NYC Ballet Spring Season blooms

New York City Ballet’s spring season couldn’t come soon enough. The ruby jewels of Damrosch Park are in pre-burst — a few seem more ready than others to get their show going. We just have to be patient; the whole place will be in glorious bloom in a few days - outside and in.

 

On this first night Artistic Director Jon Stafford delivered a pre-curtain tribute to Dr. William Hamilton, the company’s longtime orthopedist who passed away recently. His innovative care for dancers saved and prolonged many careers the world over and blazed the trail for all of dance medicine. Dr. Hamilton’s wife Linda, a former dancer with the New York City Ballet, attended the performance.

 

Stafford noted that also attending the evening's performance were Alexei Ratmansky, Max Beloserkovsky, and Irina Dvorovenko, all formerly of Ukraine. The New York City Ballet Orchestra dedicated to the people of Ukraine a performance of Myroslav Skoryk’s Melody for String Orchestra, a beautiful three and a half minute string composition that is folk-inspired and cinematic.

 

The program of Balanchine’s Serenade and Robbins’ The Goldberg Variations didn’t build to the high-energy finish that we would have preferred but it was lovely nevertheless. 

 

As the Waltz Girl in Serenade, Sterling Hyltin combined serenity with soaring joy. We enjoyed how she pulled the phrases nearly past the point of no return only to snap the momentum to always catch up to the music. We enjoyed it the first and perhaps the second time, but when it re-appeared over and over again, it began to seem planned rather than spontaneous. Adrian Danchig-Waring’s partnering was gallant and gracious.

 

Megan LeCrone’s Dark Angel danced with enormous sweep and bravely held on for dear life to her arabesque as Preston Chamblee tried to rotate her around twice. Preston easily managed the other taxing partnering, rapid catches, and lifts.

 

Erica Pereira flew through the Russian Girl variations effortlessly. The only thing she needs is a little bit of extra stage light thrown on her to help the audience appreciate her beautiful dancing.  

 

The Serenade Corps de Ballet, as always, carried this ballet although we missed seeing the majesty of some of our favorite sequoias on the stage: Kikta, LaFreniere, Hod, Durham. Mira Nadon and Christina Clark were the beautiful pillars at this performance. We imagine that Ratmansky caught glimpse of Christina Clark standing downstage and thought to himself how he might use all of that Zakharova stuff she has going for her — maybe in the Kowroski/Zakharova role in Russian Seasons or perhaps in the adagio section of Concerto DSCH. Attach her to Samuel Melnikov and just let them dance for us like we know they can. When Serenade comes to the stage, we always look for Mimi Staker and Alexa Maxwell as well. Their eloquence and grace always look so effortless.

 

Robbins' The Goldberg Variations, set to Bach's theme and variations from 1742, is long. Nearly an hour and a half. It has thematic structure. It has musicality. It has invention. And re-invention - the two men seated on the floor stretching their limbs and feet as a reminder of the upcoming Afternoon of a Faun. It uses a lot of dancers. It challenges the dancers. But to what end? That was hard to answer at the end of the night. The pure pleasure of the piece was Susan Walters' piano virtuosity.

 

Emilie Gerrity and Ashley Laracey with their endless lines and flawless form held this ballet afloat from start to finish. One might have thought that the choreographer made this whole ballet to highlight their musicality and seamless execution of ballet phraseology. Emilie needed almost no preparation to launch herself into jetes like a deer. Ashley’s sweeping movements with lingering phrasing caught the moment like willow branches catching the breeze. 

 

Daniel Applebaum, Jovani Furlan, Aaron Sanz, and Sebastian Villarini-Velez were high-spirited in the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink choreography. 

 

Tiler Peck and Joseph Gordon came out hungry in Part II of the ballet. Both were season-ready with striking allegro and pinpoint perfect pirouettes. Unity Phelan and Taylor Stanley were mesmerizing in their pas de deux. Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle completed the principal cast: she - dancing with a lovely sense of restraint; he - struggling with the batterie and finding fifth position but enjoying the challenge nonetheless.

 

Of course it didn’t go unnoticed that there was something going on in this ballet having to do with the relationship between the structure and formalities of classical ballet and those of the contemporary ballet movement as it was in the early 1970s. But it took a long time to make its point. 

 

Our first H.H. Pump Bump Award of the Spring Season, a metallic and jeweled phoenix-winged stiletto, is bestowed upon Emilie Gerrity and Ashley Laracey for their engaging performances in The Goldberg Variations.

 

 

 

Comments

[Gstavella]

H, After last night’s performance (4/22), I just dont know what to say anymore……
I hope you do.
Looking forward to your comments.

[Haglund]

I left at the second intermission. I'm sorry to have to say this but the Tanowitz and Roberts dances looked like they had been made up in a high school girls' gym class. Pointless mediocrity bordering on fraud...

[GStavella]

H, Ha! EXACTLY! I commented to my friend that they seemed like “My First Dance Project’s from a local community college Intro to Choreography class.
Ok for college, but damn, talk about wasting everyone’s time on the NYCB stage.

[Haglund]

ITA. It's offensive that NYCB would try to sell this stuff to its audience. One doesn't win Michelin Stars by dumping mac & cheese on the plate.

[AMJ]

Re: 4/22: Oh dear. I saw Bartok Ballet once and hated it so much that I decided to never watch another Tanowitz and have skipped Bartok Ballet every time it's been on the program with other things I've wanted to see. I am so busy this month that I haven't been to see NYCB yet, but I've been curious how the new Tanowitz was—namely, if it was as bad as Bartok Ballet. What an awful trend at NYCB, not to mention the larger ballet world.