Haglund's Heel

NYCB Jewels 9/20 & 9/21 Loaded with gems

        New York City Ballet dressed itself to the hilt with two more glistening performances of Jewels on Wednesday and Thursday. Every single debut was a 100 carat diamondized beauty set among the polished performances of gems including Ashley Laracey in Emeralds, Tiler Peck with Roman Mejia and Emily Kikta in Rubies, and Joseph Gordon in Diamonds. 

        Thursday evening Haglund became lost in Emeralds — spellbound, transported into an unblinking hypnotic state by Mira Nadon and Davide Riccardo and their rapport galore. There was something spiritual about this pair, an enhanced connection perhaps, that added to the fascination of this plotless work. And while it is tempting to focus here on Nadon’s luxurious style and mesmerizing movement, we have to say that our attention was drawn time and time again to Riccardo’s beautiful leg lines, generous arabesques, and articulate feet. We really need to see more of him in Balanchine’s principal roles. 

 

        Contrast this performance with the night before when Ashley Bouder embarrassed both the company and choreographer. Never have we seen such a swollen ballerina in a principal role at New York City Ballet. Never have we seen NYCB allow one egomaniac to soil Balanchine the way Bouder did on Wednesday night with her unprofessional appearance and her substandard dancing. And the air-biting to show what a glorious time she was having while flapping and jiggling her arm-flesh was just too much. She looked and danced like she was making a bid for a Jardiance commercial where the happy, fat lady celebrates how wonderful it is to be obese and how we should all normalize fatness. Frankly, we’re sick and tired of this dancer's selfish, toxic, ego-driven effort to push her way around a ballet company where she no longer fits. The constant excuse of her “possibly career ending” injury is worn down to its threads, and the ongoing use of her child as a shield from criticism is disturbing, to say the least. Bouder’s time is up. 

 

        We have to criticize NYCB management for allowing Bouder to bull her way onto the stage and for risking injury to a world-class artist like Chun Wai Chan by pairing him with Bouder and exploiting his good-sport nature. The effort it took for him to swing Bouder into the air looked like an invitation to a hernia. 

 

        Wednesday’s Emeralds wasn’t a total loss due to the exquisite performances of Ashley Laracey and Peter Walker. Laracey’s Keatsian sensuousness is the most beautiful we’ve ever seen in this role on NYCB’s stage. The generosity of her port de bras, the arch of her back, and her regal silhouette are breathtaking. Walker was perfection as a partner — gallant, attentive and strikingly beautiful in his lines and noble carriage. 

 

        Wednesday evening’s Rubies with Tiler Peck, Roman Mejia and Emily Kikta was thrilling from minute 1 to 19. Some years back when Tiler debuted in this role, Haglund thought it was a misfire. But her performance this week showed a wonderfully spirited, exceptionally fit, glowing artist who mined Rubies to extract and reveal her treasured musicality. Mejia came completely uncorked in the Villella role. His go-for-it-what-the-hell enthusiasm in this lines-don’t-matter role was so charged with electricity that it was almost fatal — he nearly killed us. The addition of Emily Kikta’s Tall Girl into this mix – well, it was definitely time to call the ambulances. She battement-ed her legs through the air like they were paddles at The Pleasure Chest.  

 

        Thursday’s Rubies celebrated a debuting cast of Emma Von Enck, Jovani Furlan, and Christina Clark. Sass-sational Emma with her aculeate feet and prickly charm ran away with this ballet. Jovani took a very good first stab at his role although he seemed less comfortable with the character portrayal than with the steps. Christina’s Tall Girl was in the mold of Tess Rechlein’s cool, confident interpretation with a coy ready-for-play aspect. The gasp-inducing length of her legs and the speed with which she could wield them was astonishing. She had all the technique, all the equipment, and all the confidence needed to deliver this role which has suddenly become the focal point of Rubies thanks to a bevy of strong new interpreters like Kikta, Nadon and LaFreniere. Looking forward to more from her.

