New York City Ballet - Digital Spring - feedback thread

[Bruce Wall]

Agree that both performances of these are fine - and surely excellent examples of actually how dance should be filmed.  These - as previously noted - were never made for public consumption.  What I love is the fact that they let us glimpse NYCB in work-a-day performances.  What they show in live spades is the sweep of the movement through music.  

 

Agree Huxley (in terms of height and rapture of precision think James Hay) is fine.  What a renewed dancer Fairchild has become after appearing for a year in On The Town on Broadway in 2014 as vividly evidenced in this Ballo performance from 2016.  She talks about this fact herself here ... and you can see her in a delightful rehearsal of an elongated dance sequence for that Broadway outing here.  Fairchild has since become a mother and I find her performances are now rapt with even greater punch.  

 

Wendy Whelan owns After the Rain as she did so much of what she danced at NYCB.  The Cage (Robbins adored her) has never been the same - but how could it be.  After the Rain is but one of a treasure trove of roles she created.  If Wheeldon ever had a muse, Whelan was definitely it - and deservedly so - much as she was - by his own admission - for Ratmansky.  Pictures at an Exhibition is but one of his love letters to her.  His Concerto DSCH - to be digitally shown by NYCB on Friday - is another.  Whelan remains a very special artist and full applause must be given to her for now - in her co-artistic-direction role - helping to restore works long unseen at NYCB to the active rep.  I thrilled to again see - after decades - Balanchine's vivid Haieff Divertimento in February this year.  What a brilliant ballet it is.  

 

Enough.  Enjoy.  

Edited May 2, 2020 by Bruce Wall

[Bruce Wall]

You can be small and still pack a primary punch - a la Huxley - whence leading the male campaign in Balanchine's S&S (everything is, as they say, relative):

 

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by Bruce Wall

[Bruce Wall]

Just have to share this:  It is a 36 second blast of beatitude.  There may be some out there who may feel they need it.  

 

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by Bruce Wall

[capybara]

Ooh, the Tchai Pas 😍

[alison]

Gorgeous - on both counts. Just a shame that there were so many entrances and exits on opposite sides of the stage that the single camera had to miss some of them - so sad that there's no 21st-century equivalent of the Bell Telephone Hour so such performances could still be televised properly.  Ballo also brought back the delightful memory of Lauren Cuthbertson's beautifully musical performances with the Royal Ballet a few years ago, so a win-win!

 

Was After the Rain originally a pas de deux with the rest added later, or am I just thinking of it as such because that was how I first saw it at Sadler's Wells - I think with Morphoses?

[toursenlair]

1 hour ago, alison said:

Was After the Rain originally a pas de deux with the rest added later, or am I just thinking of it as such because that was how I first saw it at Sadler's Wells - I think with Morphoses?

 

it was originally a longer piece, with a section for a small corps in part 1 and then the pdd as part 2.

[zxDaveM]

2 hours ago, toursenlair said:

 

it was originally a longer piece, with a section for a small corps in part 1 and then the pdd as part 2.

 

Think Alison meant a sorta chicken/egg thing. We've seen the full piece (the RB did it recently) but the two sections are just so different. Did Wheeldon create the pdd first, then add the 3 couples section on at the beginning? As one of the couples even changes costume to do the pdd, it sure doesn't look like they created at the same time - more like the piece needed to be 20mins, rather than 10...

[zxDaveM]

Still great though, whichever way you see it! 🙂

 

[Bruce Wall]

History of After the Rain is here.  Interesting to note that this film is listed as having been recorded on 18.01.17.  Wendy Whelan (principal) retired from NYCB in 2014 and Craig Hall (soloist) retired from NYCB following the Saratoga and Paris runs in 2016.  

[alison]

I thought there was something a bit odd about the date!

[Bruce Wall]

42 minutes ago, alison said:

I thought there was something a bit odd about the date!

 

There is a good reason why it looks odd, Alison.  The date in the written historical account is wrong.  According to the film it was shot in 2012.  That makes much more sense ... and that curtain could only be, after all, at State Theater ... (sorry, Koch!).  

