Haglund's Heel

ABT Fall Season What's old is new again

        The saying in the world of antique furniture is that refinishing a museum-quality piece knocks the value out of it. It is the preservation of the artist’s original work that is important, not what the piece looks like compared to today’s manufacturing standards. On the other hand, if the antique is something that is to be handed down from generation to generation for the family's enjoyment, use, and reflection on a time and the lives of members who are known only by name and an entry on a family tree, then refurbishing can actually enhance its value. We’re somewhere in the middle of those two camps of thought with regard to our classical ballets for which we desire to retain their original intent and quality of patina while enhancing their finishes and strengthening their hinges to allow them to continue to be enjoyed.

 

        American Ballet Theatre’s The Kingdom of the Shades from Petipa’s La Bayadere as lovingly remembered by Natalia Makarova, undergoes periodic reupholstering as significant new talent emerges from the ranks. The same is true for Balanchine’s exquisite jewels Ballet Imperial and Sylvia Pas de Deux and Lander’s illuminating treatise on the systematic development of the ballet artist in Etudes. Thanks to these four works, ABT’s Fall Season, thus far, has amounted to a sensational comeback of good sense and good taste. 

 

        Ballet Imperial, aka Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No 2 at New York City Ballet, benefitted from elegant new costumes by Jean-Marc Puissant which were designed with colors and themes similar to both the retiring costumes and the current NYCB costumes. The ballet further benefitted from pristine technical performances by Christine Shevchenko and Chloe Misseldine and the fine partnering by Calvin Royal III. But was it a good idea for ABT to try to distinguish its version of the ballet from NYCB’s version by using tempi so painfully glacial that the ballerina had to punctuate phrases with chin throws? Everything is open to debate, of course, and this will be, too. Those of us who have watched Shevchenko her whole career and clearly remember her blistering speed in Piano Concerto No 1 know that she isn’t a dancer who requires a grandma pace for a Balanchine ballet as perhaps others required in past decades. In fact, the initial swivel turns off pointe that finished in tendu probably would have been cleaner and easier had they been up to speed. But she was very lovely to watch in most every respect. And the corps de ballet probably would have been more bright and energetic if they had been able to anticipate the music rather than wait for it to appear. Not to belabor the point, but the corps dancers are of a generation that can move a lot more quickly than past generations. Why not let them do so when it would benefit the work?

 

        Calvin Royal III delivered some truly beautiful allegro and classic lines in addition to attentive partnering. Chloe Misseldine soared through the grand allegro soloist role with energy and crystal clarity which turned out to be a mere preamble to her radiant performance in Sylvia Pas de Deux with Aran Bell at the ABT Gala the next week. Terpsichorean in the most Balanchine sense, she was the music on the stage. All of that blessed length made for stunning arabesques of grand statement. Bell’s allegro was plush as velvet, not showy, with an effortless nobility. We’d love to see him as Apollo.

 

        Alexei Ratmansky’s Neo pas de deux was created during the Covid shutdown and premiered as part of a digital program by the Joyce Theater in May 2021. The can’t-stop-us explosion of energy was instantly recognizable by those of us who danced like crazy people in the small spaces of living rooms, kitchens or garages trying to release pent-up wattage, frustration, and impatience while retaining some sense of normalcy. Just let it out of your system however you can, the choreographer seemed to convey. 

 

        The music for the piece, Neo by Dai Fujikura, was the composer’s first for the Japanese instrument shamisen. He said that his aim was to create something that was like distortion on an electric guitar, and that he treated the piece like a guitar solo in a rock concert. His hope was that the audience would scream at the end like they were at a rock concert. Check. We did. It was crazy fun by Catherine Hurlin and Jarod Curley. Playing on stage, Sumie Kaneko ripped the shamisen like she was Peter Frampton.

 

        The excerpt from Lynn Taylor-Corbett's Great Galloping Gottschalk whetted the appetite to see the whole ballet again. The originators of the pas de deux were Susan Jaffe with Robert La Fosse who was beaming as a member of the audience. Sunmi Park and Calvin Royal III hit their stride on their second performance, releasing joy and warmth and dancing as though they were improvising throughout. 

 

        Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room received serviceable treatment but was less grounded (less urban, less “downtown”) than previous generations managed to make it. Standouts in the cast we saw were Devon Teuscher, Aran Bell, and Joseph Markey. Memories of Laura Hildago and Maria Riccetto as the joined-at-the-hip bombers in red pointe shoes were running in the back of the mind while watching the current bombers on stage struggle somewhat with unison and finding their fierce energy.

