Balanchine:
The City Center Years – 11/1/18
Before the New York City Ballet
found their abode in Lincoln Center in 1964, George Balanchine and his dancers
were resident to City Center - a cozy and quaint theater that allowed the NYCB
to blossom to its world-renown status.[1]
For its 75th anniversary, City Center decided to stage a program
with eight ballet companies:
1)
American Ballet Theatre
2) The
Joffrey Ballet
3) The
Mariinsky Ballet
4) Miami
City Ballet
5) New
York City Ballet
6) Paris
Opera Ballet
7) The
Royal Ballet
8) San
Francisco Ballet
I’d imagine
that some devoted Balanchine connoisseur consider the program as an unkept
menagerie that cannot encompass the style of dancing required for Balanchine’s
repertories.[2],[3]
Others, like me, see this as an opportunity to showcase the diversity of
dancers from around the world and bring freshness, diversity to programs that I
see often with only one company.
Apollo
I saw
Apollo in April and was not very fond of the ballet. The last Apollo I saw
(Chase Finlay) lacked an adolescent quality; throughout the ballet, Apollo grows
as the three muses teach him the ways of life, yet when Mr. Finlay danced it, I
did not see that. His dancing looked a bit uninterpreted and thoughtless. Given
all the controversy with Mr. Finlay, I am quite glad I won’t see his Apollo again.
However, Xander
Parish, trained at the Royal Ballet and recruited to the Mariinsky Ballet, not
only showed the growth of Apollo, but he also interpreted Apollo as an
adolescent who needed bearings. The first section when Apollo starts to strum
his instrument, Mr. Parish looks fixated and a bit frustrated with his
unrefined skill, as many young people would be when starting an instrument.
However, as the ballet progressed, Mr. Parish’s dance did as well. He started
as a youngster figuring out his limps and position for the first time and ends
as a grown man who was the product of the three muses. A very stunning
performance and beautiful interpretation.
Concerto
Barocco
Though one
of the most iconic Balanchine Ballets, this was actually the first time I saw
it. Choreographed to Bach’s Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins, Concerto
Barocco showcase the corp de ballet’s dancing and capability. The corp never
leaves the stage and rarely stop. The perfect ballet for those in the upper
rings, like I usually am, because it is only there one can appreciate the
formations.
I am always
amazed and love the corp de ballet at NYCB. In this performance, they outshined
the principals. Usually Maria Kowroski mesmerizes the audience (and me) with
her artistry, but in this performance, I do not think she was at her best.
However, the couple next to me were thrilled with her performance so perhaps my
opinion is not the majority. Abi Stafford’s dancing has grown on me, and I
think she is starting to dazzle more than she has in the past. Overall, a very
nice performance, particularly from the corp de ballet.
Tschaikovsky
Pas de Deux
Tschaikovsky’s
Pas de Deux is my favorite ballet; I probably have watched all the videos of it
on Youtube, and even have the third movement as my alarm clock ringtone. I have
enjoyed most of the renditions of the ballet – ones from Russian dancers, NYCB
dancers, PNB dancers – but there are differences between them all. However,
they should be celebrated.
Anna Rose
O’Sullivan and Marelino Sambe’s dancing of the ballet was a showstopper, as it
usually is. They bring a very youthful aura to the stage; they experiment with
what their given in an effort to recognize what is best for them. Ms. O’Sullivan,
more delicate in her variation than I’ve seen others, brought a nice airiness
and slowed down the showstopper to allow the audience to digest what they’ve seen.
However, she must work on her spatial orientation. Perhaps a very minute
detail, good space organization elevate the performance for those on the upper rings.
Mr. Sambe, with his huge jumps, tours, and turns, contrasted with Ms. O’Sullivan
in his showy, kid-like, enthusiasm. His dancing showed an eagerness for the big
league – I think he’s ready.
Diverimento
No. 15
I have only
seen snippets of Diverimento on social media, but never really understood what
it was, and to be honest, this was my least favorite ballet of the program. Maybe
it was because there were so many principal dancers and all of their variations
melted into one in my head or because there was less information about this ballet
prior for me to do my research. Though the San Francisco Ballet proved their
standing as a world-class company with the beautiful pointe work from both the
principals and the corp de ballet members, the ballet seemed to drag on.
However, I need to give a shoutout to the dancer who did the third variation (Koto
Ishihara). (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3BfT-SiKLk
– I think this Megan Fairchild dancing the Third variation. Please correct me
if I’m incorrect). Her speed and grace were impressive!
I hope you
enjoyed my commentary! Please leave me a comment if you have something to say
about the ballet, history, or anything!