 

        The performances on Wednesday and Thursday gifted us with two new remarkable Diamond ballerinas — each so different yet so unmistakably right for the role. Unity Phelan was quite introspective but lovely nonetheless. This role was originally made for the most introspective Balanchine ballerina ever. One rarely got to gaze into the eyes of Farrell or crack her sense of privacy. That characteristic works well in Diamonds. We kept watching Unity Phelan and thinking that this is the way it was intended. Her technique has steadily gained strength and it was difficult to find any glaring technical weaknesses in her performance on Wednesday. However, she may never be a favorite of those who have become addicted to the excesses in Sara Mearns' highly individual interpretation and who consider any Diamond not like her to be a flawed gem. Also a different Diamond was Isabella LaFreniere whose orthodox technical foundation and verticalness allowed for another distinctive interpretation — one with more regal ballerina authority. The breadth of her movement and the sweep of her limbs were stunning in this ravishing debut opposite Chun Wai Chan (also debuting) who likewise is a more orthodox trained dancer. His solos were gorgeous in form, grace, spin, and articulation. His partnering was sublime.

 

        The Thursday evening Jewels was loaded with excitement and artistic growth — all of it an immense pleasure to witness. But the one performance which we keep replaying in our minds is that of Ashley Laracey’s Emeralds on Wednesday. Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, courtesy of Manolo Blahnik, is bestowed upon her. 

 

 

 

 

 

NYCB Opens its 75th Anniversary Season 9/19

        Opening Night of New York City Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Season had a circusy feel to it – as though we had somehow stumbled into the middle of Massine’s Parade. A line of picketing musicians oompa oompa-ed up and down the sidewalk in front of Lincoln Center while onlookers spooned gelato into their mouths and divided their attention between the picketers and the video art installation hanging on the front of the Koch Theater. 

        Once inside the theater, however, the lucent genius of Balanchine’s Jewels was everyone’s focal point – everyone including the more than 200 NYCB alumni who came to town to celebrate the company’s diamond jubilee. 

 

        The cast of Emeralds included principal debuts by Indiana Woodward and Tyler Angle who proved to be an unlikely couple but danced well. We look forward to Indiana’s subsequent performances where we can expect more musical shading and the luxuriant texture that we love to see in her dancing. It’s impossible not to appreciate Tyler’s partnering skills, but they come at a cost which may now be too high to pay. The combination of bulk & baldness distracted us from Indiana’s elegant efforts. 

 

        Emilie Gerrity and Adrian Danchig-Waring were pointe-walking perfection in their PdD – a wonderful match in terms of tone, artistry, and refinement. They could have been walking down a path under lit lamps in Central Park like so many couples do. 

 

        The trio of Sara Adams, Sebastian Villarini-Velez and Brittany Pollack was vibrant and buoyant. The corps de ballet was school-like and uncertain about their marks but we immediately noticed Sarah Harmon’s new peaceful confidence and long elegant lines.

 

        The Rubies cast couldn’t help but strut its best stuff to Stephen Gosling’s brilliant playing of Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. What a romp by Megan Fairchild, Anthony Huxley, and Mira Nadon! Fairchild, cheeky & flirty with chop-busting technique, knocked out the funny turns with elbows down and wrists limp as though she could have been holding a martini at the same time. Huxley, who in recent seasons has become a much more relaxed and vibrant performer while delivering his impeccable technique, offered just the right amount of showiness to compliment Fairchild’s performance.

 

        What is there left to say about Mira Nadon’s Tall Girl soloist with all the little guys clamoring around her? She made each one think they had a chance when in fact none did. As she baited her way off the stage with one risky arabesque penché after another, it was clear that her evening plans included bigger fish. This Tall Girl could battement her leg to her nose and swipe a guy's wallet at the same time. She had the club patrons gladly emptying their pockets to see her whack an attitude foot to the back of the head and throw in a few dizzying pirouettes.

 

        Sara Mearns and Russell Janzen gave out-sized performances in Diamonds. Janzen had a stamina and forcefulness in his dancing that we haven’t seen in several years and which made the prospect of his retirement this week all the more sad. Mearns has tamped down the excessive emotional output in the ballerina role and seemed particularly strong and secure in her own dancing. While each dancer was individually appealing for different reasons, they didn't particularly compliment one another although their love for dancing together was palpable.