 

 

[li tai po]

Dear Bruce

 

Thank you so much for your interesting and informative postings, which are adding much to my enjoyment of the NYCB streamings.  You are educating and entertaining me.

I do not know the current cohort of NYCB dancers at all, since it seems so long since the full company came to London, so it is a joy to discover new dancers with each streaming.

 

Thank you for the clip of the Third Campaign from Stars and Stripes.  I don't think I have seen this ballet, since NYCB performed it on the opening night of their Covent Garden season.  I dug out the programme and the third campaign was danced by William Weslow, not a name familiar to me.  Suki Schorer, Jillana, Melissa Hayden and Jacques d'Amboise were the other principals in Stars and Strips - Maria Tallchief, Karin von Aroldingen (corps de ballet), Mimi Paul, Edward Villela, Suzanne Farrell, Patricia Neary, Arthur Mitchell and Patricia McBride were also dancing that night.

[alison]

Had another look at Ballo della Regina last night (that's the good thing about short ballets), and found myself struggling to stop myself chortling with glee!  It must be horrendously tough to dance, and they make it look so easy.

 

Looking forward to whichever one it is next ...

[Jeannette]

2 hours ago, alison said:

Had another look at Ballo della Regina last night (that's the good thing about short ballets), and found myself struggling to stop myself chortling with glee!  It must be horrendously tough to dance, and they make it look so easy.

 

Looking forward to whichever one it is next ...

 

It’s Rubies tonight...with my favorite new up-and-commer Mira Nadon as the Tall Girl (debut)! I’ve been following her since her SAB grad performances (Scotch Symphony lead).

Edited May 5, 2020 by Jeannette

[Bruce Wall]

Thought Nadon gave a wonderful debut as the 'Tall Girl'.  The length of her legs - and arms - are a great advantage here .... leaving oh, so much room to grow in what is already a discernibly nuanced start in Rubies.  Will certainly look forward to her future developments in the role.  What a jewel of a work this ballet is.  

 

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Bruce Wall

[Bruce Wall]

You might enjoy this Anatomy of Dance on the Rubies PDD here with the lovely Sterling Hyltin .... as well as an interesting NYCB in-house online ad for Jewels itself here.  

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by Bruce Wall

[Bruce Wall]

What joy Ratmansky's Concerto DSCH is - and what an enchanting introduction by the choreographer himself.  Ratmansky - like Ashton - knows how to write smiles - and here his wit is dynamically etched by the original trio of Bouder, De Luz (who was - a bit of trivia here - in the same Ullate class as Tamara Rojo and Angel Corella) and Garcia.  It's hard to forget Whelan here - much as it is hard to expunge the memory of Farrell in so many of the Balanchine roles she created - (you find yourself somehow always pinning their shadows) - but I felt the combination of Mearns and Angle thaumaturgic within this humanely astral domain.   Much as Concerto and Song of the Earth are by some distance my favourite MacMillan ballets ... this remains one of my most beloved amongst Ratmansky's ever burgeoning and balletic form defining oeuvre.  Delectation personified.    Thank you NYCB for this archival peek.  

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Bruce Wall

[Janite]

I think  Ratmansky's Concerto DSCH has been my favourite NYCB so far. Like Bruce I loved MacMillian's Concerto, which i have only seen once and in many ways I prefer M's tempo, but this R's was a such a pleasure to watch (3 times).

[alison]

Concerto DSCH was even more gorgeous than I'd hoped.  I'm wondering how many times I can squeeze in watching it before it drops off tonight   I mean, I really like MacMillan's Concerto, too, but I think this tops it.

[ninamargaret]

1 hour ago, alison said:

Concerto DSCH was even more gorgeous than I'd hoped.  I'm wondering how many times I can squeeze in watching it before it drops off tonight   I mean, I really like MacMillan's Concerto, too, but I think this tops it.

oh no it doesn't!

[now voyager]

I prefer MacMillan’s 2d movement, which I think is not only very beautiful, but also  better suits the way I hear the music, while the other movements are for me a much closer call.

