Haglund's Heel

observations 2-15

New York City Ballet wants to remind everyone about the 2-part PBS special that airs this Friday, February 17 at 9PM and next Friday, February 24th. A performance will be presented from last summer's tour to the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris – half this Friday and half next Friday.

 
Photo: Michel Lidvac

A brochure arrived in Haglund's mail today which shows that on the weekend that precedes Fourth of July, New York City Ballet MOVES will present four performances at Bard College's Sosnoff Theater as part of the Summerscape 2017 program. This touring group with its rotating selection of dancers from all ranks of the company will perform Dances at a Gathering, Duo Concertant, and In Creases on:

Friday, June 30th @ 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 1 @ 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 2 @ 2:00 PM

Tickets go on sale to the general public on February 21st here.

This might be a nice way to spend the slow Fourth of July weekend. Take Amtrak's scenic route an hour and a half north of the city, enjoy a leisurely lunch or dinner, and see casting that you may not have yet seen at Lincoln Center. Then if you haven't had enough, continue north to Saratoga where the company opens on Wednesday.

The dancers have to stay close to home this summer because of the incredible, joyous Jewels golden jubilee celebration from July 20-23 at Lincoln Center. Word on the street is that tickets go on sale to LC Members on March 13 and to the general public a week later. Ticketing for these LCF big ballet events can often be a pain in the arse. LCF holds seats back to try to push people into buying more expensive tickets. Instead of getting forced sales, they get a lot of ill will toward Lincoln Center. For a few years, they divvied up the tickets between the Koch and Avery Fisher box offices in separate batches. You had to run back and forth across the plaza just to see what was available. Hopefully, ticketing will be more transparent this year, and Lincoln Center Festival will try to make friends with the balletomanes who rush to buy tickets early instead of antagonizing us. Scorn from annoyed balletomanes never does anyone any good.

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Gelsey Kirkland Ballet has another enticing program on the schedule for March 24, 25 & 26 with a preview performance on the 23rd. Located in the GKArts Center at 29 Jay Street in Dumbo, the company's intimate theater is an easy subway ride via the F-train (York Street) or the A/C-train (High Street).

The spring bill includes Leonid Yakobson's Eternal Spring, Village Don Juan, and The Jewish Wedding; Leonid Lavrosky’s Walpurgis Night; Petipa's Talisman; and Goleizovsky's Melodia.  Tickets are available here.

This studio ballet company, which uses many students from the Gelsey Kirkland Academy, punches way above its weight season after season. Not only are there very good dancers to appreciate, but there are exceptional and unique artists as well.

Here is the video trailer for the upcoming series of performances:

 

observations 12-7

The Aussies are generating some excitement and rightly getting credit for David Hallberg's return to the stage next week after his 2+ year absence due to injury. He debuts in Coppelia with The Australian Ballet at the beautiful Sydney Opera House on December 13th with subsequent performances on the 16th, 19th, and 21st.

Here is a picture of Hallberg by Australian photographer Nic Walker which reflects what Two-A-Day 2-hour strength training sessions have created. True, the shadowy lighting helps, but he certainly looks more fit than we can remember seeing him. According to this article in the Canberra Times, Hallberg has been running stairs, too. (We require video.)

We're looking forward to seeing Hallberg's "new normal" after his slow-simmer recovery in the idyllic South Pacific while working with such awesome coaches as David McAllister, Fiona Tonkin, Steven Heathcoate, and TAB rehab team headed by Sue Mayes. You may recall that Fiona helped create Stella Abrera's Giselle a couple of years ago. Hopefully, someone somewhere in the world will do the ballet universe a favor and finally put these two together for a performance of the greatest ballet ever made.

Let's hope Hallberg keeps up with those Two-A-Days for years to come.

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Gelsey Kirkland Ballet opens its run of 12 performances of The Nutcracker tomorrow night at her Arts Center in Dumbo. New last year, the production conceived by Michael Chernov and Gelsey is loaded with charm, creativity, and some of the most classically-respectful dancing in the city.

The theater is generally easy to get to: the F-train stops at the top of the hill (York St stop) and then it's a short walk down to the arts center. It's right next door to the Brooklyn Roasting Company where you'll find excellent brew blended by some of Brooklyn's famously cool & confident coffee hipsters.