 

        The Diamonds corps de ballet had some obviously ragged moments last evening – lines along the left side of the stage were particularly abhorrent at times. Some of the men didn’t seem to know where they were supposed to be. However, the corps women who performed the demi roles: Olivia Boisson, Christina Clark, Meaghan Dutton-O’Hara, and Mary Elizabeth Sell were magnificent.

 

        At the conclusion of Jewels, the 200+ alumni gathered on stage in front of the current company members to take bows. Edward Villella and Allegra Kent, grasping their canes and each other, were among the many stars present last evening who catapulted NYCB to the forefront in the 20th Century. In 25 years at the 100th Anniversary, Mearns, Janzen, Fairchild, Huxley, Danchig Waring, Gerrity, Nadon, Woodward, and Angle will be among those standing in front as ones who helped move the company's level of dancing into the 21st Century. What a party that will be for those of us who can hang on to make it.

 

        The H.H. Pump Award, an Acquazzura cocktail sandal with (un)caged vamp at Bergdorf’s for $1450, is bestowed upon Megan Fairchild for the standard-setting quality and charm of her performance in Rubies on this opening night.

 

 

 

observations 9/14

Here's the NYCB cast sheet for Week 2 that is posted in the lobby. No changes yet to Week 1.

        Just curious -- who out there in NYC currently receives free individual health insurance from his employer? According to NYCB, the musicians have received free individual health insurance for many years and are the only NYCB employees who do not currently pay any part of their individual health insurance premiums. Haglund's experience over the past three decades has been to pay as much as 80% of the cost of health insurance and never less than 50%. Right now, he pays $165 per month for Medicare coverage and an additional premium for prescriptions. Why in this day and age should the NYCB orchestra expect free health insurance when that would surely mean that their cost would be factored into the premiums of other NYCB employees?

        And why is the orchestra arguing a comparison with 2019 wages? 2019 is history. Everybody suffered financially in 2020 & 2021, and nobody - especially those who had to start over multiple times in new jobs - had a sense of entitlement to 2019 wages.

        Haglund's sense is that both sides in this contest are probably lying to some extent which is why neither side will release to the public the actual salaries & benefits paid. IMO, as a nonprofit organization that relies on the generosity of its supporters and the aid of government, NYCB & the union should release lists of salaries & benefits with names redacted so that the public knows where to place its sympathies.

        Every time there is a hike in ticket prices or facility fees or service fees, we should wonder why the orchestra members do not pay health insurance premiums.

        Lastly, why don't all the Lincoln Center resident companies and their unions have enough muscle to collectively negotiate favorable health insurance premiums for the many thousands of employees?

 

observations 9/12

This is a drop dead gorgeous coffee table book. Oh my goodness. While the choreography for which these costumes were designed was mostly forgettable -- with the exception of the brilliant Spectral Evidence by Angelin Preljocaj, Polaris by Myles Thatcher, and Belles Lettres by Justin Peck -- the costumes were nearly always a hit. We've always wondered why the Fall Fashion Gala tradition is said to have begun in 2012 when, in fact, Stella McCartney contributed major designs the previous fall.

The costumes are glorious, the photography is stunning, and the textual feel of the book is rich. On Amazon.

Haglund's all-time, forever favorites by Valentino (ohhh to touch that silk):

 

observations 9/5

        So . . . along with today's announcement of some fairly interesting casting for New York City Ballet's opening week of Jewels came the announcement that the NYCB Orchestra has authorized a strike in the event that contract negotiations stall. Nothing's ever easy in this city. Let's hope that everyone stays calm and focused and continues to negotiate in good faith so that we can enjoy a wonderful 75th Anniversary Season. Rather than anyone screaming and threatening, why not make the artists' salaries public so that the public can make a judgement about where to place its sympathies. No names -- just a list of salaries & benefits.

