carries off the mystery of the dream better than Garcia. Last night he was pushing the pedals a little too hard which resulted in some unsteady turns, but he still delivered a performance that engaged us every second that he was on stage. His partner, Tiler Peck, danced with exquisite precision and unforced speed but perhaps was straining to create more of a character than was necessary.
Mauro Bigonzetti created a PdD entitled Amaria in honor of Maria Kowroski to a Scarlatti sonata. Maria has originated major principal roles in all Bigonzetti’s creations for NYCB. We’re not sure what was going on with this PdD last night as danced by Maria and Amar Ramasar. There was lots of leg action by Maria with a motif of a front grand battement to the forehead which was then caught by two hands and another motif of her slapping her feet with her hands as if to say “Bad ole feet, you have been such trouble - and a blessing.” Amar ably managed the twisty, labor-intensive partnering smoothly. His own moments of dancing made us grateful that he’s back and will be for the entire season.
Russian Seasons had a killer-cast. Unity Phelan and Adrian Danchig-Waring are a new and interesting pairing that compliments each artist in the "burnt-orange" costumed role. Unity’s dancing has become more assertive and defined with each passing season. Adrian “gets” Ratmansky, clearly. As he danced his solos last night, it was easy to envision Ratmansky doing the same movements. Georgina Pazcoguin fiercely danced the role of the unhinged character in bright red. Megan Fairchild seemed to delight in the speedy oddness of the choreography. We were struck by Devin Alberda’s clean mastery of the Ratmansky style which is a combination of dead serious strongman technique and cheeky, trivial filler.
The orchestra sounded pretty darned good on both nights (but for a couple of near misses by a solo horn on Tuesday). We are looking forward tonight to the return of Clotilde Otranto to the podium. The dancers have had two nights on stage to prepare for her zip.
The first H.H. Pump Bump Award in 18 months, a diamond-crusted gold stiletto, is bestowed upon Emily Kikta, Isabella LaFreniere, and Christina Clark whose stars shone brightest on Opening Night.