Get your tickets here for performances December 8 through December 18th.

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Francis Patrelle's The Yorkville Nutcracker opens this weekend, too, at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College with guest artists Abi Stafford and Adrian Danchig-Waring. Don't miss this inventive, long-admired production which is set in Old New York with a collection of characters who really ran this city back in the day.

Performances are December 8th through December 11th. Tickets available here.

The Yorkville Nutcracker Christmas Eve takes place in Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side, the official residence of our city's mayor. If you've never seen Gracie Mansion, here's an artistic rendering that you might not want to miss:

This year's New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is a fantastic G-scale layout that winds through New York's famous architecture created with all natural materials such as sticks, leaves, seeds, and acorns from the garden.

See the Statue of Liberty, Gracie Mansion (pictured right - click to enlarge), Rockefeller Center, Brooklyn Bridge, National Arts Club, Yankee Stadium, Immigration Station, Grand Central, Macy's, NY Public Library, Chrysler Building among 150 NYC landmarks all created in miniature with these wonderful natural materials. It's pure genius.

You need to get tickets in advance. Haglund recommends joining the NYBG so that you can get in free and enjoy everything that this fantastic garden offers. The MetroNorth train stops across the street from the NYBG gate.

Here's a 7-second clip of the action that awaits you at the Holiday Train Show in The Bronx:

We can't imagine that you weren't mesmerized by that clip. If it didn't grab you, however, how about this not-so-little crab cake resting atop a medallion of guacamole with dabs of exotic mustard. Note the berry mojito closely guarding the plate. All of this is available at the Hudson Garden Grill at NYBG which is within the Ross Conifer Arboretum just a two-minute walk to or from the Train Show. Reservations recommended:

 

 

 

Gelsey Kirkland Ballet 3/18Kurt Weill meets Tennessee Williams in a Brooklyn warehouse cabaret

Next door to the Brooklyn Roasting Company on Jay Street, brave and original work is brewing at the Gelsey Kirkland Ballet – brave, original, often interesting, and executed with commanding performances by the dancers.

Even if you are not particularly a fan of Kurt Weill’s music (✓) and don’t care for highlights that are not always sensitively patched together (✓), and have a tendency to be impatient about knowing where the crux of a dance is heading (✓), there is still much creativity and accomplishment in the overall artistic scheme of this original full-length work, Stealing Time, to appreciate and heartily applaud.

The production opened with a preview on Thursday night, its official premiere last night, and two more performances on Saturday and Sunday at the Gelsey Kirkland Arts Center, 29 Jay Street, Brooklyn. Tickets available here.

Let’s list the creative team first:

Music: various Kurt Weill excerpts with additional music by Piazzolla and Habertango
Direction, Scenario and Design: Michael Chernov
Choreography: Michael Chernov and Akop Akopian
Scenic & Costume Design: Michael Chernov
Lighting: Christina Watanabe
Projection: Justin West
Additional coaching: Gelsey Kirkland and Pilar Garcia

Choreographers Chernov and Akopian have adopted and adapted scenario elements from Tennessee Williams’ “Camino Real” to musical excerpts from a wide variety of Kurt Weill’s compositions. Williams and Weill may not have literally traveled in the same social circles, but they were hobnobbing around New York during the 1950s era when the city was a hot bed of rebel artistry. It is not unusual for those with a keen appreciation for one of these artists to gravitate to the other.

In this production, our main character, Algae, danced and acted brilliantly by Erez Ben-Zion Milatin, traveled recklessly through a sequence of dreams and nightmarish scenes while searching for – here’s where we have to do some guessing – life experiences and his place in the cosmos. Prominent in most every scene was the ominous clock signifying the earthly concept of passing time. Often the character resembled the Prodigal Son on a tear through sin. Like his namesake, Algae could not root anywhere. He tore through time, and as the program notes explained, was caught between living inside the clock and living outside the clock.

Our Venus, Dawn Gierling Mailatin, to whom Algae initially proposed and then abandoned, searched for him throughout the evening while never giving up hope or losing love. Venus provided much of the production's balletic content quite beautifully and also was sometimes on stage orbiting the scenes being principally performed by others. Truthfully, the last time we encountered the names Algae and Venus together was in Carl Sagan’s plan to terraform the planet so that we all could live there.