        We're extremely happy with the many upcoming debuts, particularly seeing Mira Nadon and Davide Riccardo together in Emeralds; Emma Von Enck, Jovani Furlan, and Christina Clark in Rubies along with Isabella LaFreniere and Chun Wai Chan debuting in Diamonds -- all will be spectacular. The casting of Ashley Bouder in Emeralds is simply indicative of a problem unresolved. A month ago she was performing out West:

        The Verdy role in Emeralds requires lovely arms. Luckily we'll see the most beautiful arms on the stage when Ashley Laracey performs the other principal role in the same cast. The differences in fitness and stage readiness will be both startling and troubling. Are we looking forward to seeing Tootsie Rolls waving around to Faure's lovely music in the Verdy role? Afraid not. But that isn't Bouder's concern. So long as she can count on five people sitting in the front row right corner cheering her on, she will soil Balanchine from one end of the stage to the other.

 

NYCB 5/10 Here she is – better late than never!

        Our little pink renegade in the red Azalea Corps de Ballet of Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park has appeared at last. Seemingly always late getting to the stage, she didn't show up this year until it was almost time for bows – like something out of Jerome Robbins' The Concert.

        But oh, isn't she a beauty. Funny how this garden parallels life. Just when we were thinking how we really missed so many of Balanchine's big ballets -- although the season's offerings have been nothing to sniff at -- out trotted this big old beautiful rose-scented Robbins ballet that we hadn't seen in years to bring a little extra enchantment to the garden. Brandenburg hasn't been seen in a decade and a half on NYCB's stage, and oh what a beauty of a ballet it is. It's full of surprises and humor, full of imaginative step combinations, full of ballet comfort & beauty, and exquisitely danced by its cast of twenty. How did this ballet get left out of the Robbins 100 Festival a few years back?

        For his last ballet, Robbins borrowed the best from himself for Brandenburg. At times, it even looked like he was reminiscing about his excursion with Tharp. The intense focus on clean structure seemed almost architecturally engineered. There were so many appealing arrangements of dancers that the ballet could be a poster for the Elements of Composition: pattern, focus, contrast, balance, rhythm, whatever. Even the dated costumes looked charming with their girly sleeves for the women and masculine-like rolled up sleeves & vests for the men. How did this ballet get left out of the Robbins 100 Festival a few years back?

        Indiana Woodward and Anthony Huxley anchored the first of four sections with their charismatic PdD, but it was the Corps de Ballet that stole the spotlight with their joyful dancing. As lines of dancers trafficked through one another in complex formations to the music's 137 beats per minute (it begs to be steppy), some looked a bit unnerved by the combination of speed and complexity of the choreography. Positions went awry once or twice, but it was never at risk of devolving into, say, the opening of Glass Pieces. Dancers' lifted their arms high in V formations during allegro like Paul Taylor's dancers did when they happily skated through the same music in Taylor's Brandenburgs created a decade prior to Robbins' ballet. Just the fact that both Taylor and Robbins were drawn to this same music is confirmation of its danceability, dancesuasiveness, and danceliciousness.

        The incredible centerpiece of this ballet was delivered by Mira Nadon and Aaron Sanz, two dancers whose own imaginations opened more possibilities for this choreography than perhaps Robbins, himself, ever imagined. The PdD was a welcomed reminder that PdDs are not about continual manipulation of the woman's body or 10 minutes where the entwined dancers can't let go of one another. Here we saw the dancers separated physically half of their time, their limbs circling each other's limbs without touching or at times dancing the same steps apart -- no physical connection but oh were they ever communicating.

        Also on the program was a spirited performance of Robbins' Fancy Free led by sailors Roman Mejia, Joseph Gordon, and Andrew Veyette; Passers-by Mary Thomas MacKinnon, Alexa Maxwell, and Malorie Lundgren; and Maxwell Read as the Bartender.

