NYCB - All Stravinsky 10/6

Who plays Stravinsky better than the New York City Ballet Orchestra? Nobody. We have to ask again why this orchestra has not had its very own dates at Carnegie Hall like the Met Opera Orchestra has or why the orchestra hasn't held a free summer concert in Damrosch Park to play some of its biggest music. Classic asset wasting, if you ask us.

Last night's Stravinsky program of Apollo, The Cage, Concertino, and Symphony in Three Movements was a crowd pleaser. Unfortunately, the whole crowd wasn't in attendance because NYCB management closed off the affordable seats in the 3rd and 4th rings to its devoted fans. Apparently management is of the opinion that getting no money for a 3rd ring seat is lots better than getting a little money and allowing the core audience at the lower end of the economy to enjoy the ballet. Has NYCB  become so image-centric that it doesn't want the devoted audience at the lower end of the economy sitting in its theater? Classic asset wasting, if you ask us.

Apollo featured Taylor Stanley in the title role with superb debuts from Unity Phelan as Terpsichore and Emilie Gerrity as Polyhymnia. Sara Adams returned as Calliope with a new authority and beaming confidence to go with her pristine dancing. Stanley's interpretation of the role has certainly deepened since his debut. It was much easier to see the transformation of the young, wet-behind-the-ears Apollo to the mature god. All of the dancing was so crisp and clean, and yes, Stanley's legs were god-like perfection in those white tights. Gerrity's Polyhymnia was in beautiful form but with a little bit of a struggle with those pique turns to arabesque with the finger to the lips. While Phelan's Terpsichore may have come a little close to turning the PdD into a love duet, she also sported some unusually beautiful leg and foot lines in the extensions. All of the boldness that we objected to in Phelan's Sleepwalker worked wonderfully as Terpsichore. Here is a ballerina who can send those extensions skyrocketing with true placement and glorious form.

Robbins' The Cage, always a perennial favorite during NYC's month long celebration of Halloween, chilled and thrilled last night. Seated next to Haglund were two fair young male visitors from Sweden who had no idea beforehand what this ballet was about. "Herrejösses" was their reaction afterward. Sterling Hyltin put her years of experience as The Novice to good use when dispatching Jonathan Fahoury and Andrew Veyette. Nope, no question about what happened there. Isabella LaFreniere was one angry Myrta of a Queen Leader of the girl Crips.

Concertino isn't top shelf Robbins but last night it showed off one of the company's next top shelf ballerinas. Ashley Hod clearly held the stage and the audience's full attention with her extraordinary geometric forms and engaging personality that included warmth with a little tinge of unpredictability. Alec Knight and Davide Riccardo were commanding in their solos and reliable in their partnering.

Symphony in Three Movements got a careful but highly enjoyable performance. There were a lot of nervous newbies in the corps which no longer enjoys the impact that our grove of sequoias (Kikta, Miller, LaFreniere, Nadon, Hod) lent to this spectacle before they were promoted out of the corps. (Savannah Durham was missed immediately, too). Christina Clark and Naomi Corti are now the downstage pillars all by themselves.

Gotta say that Emma Von Enck upped the overall stage energy with her snap and crackle opposite the answering Daniel Ulbricht. We love seeing their energies combine. Tiler Peck and Adrian Danchig-Waring in the central PdD were stylish and compatible if not particularly congruent in geometry. At times, things looked effortful. Emily Gerrity and Sebastian Villarini-Velez were sharp, elongated, and in command. Both of these dancers have more than proven themselves worthy of being principals -- as have Sara Adams and Ashley Laracey. It's time for the company management to get behind them as such. Honestly, why are there nearly twice as many male principals as female principals?

Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Julian Hakes original, is bestowed upon Ashley Hod who becomes more interesting each time she lands on stage.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Zachary]

Totally agree about Ashley Hod. For me, she and Unity Phelan been the standout stars of the season. So much to enjoy about the Stravinsky program.

Re: NYCB orchestra - maybe if the Philharmonic ever needs a night off we could get the NYCB orchestra across the plaza. Looking forward to hearing the acoustics in the new David Geffen Hall next week.

[Haglund]

I think we're about to see another standout star tonight when Emma Von Enck jets into Ratmansky's Concerto DSCH.

I'm also looking forward to getting inside Geffen Hall next week. Should be fun!

