NYC Ballet: Waltz Project; NY Export: Opus Jazz; and Symphony in Three Movements
Choosing pieces from composer Robert Moran’s 1976 collection
of American composers’ waltzes, Martins’s ballet is couples night, divided into
nine vignettes. The first (to Joan Tower’s “Red Garnet Waltz”) and fifth (to
Milton Babbitt’s “Minute Waltz (or ¾ + 1/8)”) feature soloists Savannah Lowery
and Adrian Danchig-Waring. They dance short and clipped movements – almost like
NYC Ballet’s version of “the robot” – as they contort into all sorts of cool
poses.
The second (to Philip Glass’s “Modern Love Waltz”) and sixth
(to Robert Moran’s “Waltz—‘In Memoriam-Maurice Ravel’”) feature principals
Teresa Reichlen and Amar Ramasar. Their dance in the Glass piece is one of the
most athletic ballet sequences I’ve ever seen, with Ramasar making unbelievable
holds, all while showing off the tall and graceful Reichlen. The Moran piece is
much different and actually a rather traditional pas de deux.
The third (to Ivan Tcherepnin’s “Valse Perpetuelle”) and
seventh (to Tom Constanten’s “Dejavalse”) movements are where it gets really
fun because real-life couple Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild come out and do
what they do so well – dance with expert technique and tons of flair. It’s as
if it’s two lovers out on the town, trying to impress each other by one-upping
each other. The Tcherepnin piece is whimsical and delightful, while they vamp
it in the Constanten piece, dancing to flirty and feisty perfection. (For the
Constanten piece, Peck appears in sneakers and her hair is let down from a bun
and flows in a sassy pony tail.)
For the fourth (to Joseph Fennimore’s “Titles Waltz: After
Max Steiner”) and eighth (to Roger Sessions’s “Waltz”) vignettes, married
principal dancers Megan Fairchild and Andrew Veyette come out for a fiery pas
de deux, with Fairchild entrancing her beau.
The final movement features the entire cast and is set to
Morton Gould’s “Rag Waltz.” Here the ladies are showing off for the men,
tempting them and challenging them to keep up. It’s a wonderfully fun ballet,
and is definitely going on my “favorites” list.
Next in the program was Opus Jazz. There’s a reason this Jerome Robbins ballet, set to Robert Prince’s music, is my favorite. (Read my previous reviews here and here.) It’s youthful and exuberant. I can’t imagine someone not liking this, not connecting to it.
I love that this sneaker ballet is an ensemble piece and
that it rarely features principal dancers. It’s a fantastic opportunity for
soloists and corps de ballet dancers to shine.
Saturday night’s cast featured: Zachary Catazaro, Cameron
Dieck, Chase Finlay, Emilie Gerrity, Laruen King, Ashley Laracey, Meagan Mann,
Georgina Pazcoguin, Justin Peck, Allen Peiffer, Kristen Segin, Gretchen Smith, Taylor
Stanley, Christian Tworzyanski, Giovanni Villalobos and Lydia Wellington.
(Pazcoguin and Peck were great in “Statics,” and Laracey and Finlay did nicely
in “Passage for Two.”)
Another element I love about Opus Jazz is that there’s a looseness to the dancers – a carefree
abandon, though I’m sure they’re focusing hard because there’s no way you can
dance as well as they do and not focus.
You really must see this ballet. (And if you can’t get to
NYCB, or you can and just want more, check out the film of NY Export: Opus Jazz, created by and featuring City Ballet
dancers.) This is what dance is all
about – expressing exactly who you are!
The final ballet on the bill was George Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements,
representing yet another Balanchine-Igor Stravinsky collaboration. While the
ballet was nice, the highlight was that it was a “See the Music” piece.
From time to time, City Ballet presents See the Music
pieces, wherein before the ballet, the orchestra is raised from the pit and the
conductor (in this case it was Interim Music Director Andrews Sill) tells you
about the music you’re about to hear. He describes the nuances within the
piece, where the composer was (psychologically speaking) when the music was
written and the motifs you should listen for. I don’t know much about classical
music so I like that these programs allow me to listen to the music with
different ears.
As was Stravinsky’s intention, the score has a definite
cinematic quality to it, and Balanchine’s dance matches that grand scope. The
first movement, featuring Sterling Hyltin, Savannah Lowery, Tiler Peck, Amar
Ramasar and Daniel Ulbricht (and another dancer, whose name I can’t remember,
appearing in place of Adrian Danchig-Waring; the change was announced at the
beginning of the evening), along with a 26-dancer ensemble, sets the scene for
whatever conflict is about to come, with many forces at play.
The second movement is a lovely pas de deux between Hyltin
and Ramasar. Their dance shows love, shows what we’re fighting for. (As Sill
explained during the See the Music portion, Stravinsky wrote this and
Balanchine got the idea for the ballet during World War II. There’s even a section
in the third movement that’s meant to evoke the goosestep.)
Finally in the third movement everything – including the
various instruments – comes together. (Sill mentioned that in the first
movement there is a piano but no harp; in the second there’s a harp but no
piano (or maybe it’s the reverse); it’s only in the final movement that we hear
both instruments at the same time.)
It’s an interesting ballet, with the final iconic tableau
(pictured at right) being a striking one. Though I didn’t find it to be
terrifically engaging or transfixing, it’s a big and bold ballet that shows off
the unparalleled technique of the Company.
The New York City
Ballet winter season continues through February. Visit nycballet.com for
performance information and to purchase tickets.
Comments
Post a Comment