        Balanchine's Agon was the serious soul of the program which opened and closed with Robbins' infectious joy. Unity Phelan, who is just starting to wrap her legs around this lead role, didn't exhibit the expected authority and sharpness during the iconic moment when she spun around before throwing her leg in attitude behind her partner, Adrian Danchig-Waring. Taylor Stanley debuted his Sarabande solo to the difficult Stravinsky horn passage, and Emilie Gerrity gave a crystal clear rendition of the Bransle Gay, if a bit demure.

        Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, Louboutin's Lip Chick patent pump, is bestowed upon Mira Nadon and Aaron Sanz for their extraordinary interpretation in Robbins' Brandenburg.

 

Wheeldon and Pyres at NYCB When the math doesn't work

        Arriving at our blessed $38 seats for our first view of Christopher Wheeldon’s new “abstract” work for New York City Ballet entitled From You Within Me, we were met by a front scrim bearing the stunning atmospheric painting by Kylie Manning. Rich marine blues and greens suggested a water scene, perhaps the ocean or a glen or an inlet surrounded by lush landscape. It was a lovely reminder of ABT’s Swan Lake curtain. Noting that Wheeldon had chosen to use the same Schoenberg music that ABT’s Antony Tudor used for his dramatic Pillar of Fire and had lifted a line for the title from the Dehmel narrative poem which inspired both Schoenberg and Tudor, we began to wonder, “How could Swan Lake-ish scrim + Pillar of Fire music + Dehmel narrative reference = abstract ballet?” 

        Soon the dancers appeared behind the scrim at the side of the stage entangled in a blob of humanity from which individual dancers dramatically reached up and out before sinking back into the blob which was rotating counter-clockwise. As individual dancers withdrew from the blob, we immediately noticed the geometric beauty of the back zippers on their red, very see-through mesh unitards which led directly down to the straight cracks in their exposed buttocks. We wondered, “How could Swan Lake-ish scrim + Pillar of Fire music + Dehmel poetic reference + red baboon butts = abstract ballet?” 

 

        Sara Mearns, arguably NYCB’s most melodramatic ballerina, devoured Wheeldon’s phrases in solos of whipping arms, spinning turns, expressions of torment, and the expansive movement for which she is known and prized, but we wondered, “How could Swan Lake-ish scrim + Pillar of Fire music + Dehmel poetic reference + red baboon butts + melodramatic ballerina = abstract ballet?” 

 

        We’re still wondering.

 

        Wheeldon was unmistakably inspired by the dramatic undercurrent and emotional riptides present in Tudor’s famous work. The stilted pointe poses and the torso angst alone made that argument. He seemed to want to simulate the mental turbulence that Tudor found within Schoenberg’s music without the benefit of a storyline — thus, we had unfocused emotion and dramatic reachings without any indication for what the dancers were reaching. It was a story ballet of mostly blanks that the viewer was supposed to fill in as he wished. Like Flo sings, “That’s not my job.”  A ballet that suggests a storyline but doesn’t deliver is not an abstract ballet; it’s a half-cooked story ballet, that’s all.

 

        So what about the choreography — assuming it was abstract? Not all that interesting, we’re afraid. Wheeldon excels in group movement, but solos and PdD can frequently look generic — like they might show up in any of his other ballets. A PdD exquisitely danced by Peter Walker and Aaron Sanz included the obligatory gymnastics and entanglements of our time, but the movement itself — except for some perfectly wonderful arabesques — wasn’t visually interesting as abstract movement, although we’re sure that it must have been challenging and interesting for the dancers to perform. Unfortunately, whether the dancers love (or hate) dancing the choreography is no measure of how satisfying the audience finds it.  

 

        Alysa Pires’ new choreography, Standard Deviation, never made it outside 68% of the data set of steps that we see in most contemporary choreography - not even one standard deviation. It was beyond boring, teetering on tedious, and made more unwatchable by the dancers’ unattractive unitards that went up to their necks and looked straight out of Discount Dance Supply. Dancers solemnly made various geometric forms with their arms while standing or motoring around in lines and while trying in vain to find some importance in what they were doing. Then, like a Hail Mary Pass thrown by the hopelessly losing quarterback, Pires sent Tiler Peck to center stage to do fouettes. Cringe-worthy is being too kind. 