 

        The highlight of the season was the restoration of The Kingdom of the Shades which as a stand-alone ballet is enjoyable but not to the extent that it is within the full production of La Bayadere. It exposes the classical caliber of the company like few other ballets do. The sight of the 24 Shades calmly descending from the heavens via arabesque after taxing arabesque was mesmerizing at each performance. We wondered, however, why most of the Shades smoothly peeled their feet from the floor to initiate their arabesques while a few stopped to do point tendu before lifting the leg to arabesque. Something tells us that Makarova probably has issued a memo or two on this over the years.

 

        At the gala, Christine Shevchenko and Isaac Hernandez were scrupulous and glimmering in the excerpt. What a beautiful transition from Gamzatti to Nikya Shevchenko has made. Such crystalline shapes and flowing port de bras made us ache to see this whole production again. Hernandez grabbed us into the story with his first step and was well-matched with Shevchenko in form and temperament. After a so-so start to the season in Ballet Imperial, his Solor soared with Hernandez’s fabled brilliance. He’s the dramatic heft that ABT needs more of right now. Teaming up with Hee Seo for two other performances of The Kingdom of the Shades, Hernandez was even more effective in his solos. However, Seo’s technique appeared fragile, particularly during the scarf section where she had considerable difficulty with the turns. Despite her unique ability to embody Nikya’s love and suffering, the role has always been on the outer edges of her technical abilities and is more so now. 

 

        Surely, Makarova must have watched Lea Fleytoux as the first Shade soloist and realized she was witnessing her next Gamzatti and Nikya. Oh my goodness, what an utterly gorgeous solo Fleytoux danced. She is, indeed, small (possibly as small as Makarova), but her textbook use of port de bras makes her appear larger on stage. The technical brilliance so apparent in her calm multiple pirouettes, balances, and generous jumps are more indications of a comeback for ABT. Now, listen up. Fleytoux and Miyake or Roxander in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations could possibly eclipse that pair from the 1970s. And while we know that Fleytoux is destined to be a great Giselle, let’s hope that she doesn’t get pigeonholed in 2nd cast Petipa. She is clearly a full-service ballerina on the cusp of greatness. Jaffe should move her along in the way that Baryshnikov moved Jaffe along.

 

        The H.H. Pump Bump Award, the "Paloma" diamond stiletto from Sophia Webster, is bestowed upon Lea Fleytoux, one of the brightest glimmers of hope for ABT’s future.

 

 

 

 

Great sadness

NYCB Conductor Clotilde Otranto.

RIP.

Legacy.com

 

ABT 3rd cast Etudes Takumi Miyake rings the bell

So sorry we missed this performance and this corpsman's bravery and accomplishment of nine incredible double tours in the Etudes finale. Bocca, Corella, Sarafanov, and now Takumi Miyake.  So glad I-gramers were there to make this incredible record:

 

 

ABT Fall Opener 10/16 Better than the Mets' game

        At least ABT didn’t get blown out of the water 8-0. Not an emphatic start to the Fall Season, however. Whatever happened to “start strong, end stronger” in ballet seasons?

 

        ABT’s opening night included a new work by Gemma Bond, a new work by Kyle Abraham, and an old, but gleaming Etudes by Harald Lander. Not exactly a “This is who we are” opening statement.

 

        Gemma Bond’s La Boutique with music arranged by Respighi after Rossini made one thing clear:  we have a serious choreographer, refreshingly serious about acquiring composition skills to which she can apply her own appealing musicality and love of moving within the classical idiom. Some may recognize the music from Leonid Massine’s previous story ballet La Boutique Fantasque about a toy store; but here the music supported no narrative, only new combinations of mostly classical phrasing that really had us paying attention. 

 

        Three main couples — Devon Teuscher & Aran Bell, Sunmi Park & Cory Stearns, Skylar Brandt & Carlos Gonzalez — led a vivacious corps of men and women in Bond’s intricate and inventive patterns that occasionally became too busy and crowded, not just with dancers but with new ideas instead of offering fewer ideas that evolved in a thematic way. But we’ll take it. And we’ll run with it. But first we’ll strip the dancers and turn on the lights.

 

        Oh my, what a costume, scenic, and lighting mess. Would Jean-Marc Puissant’s costumes look good under different conditions? Yes, but black tutus against a scuffed black Marley floor with low lighting will miss every time. White bodices with colorful details that clash with the lighting backgrounds will miss every time. What happened here? Did ABT repurpose the lighting scheme from some other Clifton Taylor ballet design and just throw it onto the stage for Bond’s new work? How could this lighting not have been immediately replaced after a dress rehearsal? None of it works and it all is a detriment to the ballet.

