Rumors of Haglund's demise have been greatly exaggerated NYCB's Starship lands for the Spring Season

        Sometimes life gets in the way of ballet and blogging. Here it is the end of the fourth week of NYCB’s spring season, and Haglund is just firing up. He saw some performances and has a few things to say. First off, the company looks sensational — in some of the best shape of its life which is amazing considering the talent that has been sidelined due to injuries, most notably Huxley, Danchig-Waring, Riccardo, and now sadly, Bolden. All of these artists are sorely missed. 

 

        But the Starship holds a mega-load of high-octane fuel as demonstrated by the bold, crisp, confident dancing of the soloist and corps men who night after night heralded nothing’s gonna stop us now. Y’all may have thought we built this city on rock ’n roll. Oh no no no. We built this city on grace and slick. And we got plenty of power, grace, and slick during the first four weeks of the season. 

 

        Soloists David Gabriel, Jules Mabie, and Aaron Sanz —  each so different, each developing his own unique conversation with the audience — carved out their repertory with commanding performances. Gabriel in Ballo Della Regina, Paquita, Brandenburg, and Sonatine revealed that he’s far more than a technical showman. Mabie finally conquered Scotch Symphony, showed exceptional partnering in Brandenburg, and delivered clean, beautiful allegro in Divertimento No 15. Sanz continued to infuse his strength of line with dramatic power in Brandenburg opposite the impossibly talented Mira Nadon, in After the Rain with the quietly beautiful Miriam Miller, and personified male elegance opposite the luxurious dancing of Isabella LaFreniere in Vienna Waltzes.

 

        Threatening to overshadow these male soloists was a contingent of talented corpsmen who will grab the controls of the Starship in coming seasons and steer it to unforeseen heights. Owen Flacke and Charlie Klesa, besides possessing Disneyesque handsomeness, are each Captain Scrupulous in their lines and feet and in their comportment. McKenzie Bernardino Soares was so quietly commanding that when one finally focused on him it was like finding gold. We’re hoping that these three have been working hard on their double tours which have been a little uncertain in past seasons. 

 

        The women are nothing to turn up our noses at. Soloist Ashley Hod made striking debuts as a muse in Apollo and in Paquita. She is a leading dancer, if ever there was one, and we need to see her leading more in high profile Balanchine principal roles. She was stunning in her soloist role in Ballo Della Regina, but really, but honestly, she should have been dancing the lead role which was made for a taller ballerina with distinctive geometric lines. The principal’s allegro comes naturally for the smaller allegro specialists and it can sometimes look rather un-special. But when a taller dancer takes on the challenges of Ballo, it becomes something else altogether different. Ashley Laracey employed her unique lyricism and hypnotizing limbs to mine the full beauty of Scotch Symphony, Paquita, and Divertimento No. 15. We’ve always thought that she might set a new standard in After the Rain, but Wheeldon seems to have veered from dancers like Wendy Whelan in his initial casting to the tallest, leggiest women whose sight in a somewhat flesh colored leotard makes a bigger impression than the choreography itself. It’s all about the hair and bare leg effect in what has now become a gala piece. It needs a good long rest unless it is offered to Ms. Laracey to dance.

 

        The corps women collectively are a little hodge-podge in size these days and care needs to be given not to plant a tall corps behind short principals. We saw very lovely, spirited work from Meaghan Dutton O’Hare and Malorie Lundgren in Paquita dancing like tomorrow doesn’t matter tonight. Mia Williams caught our eye whenever she was on stage. Her debut in the Minkus Pas de Trois in Paquita revealed respectful attention to classical style right down to the turn and presentation of the face and port de bra when executing a grand jete in attitude. (She was the only one who managed to move the head correctly on the jump.) Her rock solid technique came with a tranquil expression of confidence and generosity. She’s a lovely, lovely dancer who we can’t wait to see more of her in classical works—e.g., Fairy of Tranquility or Generosity in Sleeping Beauty.

 

        (Parenthetically, we just want to mention how dreadful the supposedly skincolor-matched tights are becoming. Until around 1970 most women’s ballet tights were thick bubblegum pink. Then Freeds arrived with their so-called European pink tights and shoes that were more peachy than pink and much more sheer. The bubblegum pink tights reflected stage lighting so well that the audience could see every tendon up the leg. The tights matched the shoe ribbons which made the ribbons nearly invisible and elongated the line. These days all of the tights are darker and more sheer and do not reflect the stage lighting. Instead, they absorb the light which makes it difficult to see the legs and makes the legs less attractive. The ribbons are more visible and truncate the leg lines. Additionally, all of the costumes do not look color-coordinated over tights that suggest a Kardashian spray tan. (We’re not going to get into how dark spray tan with shiny bleached blond hair could possibly enhance the cohesiveness of the women’s corps — it doesn’t and it’s annoying.) The dark tights absorb the light instead of reflecting it. While watching In G Major, it seemed so pitifully stupid to have all the men prancing around in glistening white tights while the women wore a mishmash of tights and shoes, none of which were coordinated with the costumes. NYCB should stop wasting donors' money and the company’s precious time with this shallow testimony of its dedication to inclusivity. They’re making the women’s legs look bad. It’s time to go back to bubblegum pink tights and be done with it or else start also dressing the men’s legs in flesh colors and re-do all the costumes and the lighting to go with the new tights.)