Edited May 11, 2020 by now voyager

[SheilaC]

I agree with now voyager, the second movement of MacMillan's Concerto is absolutely beautiful. The same section of music also inspired  the most lyrical choreography by Grigorovich, in his Golden Age ballet. It's interesting the way some special pieces of music can inspire choreographers to create their best work.

[Bruce Wall]

Enjoyed today’s NYCB digital infusion of joy, here celebrating the impassioned repartee of their two master choreographers, Balanchine and Robbins who, alongside such as Ashton, taught the 20^th Century to dance.  Apart (and on two instances together) they always extended the balletic  conversation through the creation of a unique lexicon.    There was never any question:  We knew their voice.

 

The banter of the male quartet in Robbin’s ‘Spring’ from  Four Seasons reminded me of the jocular aphorisms found in that same buried within the last act of Raymonda (which Balanchine, himself, also celebrated in his own Raymonda Variations).  Here each of the lads responded vividly in turn.  Divertimento No. 15 is one of the vast array of jewels in the Balanchinian crown and certainly one of my favourites.  In this segment the ladies made easy work of the devilish intricacy both in Mozart’s divine musical puns and the levity of their own Bard's choreographic whimsicality.  What amplified satire King, Hyltin (who additionally offered a tastefully relaxed intro to the entire programme), Scheller, Stafford and – above all – Peck (surely one of the greatest ballerinas of the first quarter of the 21^st Century) brought to this life enriching sally.  Robbins’ Afternoon of the Faun was the perfect reposte and Hyltin (one of my favourite NYCB artists – do watch her in Balanchine’s La Valse filmed in Paris in 2016 if you haven’t seen it) ably mesmerised young Joseph Gordon on the occasion of his debut in this role.  I found myself scrolling back and watching this soulful tone poem a second time in their nuanced interaction.  Somehow this piece always gives new meaning for me to the idiom: ‘Alone Together’. 

 

There was an addition to the programme (i.e., not in the original announcement) in the form of the Phlegmatic interlude from The Four Temperaments.  I can well guess the reason for this.  Ask le Cour would not have been my first choice in this sublime slice of jagged constraint but he was scheduled to retire from NYCB in October and with Broadway theatres having announced yesterday that all performances will be cancelled up into September, the likelihood of his Autumn retirement performance is I suppose looking increasingly unlikely.  This may well have – in place – been his farewell.  Certainly he has always offered yeoman service and been an able partner.  I’m sure we all wish him well.  I see – in the selection of one of the Wheeldon’s for next Friday - Jared Angle (brother to Tyler) is featured.  He too was to have retired in NYCB’s ‘Fall Season’ and I would think part of the selection of that particular piece too may represent an opportunity for him to have an official departure should it not be possible otherwise.  It's not the same, of course, but at least it is something.  Most thoughtful.  

 

The programme ends with a fanciful punch line in the form of the Rondo from Balanchine’s Western Symphony.  I’m particularly pleased that British viewers will have a chance to at least peek at the NYCB corps member, Roman Meija.  He may be small but he always belts above his weight with a thumping wallop.  Here his character laced placement suggests – even now –  he is a star in the definite making. 

 

What I enjoyed above all about this combination is that it gives a clear indication to any viewer unfamiliar with NYCB of its consistent variety – being a Company which (i) consistently celebrates community  and (ii) dances a larger repertory each season than any other company on earth; a vivacious diversity offered at each and every show.

 

Enjoy. 

Edited May 13, 2020 by Bruce Wall

[SheilaC]

I agree, of course, with all that Bruce says. But as I watched the excerpts I realised that four of the ballets were created on that truly original, and great, dancer, Tanaquil LeClercq. She was in the opening performance of Four Temperaments, in 1946, soon after she joined Ballet Society (later NYCB), and the last ballet created on her was Divertimento, in 1956, soon before she contracted polio and had to retire. She had a key role in Western Symphony and, although the wife and muse of Balanchine, she was also the muse and close friend of Robbins, who created the perfect ballet that is Afternoon of a Faun.

[Jeannette]

I totally agree with Bruce and others about the greatness of NYCB’s latest digital offering. I switched to this immediately after watching the horrendous ABT “Together Tonight” infomercial. I went from the ridiculous to the sublime with one flick of the remote control.