Nina Yoshida, the character Who, met her fate at the hands of Algae and left this world as she arrived: in a suitcase. A lovely dancer with obvious lyrical aptitude, she made us care about her character as the innocent victim of Algae’s uncontrolled senses.

Johnny Almeida as Guttman and Sabina Alvarez as The Celebrity delivered plenty of technical bravura and sizzle in their variations.

After a whirlwind of scenes involving large casts of dancers who employed balletic, tango, contemporary and dance-theater movement, the ballet concluded with Algae encountering the End of Time, and then climbing a red ribbon to a balcony where he ultimately found redemption with Venus and Who.

The scenery, costumes, and use of props were outstanding, but we have come to expect this very high level from the company’s previous productions. No detail was left unattended, and sometimes that was a lot of detail for the viewer to consider. We loved, loved, loved the single white costume worn by the train of ladies with flowing hair, each set of legs stuck through the fabric. The choreography had its strong points and weak points, but it must be admired for its creative adaptation to the abilities of the dancers who covered a broad spectrum of technical proficiency and included many students from the Gelsey Kirkland Academy.

Bravo to Gelsey Kirkland Ballet for taking this risk and skillfully mounting such an original production. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but then, what is?

The H.H. Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon Erez Ben-Zion Milatin whose dramatic leanings reminded us of one of Gelsey’s old partners.

Foreign Reports from the Land of the Sweets

’Tis the season for traveling far and wide in search of the spirit of the Nutcracker. Recently Haglund packed his bags, climbing gear, and Homeland Security ID and cautiously ventured across 8th Avenue to the chaos that awaits all who venture to the other side of 8th Avenue.

First stop was the Land of Silver Spoons & Linings on the Upper East Side for Francis Patrelle's Yorkville Nutcracker which was celebrating its 20th Anniversary. This production always hovers around the top of the list of Haglund’s favorite productions. It is filled with characters straight out of New York's history and should be a school field trip for kids in the city’s school system. They surely won’t learn of the existence of Hamblin and Jane Babcock, Arturo Baldasano, H. Ruthven Pratt, or Colonel William L. Strong in any school class, and yet, these were among the movers and shakers of New York City in 1895. Patrelle has them dancing and shmoozing at a Christmas Party in the Gracie Mansion, today the official residence of the Mayor of the City of New York.

The cast always includes students from several area ballet schools with a majority coming from the very fine Ballet Academy East. Professional dancers take the lead roles – this year Abi Stafford and Adrian Danchig-Waring from New York City Ballet were dreamy as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince – and distinguished community adults take on the roles of the distinguished guests. Everyone has a great time, but it is also very serious business. If the transplant surgery gig ever falls flat for Dr. Myron Schwartz, his dancing martial arts-infused characterization of Hsu Nai Kwang, the 1895 Consul General of China, may help keep bread on his table.

All of the kids are superbly rehearsed, genuinely excited about being on stage, and full of seasonal spirit. Here’s a toast to another 20 years.

Next it was time to search for the F-train to Brooklyn’s trendiest, currently artiest neighborhood – Dumbo – where Gelsey Kirkland’s brand new studio/performance space is located. On weekends, the F-train is never where it is supposed to be. This time we found it lazily chugging along the A/C train line in the West Village and climbed aboard for the quick trip under the East River to a Brooklyn stop just a short walk from the Gelsey Kirkland Arts Center at 29 Jay Street.

We’ve been following the development of the Gelsey Kirkland Ballet and Academy of Classical Ballet for several years. Its rise has been nothing short of miraculous considering the challenges and obstacles that young performing arts organizations in this city face. Every time we return for a performance by this group, we see more and more of the values in the company that we remember in its leader – not just in the leading dancers but even in corps dancers who may possess only modest ability. There is an understanding and joy in getting it correct from the inside out, in being faithful to the art, and in resisting the bloated trends of the times.

In the December 13th 5pm Nutcracker performance, Marie was performed by Dawn Geirling Milatin, a long time protege of Gelsey Kirkland’s and one of the clearest exponents of Gelsey’s values. Swift supple feet, imaginative musical phrasing, radiance, and the ability to vividly convey the story made this one of Haglund’s most favorite interpretations of the season. Cast as her prince was none other than her husband, Erez Milatin, also a company veteran of several seasons. They were living a dream on stage that afternoon and what a joy it was to be able to watch.