 

        In sum, we’re glad that these new dances aren’t on the schedule for next season, not even for $38.

 

NYCB Week Two Sometimes patchy but mostly passionate

 
    

        There are some patches in the garden that need to be filled in. The NYC Department of Parks should pay more attention to our iconic azalea garden in Damrosch Park and put up a few classy signs that say “No Dog Pee” and “No Big Apple Circus Pee,” peeleezzee — not that such a message would resonate with the neighbors who routinely run their tiny dogs atop the garden retainer walls and encourage them to seek relief among the azaleas. Attention must be paid. We may have to get Gale Brewer involved.

        Reflecting on recent performances, there were also some rough patches that needed attention in the jardin de ballet. Let’s start with Tuesday’s performance of La Source. The ballet, itself, comes across as being patched together — because it was patched together by Balanchine: first a pas de deux with the later development of the divertissments and corps work. The dancing of the corps de ballet, all apprentices and relatively new corps women, resembled a student workshop performance —  neither charming nor cute to see on NYCB’s main stage. The tutees went from point A ➞ point B ➞ point C with terminal academic dullness as did Bailey Jones who performed in the soloist position. The grownup dancing of Indiana Woodward and Joseph Gordon provided much needed relief (not that ↑ type of relief) with emphasis on purposeful energy, not slam-bam-bang. Indiana's perfume-filled interpretation of Delibes’ music was simply lovely. 

 

        Admittedly in the minority here, we found Namouna, A Grand Divertissement still the jokey grand bore it was five years ago except for the sassy trio of Daniel Ulbricht, Emma Von Enck, and Olivia MacKinnon, and some seductive cigarette smoking by Mira Nadon. The ballet still runs on mania that quickly becomes fatiguing to watch. The whole thing is far too long with a central pas de deux that goes on and on and on while saying very little. The programing of Namouna with student-like dancers in La Source made for an evening where we wished we could switch the channel. 

 

        Square Dance improved over the week but continued to suffer from miscasting. The pairing of Erica Periera with Taylor Stanley is as odd as could be: he, who possesses some of the most interesting artistry on the planet with she, who struggles to emerge from vapid, risk-free albeit technically solid performances. Where Stanley captivated our attention with his inner life and originality, Pereira produced clean, colorless steps of little interest. Meanwhile, corps dancer Claire Von Enck offered some of the best, most vivacious dancing that we’ve seen from her. Alexa Maxwell and Lauren Collett commanded our attention with their sizzling energies as did Victor Abreu and Cainan Weber. 

 

        In addition to Tiler Peck’s delicious debut last week in Raymonda, we were thrilled this week with the performances of Isabella LaFreniere and Chun Wai Chan. LaFreniere dominated the stage with the immense scope of her dancing, authority, and technical perfection. Still relatively new to the trials of dancing Balanchine on the Master’s stage, Chan embraced the challenges of the tempi and superbly partnered LaFreniere. Watching her confidently take flight head first into his arms at the conclusion of Raymonda was one of those “What??!!” moments in the theater.

 

        We witnessed enticing dancing in the performances of Afternoon of a Faun and Haieff Divertimento. Unity Phelan with Joseph Gordon and Dominika Afanasenkov with Christopher Grant in Robbins’ masterful interpretation of Debussy’s seductive score were again illustrative of the current high level of care and careful casting being accorded Robbins’ works. Phelan and Gordon offered a more imaginative approach to their story, whereas Afanasenkov and Grant were more present and literal in their interpretations to the point where the viewer could actually believe that their encounter might really happen in a studio. Afanasenkov has such lovely length and classical shape which she used exquisitely. At one point we saw her reach and rise through Grant’s embrace with a distinctive airiness followed by the simple beauty of her descent to a resting horizontal position. 

