Glassy Essence Dress Rehearsal
April 23, 2008
I just returned from an incredible evening of dance at Cedar Lake’s space in Chelsea. The company’s newest installation, Glassy Essence, starts tomorrow, but about 85 people were invited to tonight’s dress rehearsal. Several other dance bloggers and I - with cameras in hand, of course – were lucky enough to be there. After the 45-minute piece, we chatted with artistic director “Swan” and the audience outreach intern, Caleb. Here are just a few photos from the performance. Much more to come soon!
(Jessica Lee Keller on a wall of blocks)
(Nickemil Concepcion and Jessica Lee Keller)
Last weekend the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia closed their 3-week season at New York City Center. During the 3 weeks they performed Petipa’s The Kingdom of Shadows from La Bayadere; Fokine’s Scheherazade and Chopiniana; Gorsky’s The Grand Pas de Deux from Don Quixote, as well as all-Balanchine and all-Forsythe programs. The all-Balanchine program I saw Saturday night included Serenade, Rubies, and Ballet Imperial. These three ballets are Balanchine at his most classical- with the exception of sparkly set and costumes of Rubies, the ballets are simplistic and gorgeously choreographed, relying solely on the dancers’ technical prowess to make the ballet look like the exquisite masterpiece that it is.
Kirov dancers are undeniably technical geniuses. Their footwork, extensions, syncopation, port de bras and even their bows are flawlessly executed. Every leg is beautifully turned out, every wrist held at the perfect angle. But what Kirov dancers have in technique, they lacked in joy, in beauty. Serenade is ripe with gushingly beautiful phrases; it is one of those ballets which the viewer can revel in the pure and breathtakingly beautiful aesthetic pleasure of the dance. But the Kirov dancers possessed none of this exuberance in their dancing, rather, they looked petrified. Dance critic Alastair Macaulay wrote in the New York Times article, “Has nobody reminded these dancers that these grand ballet rituals are about love, courtesy and the thrill of ceremony? With zero sense of courtship, whole chunks of the Kirov repertory turned to stone.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. Ballets like Serenade and Ballet Imperial are so technically demanding that without any sense of joy from the dancers, the ballet becomes academic, like an exercise. This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the pieces- Serenade is inherently a gorgeous ballet and watching dancers of such technical finesse is always beguiling and wonderful. Olesia Novikova, who danced the leads in Serenade and Ballet Imperial, was the one true breath of fresh air. Her smiles looked natural, her movements were full of both gusto and ease. The ballets retained their poignancy and elegance. If nothing else, it was an exciting evening to whet our appetites for more great ballet with the opening of the New York City Ballet season, coming soon.
Serenade photographs (and my ticket) courtesy of Yaniv Schulman
Coming Up Next…
April 20, 2008
Beginning this week, there will be a flood of interesting dance events, which is exciting but also a little overwhelming. I’m hoping to write about everything I attend, but for starters, here is a preview of things to come:
Cedar Lake’s Glassy Essence installation opens next Thursday, April 24th, at the company’s amazing space in Chelsea. Check out their blog for videos, photos, and observations from the dancers about the rehearsal process. Glassy Essence runs from the 24th to the 26th, and from May 1st to 3rd.
Miami City Ballet will be performing a quadruple bill at Long Island’s Tilles Center on April 25th and 26th. The highlight of the program (and my reason for attending) is one of my favorite ballets, which I’ve written about at length in the past. It really is in a league of its own!
TAKE Dance Company, founded by former Paul Taylor dance Takehiro Ueyama, is presenting a special sneak preview for dance bloggers of their upcoming engagement at Columbia’s Miller Theater from May 15th to 17th. Check their website for more details about the performance schedule and ticket info.
The Columbia Ballet Collaborative, a ballet organization founded by former professional dancers who are now students at Columbia, will be having its spring performance on April 25th at 7:30 PM and April 26th at 2 PM and 7:30 PM. You can purchase tickets here.
I’ll be making a trip to Lincoln Center to see the Jerome Robbins exhibit at the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts, which is continuing until June 28th. The exhibit includes a lot of interesting material and videos, with Barnard professor Lynn Garafola as the curator.
Finally, New York City Ballet‘s spring season kicks off Tuesday, April 29th with the Spring Gala performance. Casting for the first week of performances has been posted, and be sure to check back often for updates.
beerandballet at the Washington Ballet
April 17, 2008
I often travel to Washington, DC for work and have always wanted to check out the Washington Ballet. Last night I went to “beerandballet,” a TWB event for their Jeté Society for young professionals. Beerandballet was an open studio rehearsal of Cinderella, which the company had just finished setting the day before. The studio was packed with an audience of over 100 people aged 20-35. After the ballet free beer and snacks were served. What could be better?
Beerandballet at TWB was a great experience. The staff was incredibly helpful and the entire event had a refreshingly friendly and unpretentious feel. TWB has 20 dancers, many of whom hold BAs from prestigious colleges, and they do not rank the company by Corps, Soloists and Principals. Offering events for young professionals is a brilliant way to reach out to ballet afficionados in their 20s and 30s, who are interested in watching ballet but can’t afford to be season ticket holders for another 10 years or so.
Some of the best photos from the studio rehearsal are below (click to enlarge). See more pictures here!
Corrections for Cinderella (Brianne Bland)
Fairy Godmother (Erin Mahoney-Du) and her fairies
Jade Payette
Brianne Bland as a very sweet Cinderella
Spring Has Sprung
April 14, 2008
Since everyone else is sharing photos of spring, I thought I might as well, too. The first photo was taken in the West 90s, right near Central Park. The second photograph, however, is from spring of 2007. I had a habit of keeping tulips on the windowsill of my room at Barnard throughout April. On that gorgeous spring day, the sun was shining over Columbia’s campus and I couldn’t resist taking a photograph.