[Allie Kenney]

When you talk of the closing of the 3d and 4th rings I can't help but think of something Mr. B. was quoted as saying when this theater was new and he was trying to drum up new business. Something along the lines of "you can get a ticket for only $3 and if you don't like the dancing you can close your eyes and listen to the music as we have a full symphony orchestra."

From time to time I have heard music on classical stations that was credited to "the New York City Ballet Orchestra conducted by Robert Irving." So I guess it's that long ago that they did recordings. I know that business has changed, but it would be nice if they could do that again.

[Allie Kenney]

One other thing about pricing and the closing of the 3d and 4th rings, my understanding of this theater, and remember it was originally called the New York State Theater, was that it was supposed to be a sort of "people's theater" with "popular" prices (I can still remember that word in some of the old ads) where average folks could enjoy ballet and opera; the Met wasn't the only option.

I suppose it's fitting that it was around the same time the theater was renamed for right-wing mogul David Koch that that old policy of accessibility for the masses also changed.

[Haglund]

"Back in the day" the 4th Ring Society seats were $10, including those AA side seats, and one could buy his tickets for the whole season ahead of time. It's just stupid how management has allowed attendance to dwindle. They blame pop culture and the internet and anyone they can blame. The blame should go to parents who no longer shuttle their kids to the ballet, symphony, and museums. They just seat them in front of a computer as a babysitter and go on with their lives. Marketing ballet to 20 year olds who already have their cultural bend will not work. The marketing has to be toward the parents to bring their kids to the theater. As a 7 year old, I didn't particularly like having to regularly put on church clothes to follow my parents to the symphony or ballet, and behave in a civil way for two hours, but it changed my life. What I've spent on ballet during my life would amount to a healthy cash down payment on a brand new 3-bdrm condo in Manhattan. All because my parents peeled me away from the TV and shuttled me to the theater.

They should re-open the 4th Ring Society and sell the seats like they're $10 bleacher seats at a ballgame. Let people buy all the tickets they want a year in advance. Make it easy to come to the ballet instead of difficult and expensive.

[Zachary]

“Marketing ballet to 20 year olds who already have their cultural bend will not work. The marketing has to be toward the parents to bring their kids to the theater.”

Haglund I could not agree with your comment more. I bring my friends semi-regularly to the theater (all of us are around 25 years old), but I know they will never have the same passion for ballet. It’s insane to see ads for NYCB’s young patrons circle disco party on Instagram stories, while not offering cheap seats in the third and fourth rings. I enjoy the 30 under 30 program, but if I had access to to $10 seats I’d be at the theater every night. They cater too much to aesthetics and insta influencers and not enough to true art lovers.

I will caveat all that by saying, I’m so glad Solange’s new ballet has been paired with Symphony in C. I have a lot of peers attending NYCB for the first time and maybe seeing both will inspire appreciation for ballet’s versatility. Just my hope!

[Anon]

Oh, Haglund... Thank you for bringing up the much missed Fourth Ring Circle.I was very, very fortunate to live in NYC when the fourth ring circle was in existence: $20 membership per year and up to two $15 tickets per show. I would tell local friends and friends who were visiting out of town that it was one of the best deals in town with something like three hours of entertainment of live music and live dance for less than a sit down dinner (that's why then dollar slices or halal food carts with $5 chicken/lamb on rice existed even in the early 2010's). I would more than happily buy tickets for them when they were visiting.

Even if the choreography wasn't a person's cup of tea, the NYCB orchestra has such a varied repertoire that would be the envy of any regular orchestra. And the theatre has practically no bad seats with excellent sightlines! I was very fortunate to see a lot of NYCB's repertory that way.

Even if you didn't like much of the program, at least you were wrong by $15. I would grudgingly accept that the economics would not work (running an arts institution is hard in this day and age!) but I would really hope that cheaper tickets would be more widely available for future audience building and underserved communities.

[Haglund]

So true, Anon.

They should sell out the 4th ring at $10 and allow people to buy their dates for the full season. Then offer them the opportunity to upgrade to the next price level. Once a person has put out $10 in the fall, it becomes a little easier to put out another $10-15 months later for an upgrade. Presently, prices are so out of reach that many would only be able to afford single tickets if they were purchased on an installment plan.