Polish and projection were apparent in every level of dancers in this production particularly in the corps ladies who danced the Snow Scene and Waltz of the Flowers. Brooklyn has a fabulous new Nutcracker.

Sunday morning Haglund trudged up to Stamford to check out two of his favorite dancers who were guesting in the Connecticut Ballet’s Nutcracker at the Palace Theatre. Connecticut always delivers on its Nutcrackers. Last year Haglund traveled to New Haven to see Simone Messmer and Adrian Danchig Waring perform with the New Haven Ballet. The year before that he traveled to Westport to see Yuriko Kajiya and Jared Matthews deliver an inspired performance with Ballet Etudes. This year Stella Abrera and Amar Ramasar danced together for the first time in Director Brett Raphael’s 1984 staging for the Connecticut Ballet.

Oh my. My my my my my. What a magical, irresistibly handsome couple these two make. Their limb lines complimented each other, their demeanors meshed beautifully, and their coordination was nearly perfect. It was love at first sight for the audience. Stella, in the pinkest of pink tutus, was beaming with joy and confidence while creating all those glorious shapes and musical moments that we have come to love. Amar worked the smallish stage to its maximum in his variations and was so very generous a partner to Stella. Let’s hope that these two find many more guesting opportunities together.

The Connecticut Ballet has a wide range of skill levels and talent, and all were illuminated their best in this very inclusive production. There was a moment when we couldn’t be sure what two toddler reindeer might do while “harnessed” to the front of the sleigh but the curtain came down on the first act promptly which left that issue to the herders behind the scenes.

Company standouts included Gvantsa Gavashelishvili as a fearless, glistening Snow Queen and Claire Mazza as the sparkling Dew Drop Fairy. We must commend the tiny Red Cross Ambulette Rescue Mice who arrived on the Act I battle scene just in time to cart away an injured baby mouse on a stretcher.

It has been an eventful couple of weeks and, as usual, we haven’t been able to cover all of the Nutcrackers that we wanted. But we were very happy with all that we saw, in particularly, the very original Yorkville Nutcracker that has a special place in our heart. Our HH Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon the many who have dedicated themselves to this production over the years.

observations 12-1

 The Yorkville Nutcracker with choreography by Francis Patrelle opens at the Kaye Playhouse (Hunter College on East 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues) on Thursday December 10th for six performances through Sunday evening. This year's Sugarplum Fairy and Cavalier will be New York City Ballet's Abi Stafford and Adrian Danchig-Waring. Now celebrating its 20th Anniversary, this is the most-New York Nutcracker around because it incorporates many of our beloved landmarks into its scenes including Gracie Mansion. Tickets here.

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Former Joffrey Ballet star Willy Shives will take over the artistic direction of Ballet San Antonio. What a coup for them. In the past year they also signed on former Houston Ballet principal Amy Fote as a ballet master. A quick glance at the roster yielded another familiar face: Christopher McDaniel, who years ago was so impressive in the above referenced Yorkville Nutcracker, is now a Demi-Soloist at Ballet San Antonio. The company is celebrating its 30th year and opens its Nutcracker on Friday. Tickets here.

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The Gelsey Kirkland Ballet opens its unique and very charming Nutcracker in its brand new Brooklyn home (29 Jay Street in DUMBO) on December 10th through December 20th.  Tickets here.

These folks are fabulous:

 

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Don't forget the Bolshoi in Cinema's presentation of Lady of the Camellias this Sunday. Check here for participating cinemas in your area.

 

Gelsey Kirkland Ballet – Don Quixote 5/16 eve

When the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Dance and the Gelsey Kirkland Ballet move to their new home in the St. Ann’s Warehouse Theater in Brooklyn this June, they’ll not only have five large studios and a 300-seat theater at their disposal, but they will be smack dab in the middle of one of the trendiest, most art-friendly communities in the city. The prospects are exciting, and few will be surprised when the borough enthusiastically embraces and supports Gelsey’s Russian-tradition trained dancers and the authentic content of their performances such as the one Haglund caught on Saturday night.