 

        Kyle Abraham’s Mercurial Son to the bombastic, unlistenable noise by Grischa Lichtenberger was too obvious an effort to claim relevance to those who think a hard-hit foul is just as good as a bunt to first base. Wriggles, head rolls, wavy arms, and some swirling turns to loud music — with obnoxious low lighting (again) and costumes that had no rhyme or reason or theme — the flowy fabric and the arm waving were like throw-away edits from Paul Taylor’s hilarious insects dancing in Gossamer Gallants. It would be unfair to call this choreography bad; it was terrible and amateurishly elementary. Next.

 

        The evening closed with an okay performance of Lander's Etudes. Isaac Hernandez’s introductory performance wasn’t from his top shelf. His nerves were evident upon entering the stage and they messed with his pirouettes for most of the night. His allegro was stunningly clear, however, and he managed well the partnering of the vivacious Catherine Hurlin. She was fantastic throughout the ballet. Everything was working for her: lines stretched to the max, solid pirouettes, eager to race at Ormsby Wilkens’ spirited pacing of the orchestra. During the finale we thought maybe she hit the proverbial wall but then bounced off it to finish strongly. 

 

        Jake Roxander repeated his brilliant turning role from ABT’s last fall season, and truly lifted up the performance several notches. We know he wants to conquer those consecutive double tours in the finale, and he will; and we’re excited to watch him and the other ABT men continue to try to nail them. Bocca did them. Corella did them. Sarafanov did them. Roxander will do them, too. His command of the stage was the strongest of the evening, Everything he did was worthy of admiration. The guy’s charisma, power, and precision are the equivalent of NYCB’s Roman Mejia’s — and aren’t we the lucky ones!

 

        The Corps de Ballet mostly kept up with the speed and precision, but the effort was showing by the end. How happy we were to see Cameron McCune back dancing at full pace and form. Sierra Armstrong and Léa Fleytoux were exceptional as well. However, there were a few veteran corps women who had trouble lifting themselves into the air and making those all important arabesque lines.

 

        The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a classic platform with plenty of spike and a big tank, is bestowed upon Jake Roxander for his performance in Etudes.

 

 

 

NYCB 10/10 Balanchine + Ratmansky - both in top form

        Thursday night’s Balanchine + Ratmansky program capped off the fall season like a royal's fascinator. Oh my gosh, watching this new generation fashion the masterworks onto their crowns — re-tooling the tulle, as the saying goes — has us fixated.

 

        Only the sickest balletomane would obsess over the perfectly crossed, perfectly maximum turned-out back heel of Mira Nadon’s bourrees coming downstage in the Preghiera of Mozartiana. The sight of her feet compulsively tip-toeing forward with the flat profile of that back heel peeking out on the opposite side nearly triggered a Paxil emergency. Her ensuing deep cambré engaged the sacral wings in a moment that seemed to resurrect and release the choreographer’s spirit. A memorable solo indeed.

 

        The Theme et Variations by Nadon and Peter Walker gleaned the musical wit from Tschaikovsky’s re-telling of Mozart’s work while stunning with its split-second coordination in the pas de deux. Walker’s variations were excellent—only occasionally over-powered at the expense of plush landings. The leg lines and batterie were crystal clear. He possessed a beautiful arabesque profile on both the right and left sides. The final single tour, double tour combination was not quite what it should have been on the landing, but we’re not sure why. We’ve seen and admired the form of Walker’s double tours since he was a soloist. The assemblage of those mile-long legs in the air was a stunning sight to behold but the tentativeness of and reluctance to finishing on the knee suggested some kind of impairment. Nevertheless, this Mozartiana performance by Nadon and Walker made us some new beautiful memories that we will hold onto for a long, long time.

 

        Miriam Miller and Aaron Sanz in Monumentum pro Gesualdo followed by Dominika Afanasenkov and Davide Riccardo in Movements for Piano and Orchestra continued to inject new life and clarity into these esoteric Balanchine pieces. We liked the idea of different casts dancing the two works because it promoted the idea of considering each ballet on its own merits without the influence of the other. The easy length and gentle geometry of Miller and Sanz contrasted nicely with the acute shapes and seriously straight lines of Afanasenkov and Riccardo. 