[toursenlair]

WATCH THIS. That is all I have to say. Up till Friday night NY time.

Edited May 13, 2020 by toursenlair

[alison]

Gorgeous so far ...

[Buddy]

On 13/05/2020 at 08:34, SheilaC said:

I agree, of course, with all that Bruce says. But as I watched the excerpts I realised that four of the ballets were created on that truly original, and great, dancer, Tanaquil LeClercq. She was in the opening performance of Four Temperaments, in 1946, soon after she joined Ballet Society (later NYCB), and the last ballet created on her was Divertimento, in 1956, soon before she contracted polio and had to retire. She had a key role in Western Symphony and, although the wife and muse of Balanchine, she was also the muse and close friend of Robbins, who created the perfect ballet that is Afternoon of a Faun.

 

I mentioned your quote at Ballet Alert! which has a large Balanchine following. Nobody had noticed this and the two posters that responded were surprised, wondering why it happened and very glad for this insight. Thank you.

 

I recently discovered (for myself) the video of Tanaquil Le Clercq performing Afternoon of a Faun and think that it's an excellent performance (someone at Ballet Alert! called it the "gold standard") quite different from more recent ones by others.

 

By the way, I thought that this broadcast of excerpts was very fine. A particular favorite of mine is Teresa Reichlen in Western Symphony.

 

The broadcast can be seen here until tomorrow.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXnL56aKzww

Edited May 14, 2020 by Buddy

[Don Q Fan]

I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the NYCB snippets that have been streamed.  Unfortunately I didn't watch Ballo a second time and missed Rotunda.  The only one I haven't liked was Wheeldon's After The Rain.  The Balanchine pieces have all been glorious what a genius he was and the Ratmansky DSCH was a pure delight from start to finish (including Ratmansky himself what a lovely man!).

[li tai po]

Dear Bruce (and SheilaC)

 

You have done it again!

 

I was enthralled by the five-star evening of NYCB, with such wonderful dancing and variety of repertoire.  My enjoyment, however, was enhanced by the perceptive analysis and detailed commentary which you have provided.  A fulsome thank you for taking the time and effort to provide so much additional information about the performance, including debuts and departures - so sad for the dancers about the depart.

 

Whilst I was aware that Tanaquil LeClerq created Afternoon of a Faun, I had never made the connection that Robbins was creating this ballet on Balanchine's wife!

 

I also found this succinct (2 minute) and perceptive introduction to Western Symphony by Edward Villela no less.

 

[alison]

Just about managed to finish this off before it went offline.  All I can say is that I now really want to see the whole of Robbins' Four Seasons, and particularly if Sarah Mearns is dancing in it.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Really enjoyed all the star turns in Divertimento, too - Peck especially.  And agree that Mejia ought to be a star in the making - and that Hyltin made a very good presenter.

[Jeannette]

Watched Peck’s Pulcinella Variations. This has been one of my favorites of this choreographer since its premiere a couple of years ago. More traditional feeling and structure; less funk...although the colorful costumes are quite innovative. While I enjoyed the full cast, the major “POW!” was delivered by Anthony Huxley and his flying ribbons in the Tarantella solo!!! I’ve seen him live in this three times and he always brings down the house.

 

This was Peck Double Header Night, with one of his loud sneaker ballets, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,   streaming for the first time at the San Francisco Ballet site. (Next week will see a similar situation with Wheeldon!)

Edited May 16, 2020 by Jeannette

[Candleque]

On 14/05/2020 at 21:18, Don Q Fan said:

The Balanchine pieces have all been glorious what a genius he was and the Ratmansky DSCH was a pure delight from start to finish (including Ratmansky himself what a lovely man!)

 
Agree. Concerto DSCH has been my streaming highlight. Had never seen it before and now I just want to see it again and again. So good. (Someone posted the recording here btw. I'll watch then make a contribution to NYCB as tribute.)

Dare I ever hope the Royal Ballet does DSCH? Similar to Dances at a Gathering, I bet the dancers just love performing this ballet. It looks like pure joy.