Andrew Veyette's Farewell Performance 5/25 He went a little too crazy.

        For the past decade of his 25 year career with New York City Ballet, Andrew Veyette has kept us on the edge of our seat. “What is he doing?! OMG, doesn’t he know how old he is?! He got away with it!” He would then laugh his way into the wing. He launched pirouettes like a kid launching rocks from a slingshot — where they landed wasn't the aim; just hit something. Few people could hang on for dear life to a pirouette or turns a la seconde like Andy Veyette.

 

        Today we celebrated Veyette’s career and final performance. The program was magnificent in design. It didn't so much show what a charming versatile performer he was as it showed what was important to him -- the community of artists with whom he worked and lived.

 

        In the excerpted final movement from Jerome Robbins’ Glass Pieces, Veyette burst onto the empty stage and ran counterclockwise as the thundering drums of Akhnaten called to the rest of the tribe to join him. Out they came. Has NYCB ever had such a handsome male corps —  doubtful. These guys could give the firemen a run for their money if they did a calendar. Veyette danced with them shoulder to shoulder and then skedaddled off before the women’s corps entered for the finale. He had to quick-change into his costume for the next ballet that followed a short pause. 

 

        Next up in Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s Chiaroscuro, Veyette entered the empty stage again but this time circling it clockwise. What was the significance of beginning the program running counterclockwise and evolving into going clockwise? Haglund knew if he thunk on this too long that he’d come up with some plausible but unlikely theory; so he’ll let the readers speculate.

 

        Chiaroscuro plays on the contrast of light and shadow. The skillful and inventive choreography, now 30+ years old, still outshines much of the new stuff that NYCB hard-sells to its audience as the next most incredible thing. Ashley Laracey, Olivia MacKinnon, Brittany Pollack, Preston Chamblee, and Daniel Ulbricht (Ulbricht & Veyette each got their apprenticeships in 2000) joined Veyette in the ensemble piece dancing under spotlights and in the shadows. The piece ended with a dramatic knee slide by Veyette to the foot of the stage with his arms outstretched and head thrown back. It seems that knee slide might have been more dramatic than we could see — as we shall later see.

 

        After intermission Veyette danced “Cool” from Robbins’ West Side Story Suite with a little help from friends Unity Phelan, Indiana Woodward, and Alexa Maxwell — and of course a tribe of men from the corps and soloist ranks. But something was off with his gait and balance. The whole thing wasn't as cool (as in hot) as Veyette’s previous Cools. But it was good enough and served its purpose.

 

        Next, Emma Von Enck and David Gabriel sizzled in Ballo della Regina. As at their performance last Sunday at 11 a.m., the tempi were scorching which made the performance all the more exciting. We’d still like to see Ashley Hod and Peter Walker dance this. The ballet was made on taller dancers who possessed the speed of their smaller colleagues, and it’s why taller dancers always look better in it. We weren’t sold on the four soloists, however.

 

        Then the pause before the excerpt from Stars and Stripes turned into a delay. After about 15 minutes, Conductor Andrews Sill suddenly left the podium and pit. He returned a short time later with quiet instructions to the orchestra members who started quickly flipping past pages in their scores and making notations. Not a good sign, ever.

 

        Veyette and Ashley Hod entered the stage for the PdD but it was obvious that something was wrong because Veyette was having stability issues with his leg. At one point he stepped back as if in a rehearsal and dropped his hands to say that he just couldn’t do it. A bit later it appeared as though his leg collapsed on him. They got through the PdD, which was not the spectacular Liberty Bell debut that we know Ashley would have had under other circumstances. They both covered their concern well. No variations were danced. The three regiments led by Erica Pereira, Megan LeCrone, and Daniel Ulbricht marched on and the finale proceeded. At the point where Capitan stands downstage at the wing and watches the corps, Veyette shook his head as if he could not believe his fate of the finale being cut out from under him. But yes, cruelly, that’s just what happened.

 

        What followed was an outpouring of love onto the stage by Veyette’s colleagues. So much love — and a stool from Tyler Angle for Veyette to sit on. Marika Molnar, longtime physical therapist and the company’s health and wellness coordinator walked out holding a yard of what looked like kinesiology tape for Veyette. Principals, soloists, corps, artistic staff, and a cadre of orchestra members and conductors all paid tribute to Veyette with flowers.

 

        It doesn’t matter if one’s life goes clockwise or sometimes counterclockwise, one’s time marches on in the same direction — just like the regiments coming forward at the end of Stars and Stripes. Andrew Veyette has had a good, long career and has brought much joy to the people who have watched him dance. We hope he will choose to pass on what he has learned to others for the next 25 years. We bestow upon him our magnificent red, white & blue Gucci H.H. Pump Bump Award.

 

 

 

Comments

[Mtm]

Hi Haglund,
I was in the 2nd row and I, too, could tell something was off in “Cool”. I think it was lucky he had the singing to do because it distracted us from the fact that he looked most subdued and behind slightly. Obviously the fact
that there were no variations in S&S told us all there was definitely something wrong. Also I saw him shaking his leg out on the side stage! Honestly though, I felt worse for him for thinking he had let everyone down since nothing could do that! My hope is that he heals quickly and gets on with his new life. Ashely did not look like she enjoyed the piece one bit. My take is she was focused on him. I’ll miss him and was heartened to feel the love there!!

[Haglund]

Exactly my take, too, Mtm. Hod could be, and hopefully will be allowed to be soon, a great classic interpreter of Balanchine's iconic works. A so-so debut in S&S is no big deal. Although I'm sure yesterday's performance had its disappointments for her, it's not everyone who gets to share such an occasion dancing with their spouse. Everyone will be okay, I'm sure.

[Zachary]

So wish I could have been in the audience. No midsummer for me so that was the end of my NYCB 2024-2025 season. Onwards to the Met season!

On a separate note, very sad to hear of Yuri Grigorovich's passing.

[Haglund]

Zachary, I'm only going to one Midsummer Night's Dream. It's exhausting dealing with NYCB's manipulation of seat availability on its website. If they had made all of the seats available in the beginning, I would have purchased several performances. But the blacking out of sections or certain seats just to try to force people to buy more expensive tickets doesn't work with me. I'd rather just walk away.

I didn't go to as many NYCB spring performances as I usually do. It looks like I'll be going to even fewer in the fall season because of the overload of crapola and underload of substantive Balanchine.

I was surprised when I looked at the high number of tickets I've apparently purchased for ABT this summer. And I just bought another one when Michael de la Nuez got cast as Siegfried. I think it's going to be a horse race as to whether de la Nuez or Charlie Klesa at NYCB gets appointed soloist first -- both are out of the same school in Cincinnati which happens to be my hometown. I'm so proud of all these Ohio Buckeyes: de la Nuez, Klesa, that flock of Von Encks, that up & coming Catazaro in ABT Stu Co, and of course those Kelce boys.

And yes -- I, too, was sorry to hear of Grigorovich's passing. He stayed very, very active in something he loved dearly and managed to live a very long life. There might be a lesson there somewhere.