The Gelsey Kirkland Ballet’s spring season at the Schimmel Center at Pace University just concluded with a vibrant production of Don Quixiote. The Petipa/Gorsky based version was staged by Gelsey and her team including Nikolai Levitsky, Vera Solovieva, Lyubov Fominich, Alexandra Lawler and Liudmila Polonskaya. Pilar Garcia provided additional mime coaching. Michael Chernov directed. To say that these stagers, coaches, teachers, directors, along with the other faculty and musicians have done a wondrous job with the young artists would be a total understatement. This crew has “nailed it” and the result is a Don Quixote that is fresh, brilliantly danced, and fully lived by all of the artists on stage.

We’ve been following Gelsey’s journey with her school and company for the last six years as it has gained traction in the New York area with its outstanding full versions of The Nutcracker, La Sylphide, Sleeping Beauty, and an array of tantalizing repertory pieces such as Harlequinade, Cavalry Halt and excerpts from Swan Lake, Napoli, Flames of Paris, and La Bayadere – and now this huge undertaking of Don Quixote.

While the artists' levels of ballet technique and facilities are wide-ranging, what has begun to appear is a distinct group pedigree marked by fundamental knowledge of styles and a commitment to bringing the proper one to the stage each time with full theatrical weight. Call it artistic intelligence. Even the smallest children who appeared with their feet seemingly glued to the floor in little flat-footed bourrees had complete command of their mime.

Saturday evening’s cast was led by the charismatic artists Dawn Gierling as Kitri, Johnny Almeida as Basilio, Anderson Souza as Espada, Sabina Alvarez as the Street Dancer, Nagi Wakisaka as the Dryads Queen, Nina Yoshida as Amour, India Rose and Natalia Sheptalova as the Flower Girls. There were several substitutions announced quickly at curtain; our apologies for any mess-up on cast details.

All of the dancers possessed technique in spades: academically correct with strength enough to exploit the rules without offending them.

Kitri’s hops on pointe were accompanied by full circle ronde de jambes. Her fouettes alternated with double revolutions, not just for the first 16 but all the way through to the end. She delighted with her fiery, quick-tempered articulation in Act I, creamy port de bras and a sense of mystery as Dulcinea in the Act II Enchanted Forest scene, and elegance, beauty, and poise in the Wedding PdD.

The very slim Basilio pressed Kitri over his head and confidently held her there with one arm like she was made of paper. His specialty pirouettes included ones in which the arms rose above his head with a final flourish of the wrists and palms turning toward the sky. To see the intense joy and determination in his face while standing behind Kitri and turning her like a wizard was a little reminiscent of the intensity we recall in Kirkland herself.

There was so much to admire in classical dancing skills in this production, but equally impressive were the high levels of character dancing. This story relies on the storytelling efforts of the Sequidilla Ladies and Men, the Torreadors, the gypsies, townfolk, and the all important Don Quixote (Alexander Mays), Sancho Panza (Marcus Salazar), Lorenzo (Samuel Humphreys), and Gamache (Erez Ben-Zion Milatin). Again, there were substitutions announced at curtain too quickly to make note. The serious investment that Gelsey’s staff has made in character development, traditional character dances, and authentic mime has paid off handsomely in each and every artist.

The work of set designer Court Watson, costume designer Michael Chernov and his team of six, and scenic artists at Infinite Scenic all contributed extraordinary elements to this production.

Isn’t this painted scrim magnificent? Haglund knows that he wasn’t supposed to take a picture of it, but heck, everyone else was; so, why not?

[Edited to add: We received word from the company that this scrim is originally from the New York City Opera's  production of Barber of Seville - which, in our opinion, makes it all the more wonderful.]

Look at the layers of detail in the fan, the richness of the palette, the distinct artistry in the design. What you see in this fan represents what we saw in the dancing on stage. All of it was so enjoyable. We can’t wait to be standing at the door for this company’s first performance in their new Brooklyn home.