 

        Emma Von Enck’s explosion of energy in Concerto DSCH set a new standard in this ballet. She’s a Ratmansky dream come true — a dancer who can actually give even more than he asks for. What an absolute delight it was to watch her take blistering command of the stage — propelling herself through the choreography as though the steps were trying to catch up with her energy. What a bright lightning bolt. However, does any of this make up for not casting her as Aurora and Coppelia? Nuh-uh. Grudge intact.

 

        Unity Phelan and Adrian Danchig-Waring were an appealing couple who brought the ease and flow required in the pas de deux. The whirling around of the ballerina in the air did not look like a strenuous windup for a hammer throw as it did in the previous cast. Harrison Coll and Sebastián Villarini-Vélez offered great charisma along with fetching tours and allegro. 

 

        Haglund kept watching the corps in Concerto DSCH, not only because Gilbert Bolden III and Davide Riccardo were making it impossible not to watch, but because Owen Flacke and Samuel Melnikov suddenly looked mature, commanding, and both huge men could move like the wind — at Ratmansky velocity. 

 

        The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Manolo Blahnik revealing pump, is bestowed upon Mira Nadon for her memorable Mozartiana that fully revealed the beauty of the choreography.

 

 

 

NYC Ballet Gala 10/9 Signs pointing to nowhere . . .

        . . . before pointing us the wrong way into the water.

        The New York City Ballet Gala performance taxed our patience as we have come to expect over the years. Gianna Reisen’s Signs included a lot of hugging & tugging & skipping & sudden pauses to express emotion about whatever. “But we want to act and emote on stage” the dancers seemed to be saying. How about trying some ballet steps and leave the acting to the professionally trained actors? Ballet dancers create such a kerfuffle when models or actors are shown in ads or online pretending to “do ballet”. But they have no problem wading into areas on the stage that are outside their bailiwick.

 

        Reisen’s Signs offered no signs of progress for the choreographer. Dull beyond dull, academically cute beyond cute, at times it showed great admiration for Twyla Tharp — who by the way will be blowing the roof off here next week with In The Upper Room. Reisen’s Signs is not NYCB main-stage ready. The content is not there. The organization is not there. The creativity is not there.

 

        Choreographer Caili Quan checked all the boxes for NYCB: female, non-white, young, photogenic & personable, not too terribly ballet-ish. In her choreography entitled Beneath The Tides, here the principal dancers went again: “We want to act.” There was too much emotional display over nothing and a lot of watered down ballet-ish movement.  We can’t even give the costumes by Gilles Mendel a good grade. Different? Yes, sort of — corsets on both men and women. But the overall effect was hodge-podge. We were able to appreciate Tiler Peck’s costume and output which reminded us of her output in Justin Peck’s works — right down to the fouettes. In fact, it was Tiler Peck who saved the evening with her own choreography.

 

        Peck’s Concerto for Two Pianos is technically, musically, and artistically skilled and a joy to watch. Her problem, though, is the same as other choreographers who have first-cast her in their new works. Once Mira Nadon (or Tiler Peck) originates a role, it will be a long, long time before anyone else can make balletomanes happy in it. Nadon, Chun Wai Chan and Roman Mejia dazzled in the work. The corps de ballet ran with the choreography like race horses. This is what they have been brought up to do since they were foals. 

 

        It seems impossible for New York City Ballet to put on a gala without wading into identity politics these days. Can’t the company stick to dancing and fashion? Can’t we just put tribal politics in ballet aside? Detractors within ballet continually try to claim that women are its victims from grand plies to grand battements. Last evening's emphasis at NYCB’s gala that all of the choreographers for the evening were women was a point made to underscore how the ballet brotherhood has locked out women from choreographic opportunities. All of those obnoxious white males who have been monopolizing ballet choreography over the years — you know, Twyla Tharp, Agnes de Mille, Susan Stroman, Anna Marie Holmes, Bronislava Nijinska, Alicia Alonso, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Birgit Cullberg, Ninette de Valois, Martha Graham — they’re getting their comeuppance now, aren’t they? NYCB has Tharp choreography socked away in the basement. It has Taylor-Corbett, too. And Stroman. And Nijinska. If the company truly wants to celebrate the accomplishments of women choreographers, why not stage a celebratory evening of Tharp, Taylor-Corbett, Nijinska, and Stroman? The truth is: ballet hasn’t locked out women from choreographic opportunities; the post-boomer generation simply forgot about women for a time while free-riding along on previous women’s generations’ accomplishments.

 

    Everyone should go see McNeal at the Beaumont Theater. Robert Downey Jr. is brilliant. The play offers a lot to think about in the way of borrowing others' work for one's own, quoting others' work, using others' work as a so-called tribute or inspiration.