NYCB: Jewels & All Balanchine

[Cherilyn]

I had the fortune of being in New York to see two of NYCB's programs and I wrote reviews on both of them - Jewels and All Balanchine. I would love to hear your opinions, especially about Symphony in C because it's a ballet that I wanted to like but just didn't. Do I give it another chance?

[fromthebalcony]

The All Balanchine program features four of my favorite ballets.  Symphony in C should not feel in disarray, so hopefully it was just an off night.  Please do give it another chance.

[FLOSS]

t in someTravelling Ballerina,

Do not give up on Symphony in C because you have seen an unsatisfactory performance of it danced by NYCB. I am surprised that it did not work for you as it is a ballet which is as full of youthful joie de vivre as the music to which it is set. I have always thought that Symphony in C and Serenade were two of Balanchine's most approachable and intensely satisfying works. They are ballets which I would recommend to anyone who has never seen a work by Balanchine as, unlike some of his later works, they feel like instantaneous and inevitable responses to the music to which they are set. A bit like Ashton's Symphonic Variations and Scenes de Ballet it is impossible to imagine any other choreography set to their scores which would not feel "wrong" in some way. I had been relieved to read reviews of the performances which opened the company's season which suggested that the upheavals at NYCB did not seem to be impacting on the performances which the company was giving. Perhaps recent events have finally caught up with the company and that is the reason why you found the performance of Symphony in C unsatisfactory. Like Jewels, Symphony in C is a test of a company's depth and strength because of the number of dancers which it requires. Perhaps it was a mistake to programme both works so close together. Do not give up on Symphony in C. It is one of Mr B's greatest works and would, I suspect, be in most ballet goer's top five ballets if they were asked to name the five ballets from his output which  they would save if it was only possible to preserve five of his works. 

Edited October 1, 2018 by FLOSS

[Cherilyn]

4 hours ago, fromthebalcony said:

The All Balanchine program features four of my favorite ballets.  Symphony in C should not feel in disarray, so hopefully it was just an off night.  Please do give it another chance.

 

From feedback received by many, it may just be that it was an off-night. I may have the opportunity to see it again when the company is in DC

 

4 hours ago, FLOSS said:

Perhaps recent events have finally caught up with the company and that is the reason why you found the performance of Symphony in C unsatisfactory. Like Jewels, Symphony in C is a test of a company's depth and strength because of the number of dancers which it requires. Perhaps it was a mistake to programme both works so close together. Do not give up on Symphony in C. It is one of Mr B's greatest works and would, I suspect, be in most ballet goer's top five ballets if they were asked to name the five ballets from his output which  they would save if it was only possible to preserve five of his works. 

 

Perhaps this is so. As I communicated in my Jewels review as well, there were moments when I felt that the corps was under-rehearsed. And perhaps I am a stickler for perfect lines and formations, or maybe it's because I love watching a beautiful corps de ballet and I felt this was missing in Symphony in C. I am encouraged by the confidence with which you speak about the ballet and the references to others that I, too, appreciate as significant works of art. Thank you!