The H.H. Pump Bump Award is going to have to be shared by many – actually by everyone who contributed to this stunning production:

observations 5/15

Is the ABT principal with the stress fracture going to dance on it or is she going to be replaced? Is McKenzie in a mad dash to bring in more guest artists to cover someone who is supposed to be a generic house ballerina or is he going to let Stella Abrera dance Giselle and Sarah Lane dance Swan Lake like he should? Are they going to dribble the changes throughout the week at the last minute to make certain that no one has an opportunity to exchange tickets and none of the deserving soloists have the opportunity to prepare? Guess what? Abrera and Lane are already prepared.

Full disclosure, please – and not at the last minute.

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Meanwhile, our glorious, much missed, world class Giselle, Yuriko Kajiya, will be reprising her signature role opposite the enormously talented Aaron Robison in a performance under the stars and moon Saturday night in Houston at the Miller Outdoor Theater with all of Houston Ballet. Normally I would wish that Jared would jump in as Hilarion, but since this is Aaron's Albrecht debut, that could be way too scary given Jared's intensity in that role and given who is dancing Giselle.

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Gelsey Kirkland Ballet presents Don Quixote again tonight and tomorrow night at the Schimmel Center at Pace University. You can be certain that it's going to be authentic and that everyone is going to be exceptionally well-schooled in style. Tickets available at http://schimmel.pace.edu/events/don-quixote

Watch the trailer, remember the glory:

 

observations 11/18

The fix is in.

ABT has rigged the press coverage of its Nutcracker performances this year. Other than the opening night performance, they are presently offering only two press nights: Misty Copeland's second performance on December 18th and Hee Seo's second performance on December 16th. Yes, their second performances. lol.

It seems that ABT doesn't want any press coverage of either Sarah Lane's or Stella Abrera's performances in the leading role as Clara, even though Stella, one of the two most classically empowered and refined artists in the company, will be debuting in this production and Sarah's previous performances have been among the most beautiful of all. That's understandable: these two remarkable soloists make Hee Seo and Misty Copeland look like KMart jewelry every time they are compared. No disrespect intended to KMart – they have a decent housewares department. If one wants single pique turns, single step-over turns, simplified & slowed down choreography, or a noisy power drill, KMart's the place to shop. If one is looking for upscale classical ballet, try these dates December 13 @ 12pm (Sarah w/Joseph Gorak), December 14 @ 1pm (Stella w/Alexandre Hammoudi), December 19 @ 7pm (Sarah w/Joseph Gorak), and December 20 @ 2pm (Stella w/Alexandre Hammoudi).

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Style and substance.

Gelsey Kirkland Ballet will present its exquisite production of The Nutcracker at the Schimmel Center on December 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21. Use the discount code FRIENDS by December 5 to save 10% on any evening performance.

Let us step back in time to consider what it meant to dance like the light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6NCE9GlU7s

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Dates to remember:

12/6 Tickets for An American in Paris at the Palace Theater on Broadway go on sale to the general public. Mastercard presale in process now.

12/8 Single tickets for the Mariinsky at BAM go on sale to the general public.

2/4  Single tickets to the Scottish Ballet's acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire go on sale at the Kennedy Center.

 

 

observations 5/13

ABT's starry guest artists and imports are now being peddled at a discount on TDF. They're not selling any better than the real ABT dancers' performances. La Bayadere for May 26, 27 and 28 mat are available for $31. And there are plenty of orchestra seat tickets left for tonight's opening of Don Q if you were thinking about rushing out to buy them today. Too bad there's not a Jared & Yuriko Don Q among the choices this week.

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Tonight at NYCB, there are two hotly anticipated debuts on the program. Ashley Laracey dances the Fourth Movement from Symphony in C with Taylor Stanley, and Lauren Lovette leads the Raymonda Variations with Anthony Huxley who is also making his debut in the role.

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Gelsey Kirkland Ballet will present four performances of Sleeping Beauty on May 16, 17 and 18 at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University on Spruce Street. Gelsey is not going to let classicism die no matter what other people are substituting for it. Check out this YouTube promo video.

Tickets may be purchased here.