 

        Christina Clark continues to captivate our attention and grows in artistry with each appearance on stage. Her Haieff Divertimento performances opposite Alec Knight proved to be fascinating. For a dancer so tall, she certainly has fine control of those extraordinary limbs and can move at the speed of the tinier, compact corps dancers. Hopefully, the fall anniversary season will bring her a big ballerina role or two. Alec Knight has such obvious potential as a major partner because of his physical blessings. Like others, his trajectory was interrupted by injury and COVID. Let’s be careful out there.

 

        Donizetti Variations doesn’t accept complaints. It’s always entertaining and vibrant. Megan Fairchild with Anthony Huxley, Indiana Woodward with Joseph Gordon, and Tiler Peck with the reverse-aging Andrew Veyette all turned out superb virtuosic performances with infectious joy and vibrance. Corps dancers Mary Thomas MacKinnon, Charlie Klesa, and Davide Riccardo were standouts every step of the way. We can’t get enough of this sing-along ballet.

 

        Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Louboutin blue leather jolie, is bestowed upon Isabella LaFreniere and Chun Wai Chan for their brilliance and beauty in Raymonda Variations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

observations 4/25

We think we predicted this some years back. If Sara Mearns was going to get a Juliet, it would probably be Ratmansky's. And yes, it will be so.

On June 16th in Toronto, Sara will dance Juliet opposite Guillaume Côté's Romeo which will mark his retirement of the role at the National Ballet of Canada.

Patience wins.

 

NYCB 4/20Well now they're just plain showing off . . .

. . . the azaleas in Damrosch Park, that is.

        It's not that there wasn't some of that going on last night at NYCB, too.

        Terrific debuts, a long anticipated return, and a more successful cohesive effort among corps members marked this third performance of the spring season.

        Isabella LaFreniere's debut in Concerto Barocco was nothing short of stunning. Such surgical precision coupled with daring space-gobbling we rarely have seen in this ballet. Her entrance variation with its off-balance developpes and literal musicality was so bold and fearless that it brought back memories of the courageous dancing of Jennie Somogyi.

        After an absence of several months due to injury, Sara Mearns returned with her own successful debut in Concerto Barocco partnered by Russell Janzen. The choice for her comeback was a bit risky, but this dancer has never been one to shy away from risk either. We look forward to seeing the LaFreniere-Mearns-Janzen trio again on Saturday evening.

        It would seem that when the principal cast of Concerto Barocco is as statuesque as last night's, the corps should also be made up of similar women. However, this corps, on its third try, achieved better uniformity than in the opening two performances.

        We've seen enough of Kammermusik No. 2 to "get it" and appreciate the difficulty of dancing the complex choreography. But really, how compelling would it be without the swinging ponytails? Seven performances of this ballet may be over-kill.

        It was hard to believe that we were, for the very first time, seeing Tiler Peck in Raymonda Variations, a ballet previously painted with the individuality of Violette Verdy and Kyra Nichols. All of a sudden the dancing matched the dreamy, classic beauty of the landscape scenery. A whiff of lilacs, a warm breeze to the face, the freshness of a new perspective -- it was all there. So individual and so lovely. We loved the spontaneity of Tiler's musicality -- it just came out of her like a birdsong. Her pas de deux with Joseph Gordon was sublime and offered a beautiful soft quality in the arabesques and port de bras. Gordon created his own Romantic universe augmented by impressive variations with skimming brise voles and easy, buoyant grand allegro.

        The soloists had mixed success. Olivia MacKinnon's first variation began successfully but then faltered with limping hops on pointe that went nowhere. Baily Jones made no mistakes in the second variation but made no impression either. Christina Clark was gorgeous in the fifth variation and showed incredible control of all that natural length. Mary MacKinnon showed once again that she's a jewel worth polishing and polishing in her debut of the sixth variation. Malorie Lundgren managed the seventh variation competently but without being very interesting. These soloist sections of Raymonda have missed Ashley Hod's and Sara Adams' contributions. They also could have benefited from Emma Von Enck, Alexa Maxwell, Brittany Pollack, and (when are we going to see more of) Naomi Corti.

        Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, flammes de Louboutin, is bestowed upon Isabella LaFreniere for her blistering debut in Concerto Barocco.