ipl-logo

All-Stravinsky/Balanchine

1216 Words5 Pages

The true mark of a NYCB devotee is how much they look forward to the all-Stravinsky programs. The leotard ballets and spiky scores can still bring the jitters in people who adore Jewels, Serenade or Theme and Variations, but if just the thought of that diagonal of soldier-girls in Symphony in Three Movements gives you the tingles, then I'd say you're all in. So it's fitting that NYCB ended its winter season with an excellent all-Stravinsky/Balanchine bill of the rarely performed Divertimento From Baiser de la Fée and long with repertory staples Agon, Duo Concertant, and Symphony in Three Movements. For one, it's a test of the company's resilience. It's also a test of the audiences' loyalty. The dancers more than rose to the occasion. And the audiences' enthusiastic responses indicated that company loyalty among ballet-goers is still strong. Earlier in the season I saw a performance of Peter Martins' Romeo + Juliet that had a lovely, lyrical Juliet in Sterling Hyltin, an appealingly ardent Romeo in Harrison Coll (making his debut), and some virtuosos in the roles of Mercutio (Daniel Ulbricht), Tybalt (Joaquin de Luz), and Benvolio (Joseph Gordon). But Martins' version of this warhorse still fails to sing. Martins' version is best in the fight scenes, where the violence escalates in a very organic, tense …show more content…

Shakespeare (and Prokofiev) created a violent world and Juliet's rebellious headstrong nature is very much in both the play and ballet's DNA. Lord Capulet striking Juliet was one of Martins' rare moments of correct dramatic instinct -- the audience has to know that Juliet is a maverick. Without the slap the scenes with Juliet's parents fell flat. Ask La Cour and Maria Kowroski didn't inject much personality into their roles either. The best acting performance actually came from Russell Janzen who played Paris as exactly the kind of nice young man parents

Open Document