 

Gelsey Kirkland Ballet – Cavalry Halt 3/7

It was a complete pleasure seeing the Gelsey Kirkland Ballet present the New York premiere of Marius Petipa’s Cavalry Halt Friday night at Symphony Space. Staged by Nikolai Levitsky and Vera Solovyeva, both formerly of the Leningrad State Ballet Company, this little gem of a one-act demi-character ballet was created in 1896 while Petipa was the First Ballet Master of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater. Created on his own daughter, Marie, and Italian ballerina Pierina Legnani, the comedy ballet pits two women against each other as they try to attract the affections of a village boy. The cavalry arrives with an assortment of characters who interrupt and stoke the women’s rivalry and create general chaos. Legnani, who three years before the premiere had introduced fouette turns and had begun to incorporate them into many of her ballet variations, of course, utilized them in this choreography as a tool to impress the village boy. There is hysteria and confusion created by the cavalry’s general, rotmeister, and coronet player, but it all ends happily with a snappy rendition of Johann Strauss’ Radetsky March. Most of the music, however, is by Johann Armsheimer.

The large cast included many students from the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet in addition to company members and apprentices. Dawn Gierling, Katrina Crawford, Anderson Souza, Alexander Mays, Johnny Almeida, and Erez Ben-Zion Milatin led the Cavalry charge with panache and dancing that proved the worth of Gelsey’s eternal mission to promote the story ballet. Each and every step had the purpose to convey theatrical meaning. Even those fouettes, which came perilously close to the edge of the stage, proved just how far the young woman would go and how much she would risk to impress the village boy. The dancers who performed in the roles of Cavalry Men, Peasants, and Hungarian group delivered the comedy and dancing with great spirit and impressive energy. Much thanks should go to Gelsey and her organization for presenting this rarely seen Petipa jewel.

The PdD from Antony Tudor’s Leaves Are Fading was performed by Dawn Gierling and Cristian Laverde Koenig. The Tudor Trust dispatched Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner to set the work. Gelsey, who was the originator of the role with Jonas Kage, provided the coaching. It all produced a remarkable performance that made the heart flutter. Right off the bat, Ms. Gierling displayed the abandonment that we recall from Gelsey’s interpretation –– a quality that has been missing from most of ABT’s efforts these past years. There were times in this performance when Gierling flew into Koenig’s arms with the lightness of a leaf that caught the upswirl of the wind. For his part, Mr. Koenig managed all of the partnering deftly and tossed off his solo with a fine intensity.

Petipa’s Raymonda Suite, led by India Rose and Johnny Almeida, looked promising with Ms. Rose, always a sturdy technician, offering a sense of mystery and allure in her solos. In the handclapping variation, Ms. Rose sensually slid the palm of her top hand across the bottom palm - more like a Lopatkina version than the smack employed by Zakharova in her version. This Raymonda Suite was an ambitious undertaking and there were some nerves evident in the corps. Feet could have been more strongly pointed and spacing more uniform. But now that the effort has been invested, it would be a shame not to see it again on a future program.

The dancers pulled off the Ballebille from the third act of Bournonville's Napoli with surprising ease. But it shouldn’t have been surprising given the excellent La Sylphide that the company produced in May of 2012. The dancers had the style down pat and looked well rehearsed.

Nicole Assaad and Erez Ben-Zion Milatin didn’t let the small stage stop them from giving an explosive performance of Vainonen’s Flames of Paris PdD. Terrific work from these two dancers. Big energy, big jumps, big turns, and charming stage presence. Ms. Assaad’s fast and scrupulously tidy feet and Mr. Milatin’s determination to will his way through some of the ariel maneuvers made for an exciting performance.

Sir Anton Dolin’s reconstruction of Perrot’s Pas de Quatre was performed by Anastasia Barsukova, Michelle Katcher, Nicole Fedorov, and Katia Raj. The dancers portrayed the famous ballerinas, Lucile Grahn, Carlotta Grisi, Fanny Cerrito, and Marie Taglioni with the lightness and humor that we’ve all come to expect from this piece.

From the Kirkland Academy’s first performances, it has been apparent that Gelsey has programming smarts that others don’t have. This latest evening with the New York premiere of Cavalry Halt and the revival of Leaves Are Fading along with four other classics all performed with stylistic integrity proved that progress is humming along. Hopefully, Gelsey will find the strength and resources to continue on the present path for many years to come.

Gelsey’s company will present Sleeping Beauty at the Schimmel Center on May 16-17.

The Pump Bump Award, a classic Aldo Sacchetti from a past century, is bestowed upon the cast of Cavalry Halt for their fine performance on Friday evening.