 

        One of the strongest performances we have seen thus far this season was Chaconne led by Isabella LaFreniere and Peter Walker. It was masterful in every respect and brought out the beauty of the ballet through adherence to the ballet principle of unfussiness. Nothing got in the way of the choreography and musicality. It was perhaps the most architecturally elegant and musically potent performance of this ballet that Haglund has ever seen. Isabella visualized power and grace as equals. The majestic line from the ear down the neck to the shoulder, the breathing wrists, the connection of the steps with such flow that the viewer could not imagine ever seeing them any other way, the softness of gaze without excessive drama — it was a dreamy performance. Peter was outstanding as well. He danced with an urgency that came right to the maximum line without going over. Every step was crisp and complete and purposeful. 

 

        Another memorable performance was Taylor Stanley’s titan Apollo which Haglund thought was the best of the three; the other two being Chun Wai Chan and Roman Mejia. Taylor’s interpretation was rich with understanding. The viewer felt the weight of Apollo’s time as well as his impatience and questioning. Taylor seems to be blessed with soulful eyes and a gaze that can see far beyond what others have managed. There was a depth of feeling in those eyes, a sense of fate and responsibility. 

 

        The Muses in NYCB’s Apollo need reconfiguring. Terpsichore and Apollo are on the verge of something that will get her 5 to 25 years locked up. Theirs is not supposed to be a love story. In the first part, the Muses are supposed to be authoritative sources of knowledge — Montessori-type guides who influence young Apollo with the arts, not flirt with him. We’ve never seen Muses hit their marks more perfectly than when Kowroski, Mearns, and Reichien ushered Chase Finlay’s Apollo to maturity. What an upbringing that was!

 

        Moving along with the Starship. Sara, Sara, storm brewing in your eyes. We found Pavane with Sara Mearns to be exceptionally beautiful. Balanchine set the work to Ravel’s famous Pavane pour une Infante Defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess). We were easily able to connect with what Sara was putting out on stage in a such a simple, heartfelt fashion. The sweeping use of a long white scarf as a prop restrained the overuse of her arms which is often distracting and was so in her performance of Chaconne earlier this spring. But this Pavane was gorgeous, and we think Sara should keep it in her pocket all the way to the finish line. 

 

        One of the sayings around the Starship is It’s not over ’til it’s over. We got a big celebration coming up on the 25th. Until then, we want to bestow the H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Jimmy Choo diamond slingback, on Isabella LaFreniere for her diamond-worthy performance in Chaconne.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Marta]

Hello Haglund,
Thanks for this great review. Happy that you're back. I came here tonight specifically to send you email if there was no new post. We've missed you for too long! I saw the all Balanchine program on opening night and was particularly impressed by Chun Wai Chan as Apollo. This was the night the "climate activists" invaded the theater. I saw Fairchild in Ballo and while I enjoyed her performance, I agree with you that a taller dancer is preferable in the lead role. I look forward to the comments of others on the spring season so far.

[Haglund]

Hi, Marta.

Yeah, the climate activists. For Pete's sake, this is the Upper West Side where probably most everyone would have agreed with what they said. So I ask, Why waste energy annoying the people who support you? Also, I was pretty horrified at the person in the ring below who yanked the banner down. One of the protesters was holding onto to the banner and could have been pulled over the edge. No matter what we may think of the protesters, nobody wants to see a tragedy like that unfold in our theater.

I enjoyed Chan's Apollo, too. I also enjoyed Mejia's debut in the role. But I thought Stanley conveyed a deeper understanding of the character. All three were wonderful, though.

[Blue Door]

Haglund, I am so glad you are back. I was starting to worry!

I am here to sing the praises of David Gabriel. He seemed to come out of nowhere. It's hard to describe him other than to say he has it all. He's the whole package, but not too much of any one thing. I hope he and Emma (one of my absolute favorites) are paired up often in the future.

[Haglund]

ITA, Blue Door. They are a great match. Their Ballo last Sunday (11am) was at the speed of a Formula 1 race. Absolutely thrilling.